Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Products covered in this Report
- Definitions
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- Figure 1: Mintel’s definition of different income groups, China
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Volume sales may grow slowly due to lower than expected birth rate
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- Figure 2: Best-and worst-case value sales forecast of IMF market, China, 2012-22
- More concentrated IMF market is normalising under regulation
- Key players
- A harvest year for domestic brands
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- Figure 3: Leading companies value share in IMF market, China, 2016-17
- Premium products help take more market share
- Leading players optimise product portfolio to enhance competitiveness
- Online platforms help brands communicate with consumers effectively
- The consumer
- Specialised mother and baby care store remains the top choice
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- Figure 4: IMF purchase channels, China, Jan 2018
- One third of surveyed consumers choose Mead Johnson
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- Figure 5: Brand(s) purchased in the past six months, China, Jan 2018
- Experienced peer parents’ advice has dominating impact
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- Figure 6: Purchase influencers of IMF and baby supplementary food, China, 2017 and 2018
- Friso enjoys high brand loyalty and appeals to potential brand-switchers
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- Figure 7: Premium IMF brands purchase intention, China, Jan 2018
- Practical product features are the main switching triggers
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- Figure 8: Trigger of brand switch, China, Jan 2018
- Nutrition, absorption and milk source are the top three premium features
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- Figure 9: Premiumisation opportunity, China, Jan 2018
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Opportunity of upgraded offerings on e-commerce platforms
- The facts
- The implications
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- Figure 10: Zhuo Chun NAN, China, 2018
- Adjust nutrition content to avoid over-consuming
- The facts
- The implications
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- Figure 11: Average protein content in IMF, China, France, Germany, South Korea, USA and UK, 2013-17
- Figure 12: IMF products claiming well-balanced nutrition, Australia, South Korea & Vietnam, 2017-18
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- Figure 13: IMF products claiming to adjust nutrition, Switzerland, France and South Korea, 2018
- The positioning of liquid formula milk
- The facts
- The implications
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- Figure 14: Growing up milk in regular milk bottle, Germany, 2018
- Figure 15: Liquid formula milk/soya milk implying usage occasions, China, 2018
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- Figure 16: Wyeth’s imported liquid formula milk for kids aged three to seven, China, 2018
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Volume sales of the IMF category will grow slower than value sales
- Specialised mother and baby care stores and online channels contribute a lot to sales
Market Size and Forecast
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- Volume sales grow slowly due to lower birth rate in 2017
- Premiumisation will drive more market value growth
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- Figure 17: Best-and worst-case volume sales forecast of IMF market, China, 2012-22
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- Figure 18: Best-and worst-case value sales forecast of IMF market, China, 2012-22
Market Factors
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- Second child policy won’t promise the rise of the market for long
- Major brands have passed registration, mostly local ones
- Milk powder for pregnant/lactating women is catching the trend
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- Figure 19: Consumers who drank formula for pregnant women in the past five years, by tier, MHI and willingness of having more children, China, Jan 2018
- The older generation has a say in raising new born babies
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- Figure 20: Living situation, by kids’ age, China, Jan 2018
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- Nestlé is still the leading brand
- Domestic brands are taking market share from foreign brands
Market Share
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- A harvest year for domestic brands
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- Figure 21: Leading companies’ value share in IMF market, China, 2016-17
- Premium products help take more market share
Competitive Strategies
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- Update current offering with new type of milk source
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- Figure 22: A2 IMF, China, 2016
- Figure 23: Introduction of Illuma Atwo, China, 2018
- Introduce brands that have been successful in other major markets
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- Figure 24: Introduction of SMA Preshia on its Tmall official online store, China, 2018
- Figure 25: Nutramigen, USA, 2016
- Immediate packaging updating after registration
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- Figure 26: New and old version of IMF packaging, China, 2018
- Figure 27: Eleva on JD Mall and official website, China, 2018
Who’s Innovating?
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- Less well-known ingredients become common ones
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- Figure 28: Select nutrients used in IMF, China, 2015-17
- Figure 29: Products with linoleic acid, lutein and lactoferrin, China, 2018
- New tech assisting quality assurance
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- Figure 30: Mead Johnson’s AR tracking function through QQ, China, 2018
- Strengthen the bond with mums with the help of influencers
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Specialised mother and baby care stores are still the most popular channel
- Mead Johnson, Wyeth, Abbott and Beingmate are the most embraced
- Experienced peer parents have undoubted major influence
- Premium features lie more on the end benefits of IMF
Purchase Channel
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- Specialised mother and baby care stores remain the top choice
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- Figure 31: IMF purchase channels, China, Jan 2018
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- Figure 32: Ranking of preferred IMF purchase channels, China, 2015 and 2018
- Tier one consumers are moving away from traditional channels
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- Figure 33: Select IMF purchase channels, by tier, China, 2015 and 2018
- Shanghai is leading in online channels
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- Figure 34: IMF purchase channels, by city, China, Jan 2018
- Post 70s stick to traditional channels
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- Figure 35: IMF purchase channels, by generation, China, Jan 2018
Brand Penetration
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- One third of surveyed consumers choose Mead Johnson
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- Figure 36: Brand(s) purchased in the past six months, China, Jan 2018
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- Figure 37: Ranking of IMF brand purchased in the past six months, China, 2017 & 2018
- Top foreign brands gain more fans in Guangzhou and Shanghai
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- Figure 38: Brand(s) purchased in the past six months, by city, China, Jan 2018
- Danone’s IMF brands rely much on certain channels
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- Figure 39: IMF purchase channels, by brand(s) purchased in the past six months, China, Jan 2018
Purchase Influencer
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- Experienced peer parents’ advice has dominating impact
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- Figure 40: Purchase influencers of IMF and baby supplementary food, China, 2017 and 2018
- Post-70s look for more efficient approach
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- Figure 41: The top two purchase influencers, by generation, China, Jan 2018
- Correlation between information source and other factors
- Purchase influencer vs purchase channel
- Purchase influencer vs brand
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- Figure 42: IMF purchase influencer, by brand, China, Jan 2018
Premium Brand Purchase Intention
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- Friso enjoys high brand loyalty and appeals to potential brand-switchers
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- Figure 43: Premium IMF brands purchase intention, China, Jan 2018
- Females’ loyalty of Illuma varies depending on their age
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- Figure 44: Premium IMF brands purchase intention, by gender and age, China, Jan 2018
- Friso Prestige and Eleva appeal more to users of Stage 3 IMF
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- Figure 45: Premium IMF brands purchase intention, by baby’s age, China, Jan 2018
- Most super-premium brands have similar performance across tiers
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- Figure 46: Premium IMF brands purchase intention, by city tier, China, Jan 2018
Trigger of Product Switch
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- Practical product features are the main switching triggers
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- Figure 47: Trigger of brand switch, China, Jan 2018
- Young parents are more likely to change their minds for external reasons
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- Figure 48: Trigger of brand switch, China, Jan 2018
- Tier one consumers have diverse needs for product switching
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- Figure 49: Trigger of brand switch, China, Jan 2018
Premium Product Factors
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- Nutrition, absorption and milk source are the top three premium features
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- Figure 50: Premiumisation opportunity, China, Jan 2018
- Most premium features are more relevant to users of Stage 3 IMF
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- Figure 51: IMF purchase channels, China, Jan 2018
Meet the Mintropolitans
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- MinTs are more savvy online IMF buyers
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- Figure 52: IMF purchase channels, China, Jan 2018
- Wyeth and Abbot have gained more fans among MinTs
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- Figure 53: Brand(s) purchased in the past six months, China, Jan 2018
- Non-MinTs are slightly more loyal to most super-premium brands
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- Figure 54: Premium IMF brands purchase intention, by consumer classification, China, Jan 2018
Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
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- Figure 55: Total market volume of IMF, China, 2012-22
- Figure 56: Total market value of IMF, China, 2012-22
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Appendix – Methodology, Definition, and Abbreviations
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- Methodology
- Fan chart forecast
- Abbreviations
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