Nobel Hygiene Limited, a pioneer in India’s adult absorbent hygiene market, has taken a significant step towards going public, filing its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Backed by Quadria Capital, the company is looking to tap the public markets as demand for adult, baby and feminine hygiene products accelerates across India.

The proposed IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth up to Rs 150 crore, along with an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 15,511,082 equity shares by existing shareholders. The selling shareholders include promoters Kamal Kumar Johari and Kamini Kamal Johari, as well as investors such as Orbit Investment Holdings Pte. Ltd., Sixth Sense India Opportunities III, Bennett Trading LLP, Manish Dharanendra Ladage, Seema Manish Ladage and Lashit Lallubhai Sanghvi.

IPO to fuel capacity expansion and debt reduction

Nobel Hygiene plans to deploy the proceeds from the fresh issue towards prepayment or repayment of outstanding borrowings, investment in its subsidiary Nobel Hygiene Baroda Private Limited (NHBPL), and expansion of its manufacturing infrastructure.

A key part of the expansion is the proposed augmentation of production capacity at Halol, including the development of a brownfield manufacturing-cum-warehousing facility on the company’s existing land. The company also plans to purchase and install an additional adult diaper machine line. The remaining proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

About Nobel Hygiene

Nobel Hygiene’s manufacturing and distribution footprint gives it a broad reach across the Indian market. The company operates 14 manufacturing lines across approximately 19 acres at its Nashik and Halol facilities, with an aggregate annual installed capacity of around 1,890.57 million units across adult diapers, baby diapers and underpads.

On the distribution side, its network reaches approximately 0.27 million retail outlets across 31 States and Union Territories, supported by more than 296 stockists and 418 distributors.

The company has also built an international presence, exporting its products to 19 countries, including Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Mauritius.

Stronger financial performance

Nobel Hygiene’s recent financial performance points to improving scale and profitability. Revenue from operations rose 14.56% to Rs 846.75 crore in FY2026, compared with Rs 739.14 crore in FY2025. Over the same period, EBITDA increased from Rs 65.57 crore to Rs 84.76 crore, while the EBITDA margin expanded from 8.87% to 10.01%.

The company also moved decisively into the black. Restated profit for the year increased from just Rs 2.28 crore in FY2025 to Rs 18.91 crore in FY2026. Product margins improved as well, rising from 42.13% to 44.43% during the year, signalling better operating economics alongside revenue growth.

Betting on India’s next hygiene growth wave

Nobel Hygiene’s IPO comes at a time when India’s adult absorbent hygiene market is undergoing a major shift. According to the DRHP, the Indian adult absorbent hygiene market was valued at approximately Rs 20.5 billion-Rs 21.5 billion in FY2026, having expanded at a CAGR of around 26% since FY2020. The growth runway could remain substantial. The market is projected to reach Rs 54 billion-Rs 61 billion by FY2031, implying a CAGR of approximately 21%-23%.

The opportunity is being driven less by replacement demand and more by the addition of new consumers. The DRHP estimates that 1.5 million-1.8 million new users could enter the category by FY2031.

Low penetration, rising awareness, increased recommendations from pharmacists and healthcare professionals, and declining social stigma around adult hygiene products are expected to accelerate adoption.

Building a hygiene portfolio across generations

With more than two decades of operating history, Nobel Hygiene has built a diversified portfolio spanning adult, baby and feminine absorbent hygiene products.

Its brands include Friends, B-Fit, Teddyy, Snuggy and RIO, with the portfolio comprising more than 1,158 SKUs as of March 31, 2026. These products cover adult and baby diapers, underpads, insert pads, maternity pads, bed bath towels, wet wipes and sanitary pads.

The company has established a particularly strong foothold in adult hygiene. Friends is India's largest adult absorbent hygiene brand by value, according to the DRHP, while Nobel Hygiene has expanded its portfolio across different price points and consumer needs.

The company’s revenue mix also highlights the strength of its two core categories. In FY2026, adult absorbent hygiene accounted for 49.25% of revenue from operations, while baby absorbent hygiene contributed another 45.32%. Friends and Teddyy contributed 37.85% and 39.63%, respectively, while B-Fit accounted for 10.83%.

Expanding beyond adult and baby hygiene

Nobel Hygiene is also looking to broaden its presence in feminine hygiene, including plans to introduce disposable period panties. At the same time, the company intends to deepen its adult and baby hygiene businesses through wider market penetration, product innovation and increased manufacturing capacity.

For a company that helped create India’s organised adult absorbent hygiene market, the IPO represents more than a capital-raising exercise. It comes at a potentially pivotal moment for the category, as changing demographics, rising awareness and greater acceptance of hygiene products create a larger addressable consumer base.

ICICI Securities Limited, Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors Limited and SBI Capital Markets Limited are the Book Running Lead Managers to the issue.