AIRE expands availability across more than 20 AEON stores as it seeks to normalise conversations around bladder leakage, dignity and independence.
Malaysia is getting older, but some of the realities that can affect people as they age remain difficult for families to talk about openly. The latest figures from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) show that people aged 65 and above accounted for 8.4% of Malaysia’s population in the second quarter of 2026, up from 8.0% a year earlier.
Among the issues that can affect older adults is urinary incontinence. Malaysia’s National Health and Morbidity Survey has identified embarrassment and reluctance to seek treatment among the challenges surrounding urinary incontinence in older people, while recommending greater public education and awareness. More recent guidance from the World Health Organization describes urinary incontinence among older people as under-recognised and under-reported, noting that it can affect self-esteem, confidence about going out and social participation, with potential consequences including isolation and loneliness.
Against this backdrop, incontinence care brand AIRE is expanding its presence in Malaysia, with its products now available at more than 20 selected AEON outlets across six states and two Federal Territories, including Selangor, Johor, Penang, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Kelantan, as well as Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, alongside AIRE Malaysia’s Shopee and TikTok Shop.
The expansion comes with a wider ambition to address an issue that is often hidden in plain sight. Urinary incontinence can affect how older adults participate in everyday life, yet embarrassment and stigma can make it difficult for individuals and families to talk about it openly or seek support. For AIRE, changing that means going beyond product availability to rethink how older adults themselves are represented and served. By developing products with seniors and caregivers, while investing in greater education and awareness, the brand hopes to help reframe ageing and ensure that incontinence does not unnecessarily limit confidence, independence or quality of life.
A brand born from one family’s experience
Behind AIRE is Nivedita Venkateish, its founder, whose decision to build the brand was shaped by a deeply personal experience with her grandmother, Anasuya.
A former champion cyclist and mathematician, Anasuya developed urinary incontinence later in life. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when she was around 90, she initially resisted using adult diapers because of the embarrassment and stigma she associated with them.
One night, while making repeated trips to the bathroom, she suffered a serious fall and was subsequently bedridden for months. When she eventually began using existing incontinence products, Venkateish encountered another problem, in which the products available to her grandmother were uncomfortable, rough against her skin and did not fit her body well.
The experience prompted Venkateish to question why older consumers were expected to compromise on products they relied on every day. After a career spanning consumer and technology companies, she founded AIRE in Singapore in 2023 with the aim of approaching incontinence care as a consumer category, giving older adults the same consideration around comfort, fit, choice and experience routinely expected in products designed for younger consumers.
Designed with older Asian consumers, not simply for them
That thinking has shaped how AIRE develops its products. Rather than designing around a generic idea of an elderly consumer, the company says its incontinence wear has gone through multiple prototypes and rounds of consumer testing, with feedback from seniors, caregivers and people living with incontinence helping shape elements including fit, sizing, material and absorbency.
AIRE has also designed its range with the region’s hot and humid climate and Asian body sizes in mind. Its Ultra Protection pull-up pants use breathable, cottony-soft materials, while the range begins from a 22-inch waist size for smaller-framed consumers.
Its Malaysia range currently includes Adult Pull Up Pants, Ultra Pull Up Pants and Ultra Tape Diaper, providing options for different levels of leakage and care needs.
But Venkateish believes designing better products is only one part of changing how ageing is approached.
Older adults are not disappearing from the digital world
The perception of older adults as largely offline consumers is also increasingly out of step with how Malaysians are living. Older Malaysians are also becoming increasingly connected consumers. DOSM data show that 92.3% of Malaysians aged 60 and above used the internet in 2025, up from 91.6% a year earlier. Earlier analysis by Khazanah Research Institute found that more than a third (35.3%) of connected seniors were already using platforms such as Shopee and Lazada, while 96.1% participated in online social networks, challenging the perception that older consumers are largely disconnected from digital commerce and online communities.
AIRE has increasingly brought that thinking into how it communicates with older consumers. Rather than only featuring seniors as recipients of care, the brand has worked with older adults themselves as creators, product demonstrators and storytellers. Venkateish has previously highlighted an AIRE collaboration with a “granfluencer” in her 80s who regularly creates TikTok livestreams and affiliate content, while AIRE investor DSG Consumer Partners has reported that several of the brand’s senior-led TikTok videos have drawn hundreds of thousands of views and engagement.
The approach also extends beyond product education. AIRE has used its channels and community activities to spotlight active ageing, share practical information around bladder health and movement, and create opportunities for seniors themselves to participate.
“The product matters because it should work well, but our ambition is bigger than the product. Older adults are not one-dimensional, and they are not simply people who need to be cared for. They are consumers, creators and active participants in their communities. Our job is to listen to them and build with them, whether that is the fit of a product, how we communicate or the kind of community activities we create. Ultimately, we want people living with incontinence to feel that it does not have to define what they can do, where they can go or how confidently they live,” said Venkateish.
The Malaysia expansion follows AIRE’s growth in Singapore, where the business had reached approximately 100 retail points and seven-figure annual revenue by late 2025. In Malaysia, AIRE plans to build on its retail presence through community engagement and education for seniors, families and caregivers, including initiatives aimed at improving understanding of incontinence care while creating greater visibility for active and independent ageing.
AIRE is available through selected AEON outlets across Malaysia, as well as online via Shopee Malaysia and TikTok Shop.
Shopee: AIRE Malaysia
TikTok Shop: @aire.malaysia / @aire.shop
