Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Products covered in this Report
- Definition
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- Figure 1: Mintel’s definition of different income groups, China
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Value growth driven by consumers trading up
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- Figure 2: Retail market value and volume of baby supplementary food, China, 2013-17
- Figure 3: Best- and worst-case forecast of retail baby supplementary food market, by value, China, 2012-22
- A more diverse category, along with more sophisticated consumers
- Key players
- Online channels help foreign brands gain reputation
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- Figure 4: Leading companies’ share of retail baby supplementary food market, China, 2015 and 2016
- Naturalness is preferred
- Spicing up the category with a note on adultness
- The consumer
- Opportunity for baby biscuits and rusks
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- Figure 5: Penetration of baby food, China, 2015 and 2017
- Sophisticated consumers put off the starting point of baby food compared to the majority
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- Figure 6: Starting point of baby food usage, China, June 2017
- Packaged meat/fish dishes see greater potential
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- Figure 7: Penetration of different types of homemade baby food, China, June 2017
- Natural ingredients as the top priority
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- Figure 8: Valued product information, China, June 2017
- Parents are open to various information sources
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- Figure 9: Purchase influencers, China, June 2017
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Opportunity for baby’s drinking water
- The facts
- The implications
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- Figure 10: Introduction of Nongfu Spring’s baby drinking water, China, 2017
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- Figure 11: Nongfu Spring’s list of trace element content, China, 2017
- Figure 12: Baby drinking water brands with L/N/R sodium claims, Slovakia, Italy and France, 2016-17
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- Figure 13: Baby drinking water using emotional communication, China, 2017
- Figure 14: Flavoured water for babies, Poland and Czech Republic, 2017
- Convince parents with higher educational level
- The facts
- The implications
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- Figure 15: Beech-Nut’s commercial, US, 2017
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- Figure 16: Products with ingredients that can be associated with certain benefits, US, Hong Kong and Vietnam, 2016-17
- How can packaged baby foods fill the gaps where homemade foods do not fit in?
- The facts
- The implications
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- Figure 17: Innovative baby snack forms that are less seen in the Chinese market, US, Japan and Austria, 2017
- Figure 18: Baby food products that are both easy to use and positioned as on the go, Japan, US and Switzerland, 2017
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- Figure 19: Pigeon salmon and corn porridge, China, 2017
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Baby supplementary food market driven by trading up
- Deeper understanding of the category requiring more sophisticated marketing approaches
Market Size and Forecast
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- Value growth triggered by trading up
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- Figure 20: Retail market value and volume of baby supplementary food, China, 2013-17
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- Figure 21: Best- and worst-case forecast of retail baby supplementary food market, by value, China, 2012-22
- The second-child policy will further boost the category
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- Figure 22: Best- and worst-case forecast of retail baby supplementary food market, by volume, China, 2012-22
Market Segmentation
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- Looking into a more diverse category
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- Figure 23: Volume share of baby supplementary food segments, China, 2016
- Figure 24: New launches of baby supplementary food, by segment, China, Japan, South Korea, US and UK, 2016
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- Figure 25: Baby food products with a touch on localness, Japan, 2016-17
- Biscuits or rusks as entry products
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- Figure 26: Biscuits claiming to help babies learn certain skills, UK and South Korea, 2017
- Purée – Convenience and authenticity
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- Figure 27: Select package types of baby supplementary food, China, 2014-16
- Figure 28: Plum Organics “Eat Your Colors”, US, 2016
Market Factors
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- National Dietary Guideline has detailed instruction for baby food
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- Figure 29: Vitamin D supplement for baby, China, 2016
- Extended parental leave enables parents to spend more time researching
- Imported volume and value will see great growth in 2017
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- Figure 30: Imported volume of baby supplementary food in the Chinese market, by country, H1 2016 and H1 2017
- More from high income groups are considering having a second child
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- Figure 31: Willingness of having a second child, by city, China, June 2017
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- Figure 32: Females’ intention of having a second child, by household income levels, China, January and June 2017
- More nuclear families among those with a higher educational level
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- Figure 33: Family structure, by gender, age and educational level, China, June 2017
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- Foreign brands are booming via online channels
- There are new angles of communication
Market Share
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- Heinz maintains competitive edge
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- Figure 34: Leading companies’ share of retail baby supplementary food market, China, 2015 and 2016
- Foreign brands gaining reputation through online channels
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- Figure 35: Select claims of baby supplementary food, by import status, 2014-17(Aug)
- Local manufacturers taking the market by diversified offerings
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- Figure 36: New launches of baby supplementary food, by brand, China, 2014-16
Competitive Strategies
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- Using ingredients that are usually found in infant milk formula
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- Figure 37: Gerber’s cereal with DHA and probiotics, China, 2017
- Communicating freshness from new angles
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- Figure 38: Brands communicating freshness through packaging and delivery, China, 2017
- Figure 39: Born Pure introducing high-pressure processing technology, Australia, 2016
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- Figure 40: Bebecook rice ball, which can be used to create various types of dishes, South Korea, 2015
- Gaining consumers’ attention from prenatal stage
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- Figure 41: Eastwes “My Lucky Baby”, China, 2017
- Figure 42: Beverages designed for pregnant women, India, Norway and Japan, 2016-17
Who’s Innovating?
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- More about being natural rather than functional benefits
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- Figure 43: Select claims of baby supplementary food, China, 2014-16
- Figure 44: Select claims of baby supplementary food, China and US, 2016
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- Figure 45: Baby food with “ease to use” claim, China, 2017
- Sauce and seasonings for homemade baby supplementary food
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- Figure 46: Oil and sauce for babies, Vietnam, 2016-17
- Figure 47: Pea pasta and pasta sauce, China, 2017
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- Figure 48: Salt claiming to be suitable for pregnant women, China, 2017
- More possibilities in drink segment
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- Figure 49: Jelly juice for babies, UK, 2017
- Figure 50: Tea products targeting babies, Germany and South Korea, 2017
- Avoid clichés in the category
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- Figure 51: Baby supplementary food with a diverse selection of vegetables, China, 2017
- Figure 52: Baby supplementary food featuring a touch on adults’ dishes, Spain and Japan, 2017
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Packaged and homemade baby food are not exclusive
- Parents moving forward the starting point of packaged baby food
- Naturalness as the top priority
- Parents love going to professionals for advice on baby food
Usage of Baby Food
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- Homemade food advocators are also using packaged products
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- Figure 53: Penetration of baby food, China, June 2017
- Biscuits and rusks are more likely to be daily treats
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- Figure 54: Penetration of packaged baby supplementary food, China, 2015 and 2017
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- Figure 55: Frequency of packaged baby supplementary food consumption, China, June 2017
- Preference for baby supplementary food across different regions
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- Figure 56: Penetration of packaged baby supplementary food, by city, China, June 2017
Starting Point of Baby Food Usage
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- Baby food comes at an earlier stage in high-income families
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- Figure 57: Starting point of baby food usage, China, June 2017
- Chengdu consumers give supplementary food to kids earlier
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- Figure 58: Starting point of using baby supplementary food, by city, China, June 2017
Homemade Baby Food
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- Staple food is the most common type of homemade supplementary food
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- Figure 59: Penetration of different types of homemade baby food, China, June 2017
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- Figure 60: Weighted average types of baby supplementary food consumed, by baby’s age, China, June 2017
- Different preference across tier one cities
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- Figure 61: Penetration of different types of homemade baby food, by city, China, June 2017
- Homemade food users have concerns on additives and salt intake
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- Figure 62: Penetration of different types of homemade baby food, by consumers who value safety-related product features, China, June 2017
- Figure 63: Penetration of different types of homemade baby food, China, June 2017
Valued Product Information
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- Naturalness gains more attention while “imported” claim has lost its halo
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- Figure 64: Valued product information, China, June 2017
- Educational benefits are welcomed
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- Figure 65: The lid of Heinz product serving as toy, China, 2017
- L/N/R sugar/salt claims are niche
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- Figure 66: Valued information – TURF analysis, June 2017
- Clean label is favoured by the elder ones
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- Figure 67: Valued product information, by age, China, June 2017
Purchase Influencers
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- Parents are open to various information sources
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- Figure 68: Purchase influencers, China, June 2017
- Consumers in Chengdu are in great need of category knowledge
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- Figure 69: Information sources that will affect purchase decision, by city, China, June 2017
- Consumers with a higher educational level are less likely to be tricked
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- Figure 70: Purchase influencers, by educational level, China, June 2017
Meet the Mintropolitans
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- Feed baby with packaged food at a later age
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- Figure 71: Starting point of baby food usage, by consumer classification, China, June 2017
- Figure 72: Homemade baby food, by consumer classification, China, June 2017
- MinTs have higher requirements on packaged baby food
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- Figure 73: Valued product information, by consumer classification, China, June 2017
- On-pack label or instructions are more important to MinTs
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- Figure 74: Purchase influencers, by consumer classification, China, June 2017
Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
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- Figure 75: Value sales of China’s baby supplementary food retail market, 2012-22
- Figure 76: Volume sales of China’s baby supplementary food retail market, 2012-22
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Appendix – Methodology, Definition, and Abbreviations
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- Methodology
- Fan chart forecast
- Abbreviations
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