I. research background of children's food industry
1. The birth rate of newborns continues to decline, but the scale of mother and infant market continues to expand. According to the trend of China's birth population and the scale of China's mother and infant market from 2014 to 2020 compiled by the National Bureau of statistics and the Institute of prospective industry, China's birth rate has continued to decline since 2016, but the scale of mother and infant market has continued to expand.
In recent years, the disposable income of Chinese residents has increased steadily, with the growth rate maintained at about 9%. In 2020, it will fall back due to the impact of the epidemic. However, with the steady improvement of national consumption power, children's food consumption investment has also promoted the sustainable development of "baby economy" related products. According to the data released by China children's industry center, children's expenditure in 80% of households accounts for 30% ~ 50% of the total household expenditure. The average annual consumption of family children is about 17000 ~ 25500 yuan, and the annual consumption market of children is about 3.9 trillion ~ 5.9 trillion yuan. Food consumption is an important expenditure in children's daily consumption.
In the category of baby supplementary food, according to the statistics of magic mirror Market Intelligence and relevant data of Taobao + tmall baby supplementary food in 2021, the four categories of supplementary food with the highest sales are molar stick / biscuit, rice flour / rice paste / soup, noodles, fruit / vegetable / meat / mixed mud.
The four leaf categories of molar stick, rice flour, noodles and fruit / vegetable / meat / mixed mud contributed more than 90% of the market share. Among them, the market share of molar stick / biscuit was the highest, reaching 31.6%, rice flour and rice paste accounted for 30.3%, noodles accounted for 15.4% and fruit / vegetable / meat / mixed mud accounted for 13.4%.
In the category of baby snacks, according to the statistics of magic mirror Market Intelligence and relevant data of Taobao + tmall baby snacks in 2021, the four categories of baby snacks with the highest sales are dissolved beans, cheese, puffs and pulp strips.
The total market share of the four leaf categories of dissolved beans, cheese, puffs and pulp strips reached more than 70%. Baby's snacks during the period of 4-12 months are mainly dissolved beans, which account for the highest market share, 20.5%; After the age of 1, the snacks you can choose mainly include cheese, puffs and pulp strips; After the age of 3, the types of choices will be more abundant and stable, such as sausage, seaweed, milk tablets and so on.
As the main buyer of baby snacks, parents in economically developed areas are more willing to spend on baby snacks. According to the market intelligence data of magic mirror, among the top cities in terms of baby snack sales in 2021, Shanghai, Anhui and Zhejiang accounted for more than 73% of the total sales, and Shanghai had the highest sales, at 35.4%.
According to the statistics of the overall consumption trend of tmall Jingdong 618 promotion by magic mirror Market Intelligence in 2021, it is found that the growth rate of children related products continues to rise, and new concepts related to children are constantly put forward. In the category of children's food, the baby snack has the highest year-on-year growth rate, and the infant condiment (New) has the highest year-on-year growth rate. Children's food has gradually changed from "optional" to "just needed" in daily consumption
2. Online research on the considerations of parents in purchasing children's food
According to the special online survey data of machimang Research Institute on how consumers buy children's snacks in June 2021, the proportion of children aged 0 ~ 3 whose snack purchase decision is decided by their parents has increased from 85.8% in 2019 to 92.1%; Meanwhile, the proportion of children aged 6-14 who decide to buy snacks by themselves has decreased from 89.75% in 2019 to 83.35%. The change in the proportion of decision-making power for the purchase of these two snacks means that parents are more and more involved in children's snack choices, and pay more and more attention to whether the snacks chosen by children can play the role of dietary supplement and whether they are really healthy and nutritious.
As the post-85s and post-90s enter the peak of fertility, the post-90s and post-95s begin to enter marriage and gradually become the backbone of fertility groups. The new generation of parents pay more and more attention to children's food. What factors do they pay more attention to when buying children's food? In June 2021, machimang Research Institute conducted an online special survey on "the factors most concerned by children's parents when purchasing children's food". The survey results show that the top three factors concerned by parents when buying children's food are "simple ingredients without addition", "high nutritional value" and "sugar free and low sodium", accounting for 71.8%, 67.3% and 52.4% respectively. Compared with the survey results in 2019, the attention on whether the product has certain functions, such as "improving immunity and supplementing calcium, iron and zinc", accounting for 46.3%.
According to the data of the 2020 blue book on healthy meals for children in China, 42.79% of parents believe that "children's snacks are an extra meal demand beyond three meals" in terms of their understanding of children's snacks, but 46.77% of parents believe that "snacks are indispensable, but they will choose healthy snacks" in terms of their attitude towards children's eating snacks. Healthy children's snacks should not only meet the requirements of "no sugar, low sodium and no addition", but also play the role of dietary supplement and balanced nutrition in addition to three meals.
According to the research results of machimang Research Institute, for the snack choices of the same category, parents are more willing to choose products with functional and beneficial ingredients. Among these nutrients, parents are most concerned about "trace elements", accounting for 70%; Whether it "contains dietary fiber" accounts for 56%; Whether the addition of "probiotics and prebiotics" can regulate the baby's intestines and stomach and promote nutrient digestion and absorption, accounting for 46%. It is also soluble beans. Parents prefer to choose products with some special nutritional elements. For the new generation of parents with an open mind and a high degree of acceptance, snacks are not a scourge. They can be used as children's daily nutritional supplement. They can be accepted as long as they choose healthy snacks and eat them in a controlled amount at the right time.
