Gary Osborne, Insight & Brand Planning Specialist, Bord Bia - The Irish Food Board
The Children’s nutrition market is far from an easy nut to crack. A recent New Nutrition Business Survey found that the failure rate in this sub-section of the food and beverage market was higher than in any other. Of 71 kids start up brands started since 2003, 47% have completely disappeared. Profitability for survivors has proved very challenging.
One brand however has bucked these trends. Ella’s Kitchen is a range of organic baby and toddler food from the UK sold in several international markets and has driven category change within childrens’ nutrition offering resealable, squeezable pouches as an alternative to the traditional glass jar. This packaging innovation fits with several of the consumer lifestyle trends identified by Bord Bia. It helps busy parents by providing greater convenience and keeps the product fresher for longer helping them to get more healthy fruit and veg goodness into their little ones. This is further emphasized by 2019’s Mintel Children’s Healthy Eating Habits which found that only 18% of children are eating the recommended 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day. Of course, the pouches from the Ella’s Kitchen range are also more sustainable, the brand being very keen to stress its green credentials and how it needs fewer lorries and less fuel for transportation than its competitors.
The New Nutrition report makes further recommendations that Irish food and drink companies interested in developing kids products should take note of. The age range targeted is a real determinant of success. The 1-6 year olds are the easiest to win over. Primarily it’s parents who are the decision makers as to what children in this age bracket eat. They want reassurance they’re giving their children the best start possible so health is a strong motivation for purchase. ‘No added sugar’ is a requirement. Parents will accept the natural sugar in fruit and vegetables given their other nutritional components but reject anything else as ‘unhealthy’. 7-11 year olds are much more likely to make their own food choices and most brands that try to target this age range fail. 12 and above is even more difficult. Here you are in direct competition with adult products. Protein and energy for example are just as interesting to this group as they are to 20-somethings.
Finally, when it comes to the type of product to develop think ‘snackification’. Kerry Foods ‘Attack A Snack’, has become the fastest growing cheese snack in the UK, up by almost 18% in 2019. This is partly driven by its ‘anywhere, anytime food’ positioning. It can be lunch at home or at school or it can be a ‘between meal’ filler before play group or extra-curricular activity. Contrast this with brands like ‘Little Dish’ a range of child-friendly, chilled ready meals launched in 2005, including ‘fish pie and vegetables’. One of the reasons it hasn’t been more successful is that by being positioned as a main meal its usage occasions are limited. Only a relatively small number of parents have become convinced of the need for the brand in their regular shop.
References:
MINTEL. Children’s Eating Habits UK, 2019
New Nutrition Business. Strategies and Trends in Kids Nutrition, 2020