Unexpected growth of the baby food market: consumer demand analysis

Analysis of ROMIR data for 2024 shows unexpected growth of the baby food market for children aged 0 to 3 years, despite a 4% decrease in the number of this age group according to Rosstat. Turnover in this category increased by 17% and by 12% in kind. The key growth factors were the increase in the number of buyers and the frequency of purchases.

Within the category, the most rapidly developing segments are ready meals (+43% in rubles, +18% in kind) and purees (+22% in turnover, +16% in kilograms). It is noteworthy that 76% of Russian families buy baby food for children under 3 years old at least once a year, which significantly exceeds the share of families with children under 14 years old (less than 50%).

This phenomenon is explained by the expansion of the target audience due to older consumers. Thus, a significant contribution to the growth of sales of ready meals was made by the group aged 41 to 50 years, and in the puree segment - consumers aged 31 to 40 years. These facts raise the question of the motivation for purchasing this product by adults.

Analysis of the data, taking into account the behavioral characteristics of consumers of different age groups (for example, consumers of ready meals "larks: wake up early in the morning and go to bed, as a rule, before midnight" aged 41-50 years and puree consumers "owls: wake up closer to the middle of the day and go to bed, as a rule, after midnight" and "doves: wake up early in the morning and go to bed, as a rule, after midnight" aged 31-40 years), allows us to assume that the consumption of purees may be associated with "light" snacks late in the evening or even before bed, and the consumption of ready meals - with a nutritious option during the day. This may indicate the desire of consumers to maintain a healthy lifestyle, a higher level of trust in the quality of manufactured products, and more. However, this is only a small part of the possible hypotheses, and additional research using survey methods is required to better understand the motives and situations of consumption among older audiences when buying baby food. Further analysis of market dynamics, including the impact of seasonality and economic factors, will allow for a more accurate forecast of future trends.