Baby care is BOOMING! We’ve done a round-up of all the latest on the baby care market, so you don’t have to.
Baby care market
According to a 2021 Mintel report, the baby personal care products, nappies and wipes category has grown in value for the first time in several years, rising by 2.8% in value to £676m.
Cautious parents, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have turned to stockpiling, bulk-buying and increased hygiene behaviours, which has in turn driven higher spend across all three segments. Hygiene concerns have furthered the revenue rise in baby wipes, washes and soaps, giving way to new opportunities for innovation in baby-specific hand sanitisers, antibacterial ingredients and hygienic packaging.
Products
Baby care products like skincare, haircare, and toiletries, are specially designed to suit a baby’s sensitive skin and these products are required throughout their development.
The global baby care products market is segmented by product types:
- Baby Skincare (E.g., Baby Moisturizer, Baby Face Cream, Baby Massage Oil, Baby Powder, Nappy Rash Cream…)
- Baby Haircare (E.g., Shampoo, Conditioner, Hair Oil…)
- Baby Toiletries (E.g., Baby Body Wash, Baby Wipes…)
Major players
Procter & Gamble (P&G), Kimberly-Clark and Johnson & Johnson are the leading companies in the global baby care market. These major manufacturers are focusing on leveraging opportunities to make the most out of this growth. For example, pioneers in baby care, Johnson & Johnson and Unilever have both established extensions of their core brands – Aveeno and Dove, to offer lotions, shampoos, body wash, and more, for babies. The growth is also fuelling acquisitions; in a deal reportedly worth £36.8m PZ Cussons recently added popular, cruelty-free and vegan junior brand Child’s Farm to their portfolio.
Key Market Trends in Baby Care
1. Safe
Ingredient transparency is vital when it comes to baby products. Parents only want the best for baby and so want to know exactly what’s in the product they’re buying. Brands being open and honest with their customers will safety concerns amongst those buying a product.
Preserving baby’s skin microbiome is a rising topic of conversation. More education on the microbiome will drive demand in microbiome-friendly formulas. (Watch NBIC’s latest webinar ‘Baby Skin and the Microbiome’)
2. Mildness
2. MildnessRising concerns related to baby skin conditions such as skin irritation, redness, and nappy (or ‘diaper’ for our American cousins) rashes are driving the necessity for milder and milder products. COVID-19 has also accelerated parents’ concerns towards babies’ skin health as 63% of parents of 0-4s who buy babies’ personal care products, nappies or wipes think that infants’ skin can be damaged by washing/cleansing a lot. This why it’s so important that in vitro tests for mildness are available, like XtraMild™.
XtraMild™ can ensure ingredients and products:
- Avoid irritation to the skin and eyes
- Maintain pH balance to the skin
- Ensure microbiome integrity
3. Eco
Eco-ethical trends show no sign of stalling. Cruelty-Free, Vegan, Organic, Sustainable, you name it – people want it! Small business owners are leading the way in this field, propelling innovation in new, sustainable baby personal care formulas. For example, independent businesses, like Bloom & Blossom, are winning the hearts and minds of parents who are looking for brands that they can trust with a clear and compelling message.
With the baby care products market projected to be worth approximately 88.72 billion U.S. dollars worldwide in 2026, ingredient suppliers and brands will excel by following the rule of 3: Safe, Mild, Eco.
