Nielsen: Vietnam holds promise in baby care products
There are considerable opportunities in Southeast Asia for baby care manufacturers thanks to the region’s young and growing population, according to the Nielsen Global Baby Care Report.
12% of consumers in Vietnam report having a baby less than one year old in their household; the highest level in the region and double the global average of 5%. A further 19% have children aged one to two years old in their household compared to just 9% globally.
Age groups of children in households
According to the report, half of respondents in Vietnam (50%) say good nutrition is important when deciding which baby food product to purchase. Good price/value and trusted brands were also important for more than one-third of consumers (38%), along with safe ingredients/processing (36%), and flavor or taste (32%). Organic and all-natural foods are also an important purchase consideration, cited by 27% of respondents in Vietnam.
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| Source: Nielsen Global Baby Care Report, 2015 |
Attributes and influences when purchasing baby food and diapers
When it comes to attributes in choosing the brand and type of diaper to buy for their babies, more than half of consumers in Vietnam identify skin protection/good for sensitive skin (53%) as key factors influencing their purchase decisions. Around one-third identified price/value and overnight dryness (33%) as the second most important attribute, along with good fit/comfortable to wear (27%) and trusted brand (26%).
The Nielsen report highlights the importance of recommendations from family and friends and TV advertising as sources of information for new parents in learning about which baby food to buy for their babies the first time.
Recommendations from friends/family wield the most influence, on nearly three in five Vietnamese consumers (56%), followed by seeing an advertisement on TV (50%) and recommendations from baby health experts (47%). Online influences from parenting websites (41%), parenting magazines (39%), and social media (33%) also play a key role.
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| Source: Nielsen Global Baby Care Report, 2015 |
When it comes to influencing purchases of diapers, close to half of Vietnamese consumers (49%) say recommendations from family and friends have the most significant influence on their purchasing decisions, followed by recommendations from baby health experts (32%) and TV advertising (29%).
Rapid urbanization, the growth of the middle class, and rising rates of female participation in the workforce, especially in many developing markets, are expected to stimulate growth in global baby food sales, which Nielsen estimates will reach nearly US$35 billion in 2015, with the global diaper market projected to exceed US$27 billion.
The Nielsen Global Baby Care Survey was conducted between February 23 and March 13, 2015, and polled consumers in 60 countries throughout Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and North America who have made a baby care purchase in the past five years.