Sales of baby food, drink and milk were up by 6.3% in 2015 to £694 million, while volumes saw 1.1% growth to 96 m kg.

Baby milk that accounts for 65% of the market by value drove sales in the wider market, seeing year-on-year value and volume growth that defied the fall in the birth rate in England and Wales in 2014. This shows that births alone are not driving growth with follow-on and growing up milks keeping children in the market for longer.

Strong advertising spend on follow-on milk (accounting for more than 90% of spend in 2015) is helping to support this, while premiumisation in the baby milk market, such as by Aptamil, should further help to add value.

Savoury meals and dishes continued to dominate new product launches, although the largest growth over 2014-15 was seen in biscuits and rusks and drinks, both attempting to counter the recent negative attention on sugar by looking to low/no/reduced (L/N/R) sugar variants.

Homemade food continues to pose competition to the market; emphasising the emotional benefits that the convenience of baby food offers could serve to grant parents permission to take this shortcut, with a greater number seeing manufactured baby food as more convenient than homemade.

This report includes products manufactured specifically for babies and infants aged primarily under two years, although manufacturers are targeting older infants with commercial products.

The report covers:

• milks, including liquid ready-to-feed (RTF) products

• meals and desserts (wet and dry, including cereals and dairy-based)

• baby drinks

• finger foods, including rusks, ‘extruded snacks’, baby rice cakes, biscuits and fruit snacks.

Baby drinks include ready-to-drink (RTD) liquids, which are generally presented in plastic bottles for decanting into a feeding bottle or beaker, as well as concentrates, and powdered granulated drinks, for dilution with water.