Mintel: ‘Still opportunities’ for premium baby and toddler skin care despite COVID-19

14-Dec-2020 - Last updated on 14-Dec-2020 at 17:42 GMT

Quality remains the most important purchase driver in the baby and toddler skin care category, despite the financial squeeze brought about by COVID-19 (Getty Images)

UK parents are increasingly interested in clean beauty and concerned about ingredient safety in baby and toddler skin care products, creating opportunities to premiumize the category despite the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, says Mintel.

According to Mintel research conducted in April 2020 in the UK, there was “a huge opportunity to bolster premium skin care claims” in the baby and toddler personal care space because parents had “concerns over ingredient safety in products” and there was “widespread interest in clean beauty”.

But, after months of financial, social and health concerns shaped by COVID-19, was there still potential for premium baby and toddler skin care? Yes there was, according to Roshida Khanom, category director for beauty and personal care at Mintel.

Premium baby care promise despite COVID-19 strains

“Financial situations have been squeezed for many this year, and that will see many parents cutting down on spend and even switching to lower priced brands,” Khanom told CosmeticsDesign-Europe.

“However, even during the last financial recession in 2009, 39% of parents said that they buy the best they can afford, showing that parents prioritise buying for their children,” she said.

This aligned with earlier Mintel findings from March 2019 that showed 76% of parents preferred to spend more on personal care products for their baby or child than what they spent on themselves.

“We think there are still opportunities to premiumize in this category, particularly as quality is the most important purchase driver for parents (64%) – just beating price (62%),” Khanom said.

Health, durability and the environment key considerations

She said the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic had also created very specific desires amongst parents in the baby and toddler skin care category that were worth considering more closely.

“The pandemic has accelerated a desire for products that promise health and durability, as well as a renewed interest in environmental considerations,” she said.

Before the pandemic, baby and toddler skin care products positioned as natural or eco-ethical, for example, had fared very well, and she said Mintel expected these touch points to “continue to be important to parents” post-pandemic.

“As such, there are opportunities for premium brands that can address these concerns and trends.”

This desire for greener baby care was a trend highlighted by GlobalData earlier this month, when it suggested “green themes” like natural, organic, clean label, plant-based and cruelty-free were now more important than ever to parents, given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.