The children's snack market continues to heat up
When snacks also have a "health concept", how can companies seize the new trend?
Wang Can
Recently, the children's snack brand Domaomao completed nearly 100 million yuan in A+ round of financing, which is already its third round of financing this year.
In addition, brands such as Sugele and Full Score Niuniu have also gained capital's favor in the past few months.
The snack food giant Liangpin Shop, The Three Squirrels, and the traditional food giant Shuanghui have also stepped up the layout of the children's snack track.
The market segment of children's snacks continues to heat up and has become a new force in the leisure snack track.
Which children's snacks are on sale in both online and offline markets?
From the perspective of the entire industry, how can companies "break the game"?
A reporter from the Yangtze Evening News conducted an interview.
Trainee Zhan Yuhan Yangtze Evening News/Ziniu News trainee reporter Wang Can
Consumer demand:
Children's snacks are popular with parents due to fewer additives
Ms. Li is a novice mother born in the 90s. Her son is less than two years old. She told reporters, “Bao’s mothers chat with each other about the snack brands they’ve bought; sometimes when they see other children eating, they will come forward and ask; Maternity and baby stores will also check if there is something suitable for children. But it is generally online shopping because there are more discounts." Ms. Li has her own experience in choosing snacks for children. "When children are young, they value brands. Now that the children are a little older, they pay more attention to the ingredients, and generally choose the ones with few or no additives." In addition, there are some special situations that have higher requirements for food.
Cao’s younger brother is 4 years old this year. Because he is a premature baby, his stomach and lungs are not fully developed, and his requirements for food are stricter than those of ordinary children.
Classmate Cao said that it is difficult to find products with few additives in supermarkets. Therefore, mothers usually buy some healthy cakes online or go to the bakery to buy fresh bread.
The reporter learned during the interview that parents with older children do not purchase special snacks for children.
Mr. Fan's son is in the third grade this year. According to him, he usually takes his son to a snack store or supermarket to buy snacks, which are similar to those eaten by adults.
Offline visit:
There are not many snacks for children in ordinary supermarkets
According to the definition of "General Requirements for Children's Snacks" issued by the China Non-staple Food Circulation Association in 2020, children's snacks are all kinds of snack products for children aged 3-12. What are the children's snacks on the market now?
At about one o’clock in the afternoon on November 29, the reporter came to the Yonghui Supermarket on West Tian Street, Longhu Hexi, Nanjing. Here, the snack section occupies half of the total area of the supermarket. When the reporter asked “Is there any snacks for children?” When there was a question, the supermarket staff gave a negative answer.
I have carefully looked at each type of shelf, and there are a small number of healthy snacks advertised as "0 sugar and 0 calories", but there is no slogan suitable for children.
Later, the reporter went to the refrigerator again, where the cheese sticks occupies a large part of the "cheese/cheese" partition.
The outer packaging of these cheese sticks is printed with various cartoon patterns to attract children's attention.
Some products are directly named "Children's Cheese Bars", and the packaging of a certain cheese bar is printed with the words "Focus on Children, Nutrition Research". The products have many selling points of "Calcium supplementation, sodium reduction, and dietary fiber addition", which are suitable for the crowd. For children and adults over 36 months.
At about 1:30 in the afternoon, the reporter came to Laiyifen in Jinao Binrunhui.
According to observations, there are no snacks specially designed and produced for children in the store, but the clerk told reporters, "Many of the snacks eaten by adults in our family can also be eaten by children."
Online survey:
Many companies join the children's snack track
However, the online market is another scene.
According to the "2021 Children's Snacks Consumption Insight Report" released by CBNData on August 25, the number of children's snack brands in the online market and their share in the overall snack market have continued to increase.
In the past year, the growth rate of children's snack consumption and the number of consumers were significantly higher than the overall snack market.
Both the supply side and the consumption side of the children's snack market are prosperous.
The reporter searched through the online shopping platform and found that the snack food giant Liangpin Shop and the three squirrels all have sub-brands of children's snacks.
Leading sales products include hawthorn sticks, molar biscuits, and milk shells.
The veteran meat company Shuanghui has also increased its deployment of snacks for children, launching the "Smart Fun Multi" children's cod sausage.
In addition, the cutting-edge children's snack brand Domaomao also occupies a huge market share. Its official flagship store has 204,000 and 1.22 million subscriptions on Taobao and JD.com's two major e-commerce platforms.
Industry insights:
There are still some gaps in the market
According to the "Children's Snacks 100 Billion New Track Insight Report" released by Inspur New Consumption, the current population of 0-14 years old in my country exceeds 250 million, accounting for nearly 18% of the total population.
The children's snack market is booming, and Huaying Capital even believes that the market size will reach 150 billion yuan in 2023.
In addition, children's snack-related brands have sprung up in the past year, and 5 new brands have been born in May and June alone.
During the interview, the reporter found that there are also some gaps in the current children’s snack market.
For example, consumers are eager for safe and nutritious children's food, and they still doubt whether many children's snacks are really safe; there are not many children's snacks in ordinary supermarkets offline, and it is not convenient to purchase.
Of course, on the other hand, this also means more opportunities for enterprises.
Once you "hold it", "breaking the game" is much simpler.
In this "blue ocean" track, what kind of play can each company adopt to stand out?
China Food Industry Analyst Zhu Danpeng told reporters, “The first is the integrity of the industrial chain, the second is the guarantee of food safety, the third is the stability of quality, the fourth is the tonality of the brand, and the fifth is the service system. Perfect, the sixth is the continuous maintenance of customer stickiness, and the seventh is the continuous innovation of the entire scene.” Therefore, Zhu Danpeng believes that “from the perspective of the future development of the children’s snack industry, in addition to meeting the above-mentioned consumer needs, it also requires policy The capital, industry, and channel sides work together. From the policy side, it must be supported by national standards; from the capital side, it can encourage more new brands to join; from the industrial side, it is necessary to create differentiated advantages; From the channel side, it is necessary to ensure that the product has a relatively large profit."