Insights
Probiotics Opportunities for Infants and Children
Read about five key opportunities in the food and beverage market for brands catering to infants and children.
30 Jul 2021
2 min
There is a growing opportunity in probiotics for brands catering to infants and children and brands who want to jump into this opportunity need to create a stronger call out on pack between probiotics and consumer desired benefits.
Read on to uncover five key opportunities in the probiotics space.
1. Parents are looking at probiotics to support a range of their children's health needs.
Top reasons for giving probiotic vitamins and supplements to children1:
Digestive Health
Immune System
Heart Health
General Health
Anti-inflammatory
2. Immunity benefit is a stronger driver than digestive health in some markets.
Markets where immunity is a top reason for giving vitamins and supplements to children1:
Mexico
UAE
China
Australia
South Africa
Brazil
Probiotics have gone from strength to strength as a hero ingredient in the supplement and health and wellness segments. The COVID-19 pandemic in particular has accelerated consumers' desire to re-evaluate health goals. As they take action to support their wellbeing for the long term, the demand for probiotics is expected to grow.
3. In the milk formula category, the probiotics segment continues to grow each year.
Retail value of Probiotic FF Milk Formula year exchange rate (USD billion)2:
This opportunity can also extend to products catering to infants and children. Parents today are already seeking the health benefits of probiotics for their children through vitamins and supplements. However, an untapped opportunity presents itself here as, beyond digestive health, there is a growing demand for immunity that has been linked to the impact of the COVID-19. pandemic.
4. Many Asian markets are key to this growing segment:
Top 10 markets for Probiotic FF Milk Formula (% Share of total value in 2020):2
5. Opportunity exists for the Milk Formula market to capitalise on growing associations
Over the last five years in the Chinese market only:3
12%
of Milk Formula NPDs that claim immunity also call out probiotics on pack.
And only:
18%
of Milk Formula NPDs that claim immunity also call out prebiotics on pack.
Brands can leverage this trend by offering more convenient and accessible solutions through everyday food and beverages. For example, the milk formula probiotics segment is already seeing good growth driven by Asian markets, especially China.
Few brands to date are highlighting this connection for their products as in the case of milk formula in China.
Brands need to support parents in finding the right probiotic solution for their children by creating this immunity connection, either on pack or through marketing channels.
References
- [1] Euromonitor Health and Nutrition Survey 2021.
- [2] Euromonitor.
- [3] Mintel GNPD, based on NPD launched 2016-2021.
