• China is still driving the baby food and drink market with double-digit growth in both volume and value

• One in five new baby food and drink products launched in 2015 was an infant formula / growing-up milk

• Over a third of the baby food and drink (excluding milk/formula) launched globally is certified organic

Once again, the baby food and drink market enjoyed strong performance in 2015, driven by the fast growing Chinese market which for the past several years, has experienced double-digit growth in both volume and value. However, tougher regulations are posing a threat to manufacturers as they are required to invest to meet the new standards.

Elsewhere, performance is mixed. In the US, the second largest baby food market, slow growth is coming from brands adding value into the category while volume sales are down. In France, both volume and value sales are in decline despite a consistent number of newborns. And in Germany, a slight increase in the number of births is beefing up the market.

Figure 1: Top fastest growing baby food market (%), cagr (compound annual growth rate) from the last 5

years retail value

Note: CAGR figures are based on the value of the market in the local currency over the last five years

Click here to zoom

Source: Retail World, Economist Intelligence Unit, Ministry of Commerce, Badan Pusat Statistic Indonesia, Information Resources, Inc. / Mintel

In 2015, China was also the most innovative country, accounting for one in 10 new launches of baby food and drink products globally. France and Italy are the next most innovative countries, launching 8% and 6% of the new baby food and drink, respectively. The US significantly reduced its introduction of new products, only accounting for 6%, compared to 9% in 2014.

Globally, the share of fruit products, desserts and yogurt introductions once again increased in 2015, and so did the savoury meals and dishes segment. In 2015, the milk segment - including infant formula and growing-up milk – represented 20% of the newly launched baby food and drink products.

In baby food and drink, excluding milk/formula, naturalness remains the major platform of innovation with nearly six in 10 (56%) of the products launched in 2015 featuring a no additives/preservatives claim and over a third (37%) of them being organic certified. In the past three years, a third of new baby food and drink launched globally have claimed to be free from gluten.

Please note: the market size data referenced in this report is current as of January 31, 2016