Behind every TENA product is a desire to make life better – both for the wearer and for the professionals who care. It’s this desire that drives the experts at TENA to keep developing new products and solutions that deliver better care and improve wellbeing for everyone. But when it comes to designing a new TENA product or solution, where do the experts start?
“Everything starts with an insight,” says Lise Andersson, Global Insight Director at TENA. “First, we identify a problem that needs to be solved. Then we fall in love – and stay in love – with that problem until we have found the innovation that best helps solve it.”
For TENA, problems aren’t stumbling blocks. They are sources of inspiration that kick start a truly collaborative process that brings together experts within insight, innovation, R&D, brand and communication, sustainability and more.
“Insights are fundamental to our work,” explains Mikael Andersson, Global Technical Innovation Director (Heavy Inco) at TENA. “As soon as we identify a problem, we put the right competencies together and start developing ideas. It’s a team effort from the start.”
“First, we identify a problem that needs to be solved. Then we fall in love – and stay in love – with that problem.”
The importance of teamwork is something that Lise Andersson is also keen to emphasise. “Ideas are not something you work on in isolation. You develop them together. Teamwork is so valuable as everyone has their own perspective on the problem to be solved.”
“It’s a continuous process,” continues Lise. “We observe and listen to our target groups. Then we take what we have learned and create an idea that is optimised and improved until we reach the point where we know that we can really solve a relevant problem for our customers.”
Over the years, TENA has developed a lot of solutions that address important and relevant problems to be solved. But there is one particular product that continues to lead the way and be continuously developed based on insights, even after 20 years – TENA Flex.
The reason for the enduring appeal of TENA Flex is the wide range of benefits it consistently delivers for the wearer and carers alike – from superior absorption and comfort to ergonomics and ease of use. And all this is made possible by some of TENA’s most effective and appreciated innovations – each one inspired by insight, designed by experts and continually refined over time.
“Even when we first released TENA Flex, we kept working to ensure the best possible fit for comfort and leakage security. So, we added a small piece of elastic at the sides to better keep it in place,” explains Mikael Andersson. “Later, caregivers told us they were worried that they were applying the product too tightly, so we added a larger piece of elastic. This provided added flexibility for an easier fit and peace of mind for caregivers. It also enabled the product to really follow the contours of the body. Eventually, this piece of elastic became ComfiStretch, which today helps TENA Flex deliver more comfort, a better fit and better leakage security for more body shapes.”
Like ComfiStretch, it was insight from caregivers that led to another TENA Flex innovation – FingerLift.
“Initially, some caregivers found it tricky to see where the belt opened,” explains Mikael Andersson. “Our insights team shared this with our technical specialists and R&D. The solution we came up with was the blue FingerLift tab.” “This not only made the belt opening easier to find,” continues Lotta Medailleu, Global Brand Innovation Director at TENA. “It also made the product easier to use – something that should never be underestimated.”
“Caregiving is a demanding job, so ergonomics is very important,” explains Lise Andersson. “TENA Flex is ergonomically validated and specially designed to make changing residents easier. This not only results in better care and more dignity for residents – it also saves time, helps caregivers avoid back injuries and can reduce total costs for care facilities.”
With up to 30% of nursing home residents experiencing incontinence-associated dermatitis, one crucial area that TENA continually focuses on is skin health. Skin health is all about dryness and this focus led to another TENA innovation – the Duo-Lock core.
“The turning point was that someone saw the problem and said: we can solve this.”
“It was actually technology that made the Duo-Lock core possible,” explains Lotta Medailleu. “When developing the Duo-Lock Core, we explained the importance of dryness to our technical specialists. They then came up with a solution that delivered a level of dryness that exceeded even our own expectations. This is why it’s so important to share insights with all departments.”
But when it comes to developing new innovations, the experts at TENA don’t only focus on improving dryness, comfort or leakage security, they also focus on delivering these benefits in the most sustainable way possible.
“Sustainability is very important for TENA,” continues Lotta. “So, we strive to ensure that every TENA innovation contributes something positive from a sustainability perspective – from the materials and energy we use to how our products help our customers minimize their carbon footprint by reducing their product consumption, laundry and more – all while improving wellbeing for those who use our products.”
But sometimes the problem you set out to solve isn’t the only problem that you end up solving. This is what happened with TENA SmartCare Identifi – TENA’s breakthrough digital assessment solution.
“Making caring easier and improving wellbeing. This is the spirit of TENA.”
“TENA Identifi actually began as an internal innovation that showed us exactly where and when a product would leak during development,” explains Sofia Hagman, Global Brand Innovation Director IQ Solutions at Essity. “But then we began thinking about nursing homes and how important it was for residents to have the right type of product with the right fit and right absorption level.”
“At this time, nursing homes still weighed products to find out what products and absorption level were needed – a method that was time consuming and not accurate enough. So, one of our colleagues suggested that we adapt TENA Identifi and turn it into an assessment tool instead.”
“Now with TENA Identifi, we can really improve wellbeing for residents while reducing workloads for professional caregivers,” continues Sofia. “The turning point was that someone saw the problem and said, ‘we can solve this.’”
It’s this belief in being able to find the right solution that lies at the heart of TENA. A belief built on over 60 years of experience and expertise and exemplified by a shared team spirit with one goal – to make life better for everyone living and working with incontinence.
TENA, a brand of Essity - a global, leading hygiene and health company. Every day, our products, solutions and services are used by a billion people around the world. Our purpose is to break barriers to well-being for the benefit of consumers, patients, caregivers, customers and society. Sales are conducted in approximately 150 countries under the leading global brands TENA and Tork, and other strong brands such as Actimove, Cutimed, JOBST, Knix, Leukoplast, Libero, Libresse, Lotus, Modibodi, Nosotras, Saba, Tempo, TOM Organic and Zewa. In 2023, Essity had net sales of approximately SEK 147bn (EUR 13bn) and employed 36,000 people. The company’s headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden and Essity is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. More information at essity.com.
