Declaimer: This article was originally published by the Maternal and Infant Industry. Sources: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/EXkIAvTAblc-qdLNuxB54Q.
With a saturated market and tepid growth, more and more brands are seeking opportunities within niche segments, meticulously cultivating their products around demographic-specific, functional, and situational subdivisions, continuously broadening the vertical reach within their categories.
Throughout the entirety of 2024, especially in terms of refined operations for differentiated demographic groups and penetrating targeted segments, this strategy has increasingly become the central route for brands in search of incremental business growth. From maternity and infants to teenagers and then the entire family, every category is rapidly breaking through to these populations.
In detail, products like blind boxes, action figures, millet, and plush toys are no longer exclusively for infants and toddlers but have become outlets for adult emotional spending, a primary means of emotional investment and psychological comfort. This is confirmed by the sustained popularity of LEGO as well as the rise of JELLYCAT and Pop Mart, showing that toys have expanded their audience to encompass all age groups.
The extension of product lines from maternal and infant care to teen or household cleaning series, or even care lines targeting growth stages, represents a significant beachhead established in 2024 by leading brands. Examples include Kangaroo Mother, Turtle Dad, Rabbit Head Mom, and Little Red Elephant, who have successively entered the scene, focusing on age-specific care, youth-exclusive skincare solutions, and continuous innovation in adolescent care products.
On the flip side of the intense competition in the infant and child nutrition space, there is an escalating demand for family-wide nutrition supplements, with rapidly increasing expectations for personalized solutions. Infants and children focus more on growth, allergy prevention, cognitive development, and vision protection, while the elderly emphasize regulating blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, and improving sleep. Over the past two years, dedicated cultivation of entire-family nutrition has once emerged as a definitive direction for brands and channels to capture new increments in business.
Then looking at the number one category in maternity and infant products, the formula milk track has evolved from the early days dominated by infant formula to a new stage of diversified development, including formulas for preterm infants, children, pregnant and lactating women, and the elderly. The optimization and personalized enhancement of nutritional content and formula have shifted milk powder from being a mere baby staple to a shared family nutrition source, driving category penetration through extending its target demographic.
Of course, not just limited to the toys, care products, and nutritional items, there are plenty of examples throughout the maternal and infant industry where expansion of categories has driven demographic expansion. For instance, from infant and toddler apparel to clothes exclusively for older children to family outfits, from children-specific snacks to adult leisure food…
In conclusion, while the overarching trend in the industry is competitive intensity, simply “competing to exhaustion” is less effective than “competing with purpose.” Any brand that maintains growth through these cycles undeniably capitalizing on the needs and opportunities hidden behind segmented demographics. If 2024 has prominently showcased category penetration across demographics, then looking forward to 2025, a further deepened and refined approach to understanding and satisfying the needs of every layer of the maternal and infant family demographic will become even more critical and strategic for brands to triumph.
Keywords:
1. CBME 2025 baby gear innovations
