Baby care market to boom despite population dip – Times of India

MUMBAI: A declining population, as indicated by the fifth National Family Health Survey (NFHS) for 2019-21, is unlikely to have an impact on the baby care market in India.
While the NFHS recently detailed how India’s total fertility rate has fallen below 2.1 for the first time (2.1 being the benchmark replacement rate), factors such as maternal health, fertility, nutrition, women’s empowerment and digital uptake also have a direct impact on the baby and mother care market. For one, 70% women are now going for an antenatal check-up in the first trimester, which has increased significantly since 2015-2016 (about 59%), while 78% women have got postnatal care within 2 days of delivery.

Key segments of the baby care market — including toiletries, diapers, apparel and toys — are said to be growing at 13-14% per annum, with baby care makers expanding their reach and beefing up their digital capabilities. “India has the lowest per capita consumption of baby care products and thus it presents a lot of scope for growth,” said Sakshi Mody, promoter of JL Morison (JLM). “Similarly, the penetration of baby care products is also very low as compared to nations like China, Brazil and Russia. So, there is a lot of scope for growth — both through width and depth expansion,” said Mody, while adding that India will remain in the high-growth phase for the baby care industry for 10 years.
Kimberly-Clark India MD Mainak Dhar said, “While current reports indicate that the country is witnessing a dip in population growth rate, there are significant opportunities for the continued growth of the baby care market as category penetration continues to rise and consumers trade up within established categories. We believe that the baby care market will continue to evolve.”
The growing working woman population is said to be a big driver of baby care category growth. Further, the digital revolution has been a growth enabler for the industry, with 33% women (urban+rural) and 52% urban women having internet access. However, the working woman population took a slight beating since the pandemic. JLM’s VP (sales & marketing) Nitin Manchanda said, although this has not had a direct effect on the market, “we have seen some shifts happening from premium segment to mass segment, which seem to be temporary”. He added, “Downtrading happens in all the categories when there is pressure on income and we have seen this happening in the baby care segment as well. The hypothesis is that with the economy coming back on track, there will be a reversal in 2 to 3 quarters.”
JLM, which operates in the mass segment with its brand Morisons Baby Dreams, has strengthened its distribution reach by more than 50% in the last 2 years. “JLM products are available in 1 lakh outlets across India. We are continuing our efforts in enhancing our reach every year,” said Manchanda. To increase the penetration of the category, JLM has also launched smaller value-add packs to spur higher trials. Kimberly-Clark India too is stepping up its digital capabilities to engage with consumers. Dhar said the pandemic brought in a new wave of awareness among parents who became more conscious about meeting the needs of their babies, laying greater emphasis on comfort and convenience. It also gave rise to changes in shopping behaviour, such as an increasing reliance on online shopping. “Consumers have become more conscious about the importance of health and hygiene and are turning to trusted brands that can meet their needs. There has been growth across different segments in the baby care category and Huggies has a broad portfolio, catering to different consumer needs, price points, and sizes to meet consumer expectations across these segments,” said Dhar.
Over the last two years, with travel restrictions coming into play and people spending more time at home, Dhar said there has been a significant change in the purchasing behaviour of the consumer, with accelerated adoption of online shopping. “In parallel, social media has become a key platform of engagement for our target audience wherein new age parents are seeking curated information on parenting and baby care. We recognise the need to create relevant consumer experiences using these platforms and have designed robust social media campaigns, as well as forged partnerships to engage and stay connected with our consumers,” said Dhar.
According to NFHS, the number of currently married women who usually participate in decisions like those relating to personal healthcare or household purchases has inched up to about 89% in 2019-20 from 84% in 2015-2016.