Latest Trends in Infant Nutrition: From Organic to Personalisation

We have seen trends such as personalisation, natural and immunity growing increasingly popular in the global food & beverage market for adult consumers. However, leading experts are acknowledging that these “adult-nutrition trends” are starting to present in the infant nutrition segment as well.

Often dubbed a ‘mega trend’ in the everyday nutrition category, digestive function and gut health is increasingly popular across the Western Hemisphere ⁽¹⁾. A primary influence on gut health is of course our diet. As consumers’ understanding is increasing, we see a growing demand for a range of products to address digestive concerns. Babies in particular can be highly sensitive to anything they eat because they have less mature digestive systems.

The focus on digestive health also helped fuel the awareness of building infant immunity.  Last year saw a strong increase in online searches for “immunity”, but these numbers tripled within the first two months of the Covid-19 outbreak ⁽⁶⁾. This has had a huge impact on parents’ appetites for solutions and products which could provide enhanced protection for the entire family.

New-born babies have inexperienced immune systems and their diet plays a key role in building strong immunity foundations⁽⁷⁾. Although breast milk is the ideal nutrition for infants, in cases where breastfeeding is not possible, parents want a quality paediatric nutrition solution to support the infant immune system. Parents are becoming aware of the benefits of advanced nutritional ingredients, which is reflected in the growing demand for probiotics for infants and children ⁽⁸⁾.

Another ‘adult-nutrition’ trend increasingly appearing in the infant nutrition market is a growing demand for products featuring natural or organic claims. This is appealing to the rising health-conscious consumer who wants to know how their food was made. 

When we think ‘organic’, we often think of products that have been produced sustainably. However, amongst today’s consumers, the idea of ‘organic’ goes beyond the environmental aspect, coming to encompass quality, traceability, and the feeling of ‘naturalness’ ⁽¹⁰⁾. Brands are moving to promote ‘natural’ claims that aren’t category-specific, and in the paediatric nutrition area, these include strong provenance (including traceability), grass-fed and organic positioning.

It seems that sustainability and health concerns are driving a lot of this growth in organic demand. 47% of global consumers seek organic food and drinks because of environmental concerns. Also, 58% of global consumers seek organic food and drinks because it “makes them feel healthier” ⁽¹¹⁾. So it is not a far stretch to assume these connotations extend to parents wanting to provide organic products for their children.

Rising ‘adult’ trends aren’t the only shift predicted in the infant nutrition area, with a focus on personalised formulas according to region. Consumers have a growing belief that diet cannot be “one size fits all” and are looking for products that meet their specific regional and personal needs.

With a much broader range of infant formulas available, parents can now select a formula based on their infants' needs and preferences including a specific health benefit, preferred format, country of origin and “natural” features.  More personalised infant formulas are now available to manage children’s health concerns such as reducing the risk of developing allergies or promoting digestive comfort.

There is a growing drive from dietary guidelines worldwide to incorporate more fruit and vegetables into our diets. Whilst some choose to be 100% plant-based, many are adopting diets that combine both plant and animal-derived foods like dairy to achieve a more holistic outcome ⁽¹²⁾.

We now see a bubbling interest in plant-based infant nutrition being flagged by industry experts. 

Industry commentators are quick to point out that the aim of infant formulations should be to provide optimal nutrition and get as close to breast milk as possible. As breast milk is clearly not plant-based, it is a bigger challenge to provide vegan infant formula with high enough nutritional quality to meet infants’ needs ⁽¹⁴⁾. However, new developments in upcoming ingredients may enable progress in vegan products and provide a broader range of plant-based foods for all consumers wishing to incorporate more plant-based choices.