Madelyn Postman, Managing Director, Leidar London will be speaking on ‘Tiny bubbles: children’s toiletry brands today’ at the Marketing Trends Theatre on Wednesday, 18 April, 17.15 – 18.00 at in-cosmetics Global in Amsterdam.
We got some of her expert insights into the current state of the market, and where it’s heading.
Where has the rising demand for child- and baby-specific products come from?
There are Three reasons for this rising demand. The first is a baby boom across Europe from 2008-2010, as we were coming out of the recession.
The second being that as any market sector develops, it becomes more specialised, and this is exactly what’s happening with baby- and child-focused products in the cosmetics and personal care sector.
Finally, the growth of digital technologies, including mobile, means that not only are sales potentially easier to achieve, but the whole process of researching markets and setting up new companies and brands is easier than before, fostering the growth of more niche offerings.
Why is it hitting the industry agenda now, what factors are bringing it into the spotlight?
It's a virtuous cycle: brands from micro to massive are launching child- and baby-specific products, and since it is a growing market, there is a great deal of opportunity and in turn this it is attracting attention.
Examples of large brand range launches in the past couple of years are Dove Baby (April 2017), Kiehl's Baby Collection (April 2016) and the Disney x Kiehl's Collection (Nov 2017).
What are the latest shifts and innovations that have been seen in this space?
An awareness of health and well-being, whether it's organic or not, and the use of the word "natural", which doesn't actually mean anything specific in this context in terms of ingredients is the first shift that has been occurring in this space.
The general trend of personalisation in all retail markets including fashion (example: Nike ID) and FMCG (example: Coke) is also impacting on child and baby toiletries sector.
Finally, partnerships and licensing, like the Disney x Kiehl's Collection mentioned above, are growing trends, not only in this market but certainly affecting it.