United Kingdom · Packaging · Feminine care

The first incontinence pack that announces itself on the pharmacy shelf.

Always Discreet (Procter & Gamble) is the first brand in its category to print the NaviLens code on the front of pack. Launched in April 2023 as a pilot across four pads and pants references, it lets blind and partially sighted shoppers find the product on shelf and hear absorbency, size, usage and disposal instructions — without having to pick up and inspect each pack.

Always Discreet Sensitive Bladder Long pack on a supermarket shelf with a colourful NaviLens accessibility code printed on the front.

1st: Women's incontinence brand with NaviLens
Apr 2023: Pilot launch across four references
2M+: People living with sight loss in the UK
RNIB: Partnered with the Royal National Institute of Blind People

Always Discreet · Procter & Gamble — with RNIB

Always Discreet is Procter & Gamble's light and moderate incontinence brand for women, on shelf in pharmacies and supermarkets across Europe with pads, liners and absorbent pants.

The rollout is part of P&G's long-running work with the RNIB to make its FMCG brands more accessible (Herbal Essences, Pantene, Olay, Pampers, Ariel, Always). Always Discreet joined the NaviLens standard in April 2023, becoming the first brand in its category worldwide to do so.

01
A category where getting it right really matters
Mixing up absorbency, size or format in an incontinence product has direct consequences for autonomy and dignity. Until now, blind or partially sighted shoppers depended on a companion or pharmacy staff to identify the right SKU.
02
Key info printed in very small type
Absorbency (drops), size, pack count, usage and disposal instructions all live in tiny print. RNIB estimates over 2 million people in the UK live with sight loss and 340,000 are registered blind or partially sighted.
03
Stigma and lack of representation
Female urinary incontinence remains an invisibilised topic. Always Discreet wanted accessibility to be not just functional, but also an explicit act of representation and inclusion in a traditionally under-discussed category.

Four Always Discreet SKUs (pads and pants) carry the NaviLens code directly on the pack front, inside the existing print flow — no industrial redesign, no line stops. The free NaviLens and NaviLens GO apps, compatible with any smartphone, detect the code from several metres away, at an angle and on the move.

The app reads out product name, absorbency level, size, pack count, usage and disposal instructions and recycling info in the user's language. Shoppers can identify the right SKU on shelf without picking up each pack or asking staff for help.

“Everyone has the right to know what they're buying, so by integrating NaviLens to the front of the Always Discreet packs, the brand is further enabling this for all. I'm thrilled to see the brand enter into this pilot partnership as it represents the first step towards improving accessibility and representation in product design and marketing.”

Sumaira Latif · Company Accessibility Leader, P&G · Always Discreet × NaviLens pilot launch · Apr 2023
Always Discreet UK ↗

2021–2022
P&G + RNIB · prior work
P&G and RNIB have been working together on accessible packaging for years: tactile symbols on Herbal Essences and Pantene, NaviLens on Olay and Ariel. Always Discreet inherits that learning.
Apr 2023
World-first announcement · Always Discreet pilot
P&G announces the pilot: four Always Discreet SKUs (pads and pants) ship in the UK with NaviLens on the front. Coverage in Packaging News, AbilityNet and FMCG trade press.
2024–2025
Consolidation and extension
The pilot is consolidated across the UK range and P&G extends the NaviLens standard to other feminine and personal-care brands in the portfolio.