Millennial Moms Driving Kids Food, Bev Market

“Today’s kids are more marketing savvy and nutritionally conscious than any previous generation. They have input on the foods and beverages that their parents buy for them. And as any good marketer knows, the way to develop long-term customers is to hook them early in life,” so says Packaged Facts Research Director David Sprinkle, whose comments reflect the findings of the firm’s recent report, “The Kids Food and Beverage Market in the U.S.”

Sprinkle noted that children under 9 wield substantial influence over the retail products purchased in their household, and thus represent a lucrative demographic for marketers in the food and beverage industry. This group is a particularly influential market as life-long dietary habits are established at this age, and brand loyalty begins.

Millennial Moms

In addition to marketing to the younger age group, Packaged Facts’ report identifies Millennial Moms as another important segment driving today’s kids' food and beverage market. These consumers are wielding more buying power than ever before, and their behaviors are greatly influenced by mothers from the Boomer generation.

The report cites significant challenges in meeting the needs of Millennial Moms, however, most importantly communicating through technology and social media. Millennials embrace new social media quickly, as seen by the growth of Pinterest and Instagram, and the report finds it essential for makers and marketers of kids’ food and beverage products to maintain a strong presence in these channels. And in order to solicit loyalty from this demographic, marketers' communication should be short and easy to understand, offer time-saving tips, and represent authenticity in both brand and product positioning.

Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer market topics, including consumer demographics and shopper insights, consumer financial products and services, consumer goods and retailing, consumer packaged goods, and pet products and services.