A number of trends including the move towards natural, organic and environmentally friendly products have shown resilience in this category, according to a recent Datamonitor report.
“In recent years the association of personal care with wellbeing has increased and is further amplified in the baby and toddler sector,” Datamonitor’s Mathew Taylor told CosmeticsDesign.com.
Natural and organic
This is reflected in the surge of products with the words natural or organic appearing on the label, explained the analyst.
In addition, the label ‘disposable’ has fallen out of favour in recent years and fewer baby products are trading on this concept, he said.
Instead, in the nappy and wipes category, the word ‘biodegradable’ is appearing more often as manufacturers tap into the trend for environmentally friendly products.
There has also been a move towards products that advertise a lack of compounds such as parabens, often used as preservatives in cosmetics products.
“Despite the lack of concrete evidence, the ingredient has been tainted in the public eye and consumers are much less likely to take the risk when it is their own children,” explained Taylor.
Robust sector
Although these trends are echoed across the personal care and cosmetics market, Taylor believes they may withstand economic pressures in the baby and toddler sector better than in other demographic groups.
Often such products are more expensive and therefore may be the first to be axed when the weekly shopping budget is cut.
“However, consumers are usually willing to spend a little more on their children than they do on themselves,” he said.
There may be a certain demand for cheaper products in this market, but consumers will be unwilling to compromise on quality when buying for their children, he added.