Half-price imports are too small for Kiwi bottoms

Left, from Parallel Imported (Huggies Super Dry, 4yrs plus and from 9-16kg). Right, bought in NZ, regular Huggies 'Walker' Nappy (from 13-18kg). Photo / Janna Dixon

Not all bottoms are the same. And when it comes to babies' bottoms, it seems Kiwi tots are, ahem, well-rounded.

Proof that our bubs can be considered "big boned" compared with other nations is evident in cheaper parallel-imported Huggies nappies.

Kimberly-Clark, which makes Huggies worldwide, placed a quarter-page advertisement in the NZ Herald last month declaring "these [parallel imported] nappies haven't been designed for the New Zealand market, so we can't guarantee that the imported product will meet your performance expectations".

Grant Hartley, head of marketing for Kimberly-Clark in New Zealand, said that didn't necessarily mean Kiwi kids had bigger bums.

Concerned that Kimberly-Clark might simply be trying to deter struggling mums and dads from buying cheaper nappies, the Herald on Sunday put both kinds to the test on 14kg, 20-month-old Nicholas Powley.

The parallel-imported ones, for the 9kg to 16kg weight range, cost 43c each, were not gender-specific and were too small for our test pilot's posterior. They were less absorbent and the tabs tore easily.

There were, however, no such problems with the locally-made version of the 13kg to 18kg boys' range, although they cost a jaw-dropping 89c each from the same store.

Hartley said, "We design different nappies for boys and girls; we take into account the different size and shapes of babies from different cultures; the different requirements for nappies."

They became aware of parallel-imported Huggies at the beginning of last year and had received complaints from unhappy customers.

He said Huggies was the biggest-selling nappy here.

"Our concern is that parents are confused by the fact the product they buy is not what they expect of their normal Huggies product."

Huggies sold 83 million nappies in supermarkets in New Zealand for the 12 months ending November 21.

The total number of nappies sold in supermarkets for the same period is 237 million.

Many parents bought nappies online or from specialists.

Disclaimer: Our reporter is the proud mum of Nicholas.