Maternal and infant market seeing solid growth
China’s maternal and infant market is set to see steady growth over the next few years because of growing demand from parents keen on highquality, personalized and trendy products amid consumption upgrades, industry insiders say.
Sales revenue in China’s maternal and infant goods market rose 5.4% in the second quarter compared with the first quarter, according to a survey commissioned by BabyTree, a Chinese online service platform for young families, and conducted by the market research firm NielsenIQ.
The report showed that the post-1990 generation accounted for 76% of all customers of maternal and baby products, thus becoming the main driver in the category. Most new mothers have bachelor’s degrees or a superior academic qualification and prefer to watch livestreaming and short videos. Moreover, families spend an average of 6,265 yuan ($980) each month on parenting.
As one of the largest and most active maternity and child-focused community platforms, BabyTree offers parenting knowledge and content covering stages from pregnancy preparation to child care for Chinese families as well as related e-commerce services, said Xu Chong, executive director and chief financial officer of BabyTree.
Xu is optimistic about the maternity and baby products market buoyed by the rise in consumer purchasing power.
BabyTree said it aims to further diversify its business portfolio and extend services.
It has launched a maternity and baby livestreaming channel, providing all-day webinars and Q&A sessions by experts, and works with short video platforms such as Douyin to drive community interaction to promote sales.
“In the future, we will focus on Generation Z families to grow our business,” said Wang Huainan, chairman of BabyTree.
“We believe that our dualengine business model powered by advertising and e-commerce will add momentum for achieving strategic goals aimed at Generation Z families.”
The consultancy iiMedia Research said revenue from the maternal and infant market in China surpassed 4 trillion yuan last year, and this figure is forecast to rise to 7.5 trillion yuan in 2024.
To meet the growing and diverse demand for maternal and baby products, a string of online retailers have launched customized products and collaborated with foreign brands.
The Chinese e-commerce company JD is betting big on the consumer-to-manufacturer model, which draws on online retailers’ big data and customer analysis capabilities to customize products that meet the demands of Chinese consumers.
It has worked with a diaper brand to jointly develop a new paper diaper with better aeration and softness that forms a comfortable seal around the waist, making it more comfortable and convenient for babies to move about.
JD has become one of the largest online retailers of many maternal and baby brands, such as Wyeth, Kao, Unicharm, Friso, Nestle, Abbott, Danone and Pigeon. In addition, Jingxi, a business group under JD, opened its first store for baby and maternal products in Chengdu, Sichuan province, in April.
By integrating omnichannel supply chains, logistics, marketing and technology capabilities, Jingxi empowers the store with standardized decor, pricing and inventory management as well as providing training courses.
Mia, an online retailer specializing in mother and baby products, has invested heavily in establishing its self-owned brands such as Mompick and Superfarm.
Liu Nan, founder and chief executive of Mia, said she sold 280,000 products herself, with sales revenue reaching 40 million yuan, during a fivehour livestreaming on short video platform Douyin on Sept 19 last year. About 60% of products presented during her livestreaming session came from Mia’s own supply chain.