As the domestic infant formula milk powder market shrinks, more and more milk powder manufacturers put their growth hopes on children's milk powder.
However, a reporter from China Business News found that due to the lack of standards in the children's milk powder industry, the low threshold, and the serious competition for product homogeneity, many brands took the opportunity to brush the ball and advertise the concept of "long height", which made the market more chaotic.
Can "grow tall" milk powder?
On the e-commerce platform, if you search for the keywords of children's milk powder, you will find that a large number of children's growing milk powder brands hope to be linked with "height" and "long height".
One type of milk powder brand is to make a fuss on the product name or trademark, for example, some brands are called Chang Gao Gao, Gao Jiao, Bei Bei Gao; another type of milk powder brand writes "Farewell to the Short" and "Drink Out" on the promotional pictures. Tall", "height, eye protection", etc., or mark giraffes, height measurement tables and other elements on the product packaging.
The price of these milk powders is mostly 200-300 yuan per can, which is almost the same as the price of infant formula milk powder.
In the customer service words of some of the above-mentioned brands, there are also some "hints" of Long Gao. For example, the customer service staff of Long Gao Gao told reporters that the product is "a formula milk powder that promotes Gao Gao and has very good effects", and claimed that customer feedback 2- 3 months can grow 3-5CM, 6 months 6-8CM.
The customer service of another flagship store of Shouguan Food even said that children aged 3-15 can grow 5-7CM in a year, and the children's growth milk powder they sell can exceed this value.
Not only online, but also in offline channels there are many children's milk powder that focus on the concept of "growing taller". Ma Chen, a milk powder distributor in Shandong, told Yicai.com that the sales of children's milk powder have gradually become hot in the past two years, from a small amount to the present. It has accounted for 10% of its total business, but the competition in the local children's milk powder market is also very fierce.
Regarding the reason why milk powder can make children "grow taller", many milk powder brands have claimed that in addition to calcium supplementation, they also added colostrum basic protein, and pointed out that colostrum basic protein can only be extracted from bovine colostrum. 4 out of 10,000, directly acting on bone growth; there is also an Australian milk powder for children's growth in the promotional materials that "colostrum basic protein can coordinate the dynamic balance of osteoblasts and osteoclasts." In the above milk powder, 100 grams The amount of colostrum basic protein added in milk powder varies from 20 mg to 50 mg.
However, there is no accurate description of the efficacy of colostrum basic protein.
The reporter saw on the website of the National Health and Health Commission that colostrum basic protein is a new food raw material. It is made from bovine colostrum, which is sterilized, degreased, centrifuged, and casein, α-lactalbumin, β-milk globules removed. Protein, made from microfiltration, ultrafiltration, freeze-drying and other processes, should not exceed 100 mg per day, but the official document does not mention its functionality.
Li Liangqiu, executive vice president of the China Nutrition and Health Food Association, told Yicai.com that there is no clear definition of alkaline protein in milk, nor a corresponding national standard, nor is it a health food raw material.
Zhong Kai, director of the Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center, also said that new food raw materials only mean that their safety has been reviewed and evaluated, and there is no necessary connection with whether they have functionality.
In the view of Xu Hao, a lawyer from Beijing Jingshi Law Firm, children's milk powder is an ordinary food and cannot be used to promote health benefits such as "growing height, helping height, scientifically managing height, and breaking through genetic height".
Some dairy companies advertise that eating children's milk powder can grow taller, but whether it helps to grow taller still needs scientific experimental evidence to prove.
If it is only used as ordinary food, but claims to have the function of growing taller and contains false or misleading content, it is suspected of violating the "Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China".
According to Article 28 of the Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China, an advertisement that deceives and misleads consumers with false or misleading content constitutes a false advertisement.
The category of children's milk powder needs to be standardized
From the perspective of the industry, the reason why milk powder companies are willing to take the risk of breaking the law to create concepts is also related to the current embarrassment faced by the children's milk powder industry.
In 2021, the number of new births in China will be 10.62 million, which is about 40% less than the 18.83 million in 2016. Milk powder companies urgently need to find new growth points.
For a long time, milk powder companies have paid more attention to milk powder products for middle-aged and elderly people. China has a large population of middle-aged and elderly people. They believe that there will be growth dividends with market education. Popular, the market is growing slowly.
On the contrary, as an extension product of infant formula milk powder, the actual growth rate of children's milk powder is even faster.
On the other hand, children's milk powder is not restricted by the formula registration system and can be produced on an OEM basis, so it is convenient for enterprises to operate.
This has also resulted in a substantial increase in the number of children's milk powder brands in the market. According to incomplete statistics, there are currently more than 500 children's milk powder products on the market, of which many milk powder companies have 5-6 children's milk powder brands on sale.
Song Liang, an independent dairy analyst, told the First Financial Reporter that children's milk powder can digest the excess capacity of milk powder factories; it can also extend the consumption cycle of milk powder customers, extending customers from 0 to 3 years old to over 3 years old, forming a new incremental market .
However, the current children's milk powder market is indeed mixed, and some children's milk powder that is not worthy of the name has carried out exaggerated propaganda.
It is worth noting that compared with the strict formula registration system for infant formula milk powder, there are no corresponding standards and regulations for children's milk powder, and the homogeneous competition has also led to market confusion.
For example, some children's milk powder products claim to have added probiotics and other ingredients in addition to the functions of "growing height, improving immunity, and protecting eyes", but consumers have no way to judge whether the additives can play a role.
In Li Liangqiu's view, children's milk powder is the embodiment of the diversified development of enterprises and the enrichment of the market. It can also meet the demands of market segmentation and precise consumption. However, there is no specific legal definition and standard for children's milk powder. National standards, which also lead to mixed products and different scales on the market.
Yicai reporter noticed that recently, the China Nutrition and Health Food Association Infant Formula Food Industry Committee has set up a project, and plans to discuss and develop group standards in related fields such as children's milk powder. On March 14, it is now soliciting drafting groups from member units. member (unit).
Previously, there were voices in the market that children's milk powder was also subject to registration management, but Li Liangqiu said that at present, it seems that the relevant state departments will not include children's milk powder in the registration system for the time being. Consumer Rights.
At the same time, it also reminds consumers to consume rationally, reasonably understand the role of food nutrition, and not blindly believe in absolute propaganda.