For the U.S. retail food sector, the children aren’t just the future, they are very much the present. Parents may earn the money to make necessary household purchases, but more often than not when it comes to grocery shopping parents acquiesce to the demands and preferences of their children. In fact, more than a quarter of parents (26%) learn about a new product as a request from their child, according to market research publisher Packaged Facts in the brand-new report, “Kids Food and Beverage Market in the U.S., 8th Edition.”
Developing products that effectively appeal to children is more difficult than it sounds. The kids’ food and beverage market is particularly challenging because industry players have to market to both the end user (the child) and the purchaser (the parent). To that end, understanding trends and factors that influence kids’ food purchases can provide industry players with strategies to better position their company and brands within the market. In the new report, Packaged Facts identifies three mega trends that have and will continue to shape the market for foods created for and marketed to children. They include the following:
The generational influence of the Millennial parent: In 2015, Millennial parents accounted for 42% of all households with children, making them an important segment of the parenting demographic. Additionally, this group will likely continue to represent a growing share of households with children because the Millennial generation spans nearly two decades. Millennial moms tend to place importance on foods that are natural and do not contain artificial ingredients. Healthier, yet affordable foods are very important to these parents.
Multicultural child population continues to grow: Some 28% of Caucasian households have children living in the home, which translates to about 24.9 million households. However, some 50% of Hispanic households have children living in the home, followed by 44% of African American households and 40% of Asian households. For industry players, this means targeting households across the cultural spectrum is one way to hone marketing efforts to ensure reach of a high concentration of families.
Focus on kids’ nutrition through the stealth health and real food movements: One way industry players are providing healthier kid-friendly food and beverage products is through the stealth health movement, which helps parents to increase kids’ fruit and veggie intake while still retaining kid appeal. The stealth health premise is that by hiding servings of fruits and veggies in kid-friendly foods like pastas, pizzas, breads, smoothies, and desserts, that kids will more easily meet daily nutrition requirements. Beyond stealth health, better-for-you (BFY) kids’ foods and beverages are also being tapped through the real food movement. The real food concept incorporates health, animal welfare, social justice, and environmental sustainability; buzzwords that fit under this umbrella are “clean,” “local,” “green,” or “slow,” as well as “fair” and “organic.”
