Sales of children’s personal care products, worth $300.3 million in 2004, have demonstrated remarkable growth--65% between 1999 and 2004. Long-term, the category is expected to continue this growth spurt. In the short-term (2005-2008 in particular), sales may suffer a slight correction due to the spreading impact of 2002’s birthrate nadir in the U.S., the lowest number of U.S. births since national data has been available. However, even this temporary downturn is likely to be offset by the changing demographic landscape.

Overall, the children’s personal care category is likely to continue sales growth because of several relevant factors in the market place. The consistent rise in the number of live births--6.9% increase between 2000 and 2005 and a projected 6.7% increase between 2005 and 2010--and the larger proportion of those births to women aged 30+ with higher disposable incomes, paints a bright picture for the increase in total sales and in the potential dollar amount spent per customer.

Manufacturers have continued to display savvy in terms of their use of licensed characters and all natural products. According to industry experts, parents have displayed a consistent willingness to spend more on children’s products because they will only be used for a short time--typically until the tween years. Also, innovative uses of specialty ingredients, such as bath foam and finger paints, have done well at capturing the interest of young consumers, and will likely continue to do so.

Additionally, the recent entry of luxury brands such as Jurlique, Burberry and Bulgari is raising the profile of the children’s category and expanding visibility in the specialty retail market, although this has yet to manifest significantly in available sales data. Brands such as Mustela, Circle of Friends and Knotty Girl are garnering placement in a growing number of specialty grocery, drug and high-end department stores where per-ticket sales are much higher than those generated by mass distribution channels.

Mintel believes that marketers need to redefine the needs of the 4-to-7 age group. Doing so would recapture sales currently lost both to carryover toddler products and to “hand-me-down” tween products, simultaneously creating new opportunity within the category. Given the current population figures, this may be the most important area of focus in the short term.

For the purposes of this report, children’s personal care products include haircare, oral care, soap, and suncare products made especially for or targeted towards children. Each of the product groups includes the following items:

Haircare: shampoo and conditioner

Oral care: manual toothbrushes, battery-powered toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, dental accessories

Soap: bubble bath and soap

Suncare: sunblock

Only FDM sales of these products are covered in the report. Sales through other channels like Wal-Mart, specialty personal care stores (e.g. Ulta or Sephora) and department stores are not included.