This report looks at the following areas:
- Macro-economic factors and policies shaping the children’s nutrition market.
- Innovation trends in children’s nutrition products.
- Analysis of high-potential categories targeting children’s health needs and corresponding innovation strategies.
- Parents’ preferences and key selection factors when purchasing food, drinks and health supplements for children.
- Parents’ choice of children’s food, drink and health supplement categories for different functional benefits and specific scenarios.
Parents are paying a lot of attention to children's psychological health, which is driving the growth in demand for an integrated approach to physical, mental and brain health. This offers a key opportunity for innovation in children's nutrition products. Light nutrition products (such as milk and yogurt) should focus on providing emotional value by optimising taste and textures, creating innovative packaging designs and offering value-added services to meet the demands for a positive experience. Fortified nutrition products (such as milk powder and health supplements) need to emphasise their nutritional benefits and efficacy, and brands need to create precisely tailored nutrition solutions for specific scenarios in order to achieve growth through differentiation.
Mooy Chen, Associate Research Analyst, China
Market Definitions
This Report focuses on parents aged 20-49 with at least one child aged 4-12. Since Mintel’s Global New Products Database (GNPD) defines children as those aged 5-12, the New Product Trends section of this Report analyses products marketed as suitable for children aged 5-12.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definitions
- What you need to know
- Market factors
- New product trends
- The consumer
- Consumer insights and innovation focus
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THE MARKET
- Market factors
- Demand remains stable in children’s nutrition market, but may face contraction in the future
- Graph 1: percentage of the population aged 5-14*, 2015-24**
- Graph 2: births and birth rate, 2015-25
- Financial confidence has steadily recovered among families with children, helping to unleash their purchasing power
- Graph 3: confidence in improving financial situation in the next three months – very confident/somewhat confident (net), by age of child, 2025-26
- Potential for products that align with policy guidance for children’s physical, mental and brain health needs
- New product trends
- Innovation lacking in children’s food, drinks and health supplements; Douyin becoming a key sales channel
- Graph 4: share of new food and drink products/health supplements positioned for children (5-12) in the overall food and drink*/health supplements** market, 2021-26
- Renewed innovation in children’s food and drink segments
- Graph 5: share of new food and drink products* positioned for children (5-12), by sub-category**, 2021-26
- Renewed innovation in children’s food and drink segments
- Examples of sub-categories seeing renewed innovation
- Three consecutive years of rises in the proportions of plus, functional, convenience and minus claims
- Graph 6: notable claims in new food, drink and health products* positioned for children (5-12), 2021-26
- Using plus claims, brands can further explore nutrients’ synergistic benefits
- Graph 7: notable plus claims in new food, drink and health products* positioned for children (5-12), 2021-26
- New products with high fibre claims
- A combined approach to physical, mental and brain health offers opportunities for functional innovation
- Graph 8: notable functional claims in new food, drink and health products* positioned for children (5-12), 2021-26
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THE CONSUMER
- Overview of children’s health issues and high-potential product categories
- Children’s psychological health is an increasingly important health issue for parents
- Graph 9: parents’ health concerns, 2026
- Top three health issues remain low immunity, poor digestion and cavities/tooth decay
- Graph 10: children’s health issues, 2026
- Parents focus on psychological health before the peak age for mental health issues in children
- Graph 11: children’s health issues, by child’s age, 2026
- Graph 12: parents’ health concerns, by child’s age, 2026
- Nutrition products catering to physical, mental and brain health can meet parents’ wide-ranging demands…
- Graph 13: parents’ health concerns, by those concerned about mental health, 2026
- …and offer opportunities for children’s health supplements and packaged food and drinks
- Graph 14: preferred segments for different functions, 2026
- Dairy products and health supplements designed for children have great potential
- Graph 15: category penetration rate, 2026
- Emotional value enhances light nutrition categories such as milk and yogurts
- Parents are most concerned about efficacy in children’s products and whether their child likes it
- Visually appealing child-friendly designs can subtly create emotional value…
- Graph 16: factors when choosing children’s food and drinks/health supplements, by children’s health issues (prone to unstable mood), 2026
- …and could be the key to making children’s milk and yogurt stand out
- Graph 17: factors when choosing children’s food and drinks/health supplements, by those purchasing milk (including plain and flavoured milk), 2026
- Graph 18: factors when choosing children’s food and drinks/health supplements, by those purchasing yogurt (including lactobacillus drinks), 2026
- Examples of innovation in packaging design
- Seize the opportunity to innovate with unique hybrid textures in children’s yogurts
- Graph 19: Product concepts of interest, by type of yogurt (including lactobacillus drinks) purchased, 2026
- Graph 20: share of texture claims in new yogurt products positioned for children (5-12), 2021-26
- Brands can draw inspiration from adjacent dairy and related categories to develop hybrid textures for children’s yogurts
- Graph 21: formats/textures landscape for yogurts and lactobacillus drinks, adjacent dairy products and yogurt-related categories*, 2026
- Examples of innovative textures offer inspiration for children’s’ yogurts
- Parents pay attention to precise selling points and want brands to provide emotional value
- Emotional value can be provided by children’s products through thoughtful value-added services
- Graph 22: product concepts of interest, by children’s health issues (prone to unstable mood), 2026
- Parents more drawn to children’s milk and yogurts that offer thoughtful value-added services
- Graph 23: Product concepts of interest, by type of milk (including plain and flavoured milk) purchased, 2026
- Graph 24: Product concepts of interest, by type of yogurt (including lactobacillus drinks) purchased, 2026
- Example of value-added services: long-term health companion
- Example of value-added services: offline interactive events
- Focus on functional benefits and scenarios to develop milk powder and health supplements offering precision nutrition
- Synergistic ingredients and specific scenarios offer opportunities to meet refined nutritional needs…
- Graph 25: interest in product concepts, by products designed for specific health/nutritional needs, 2026
- …and also offer points of differentiation for children’s milk powder and health supplements
- Graph 26: product concepts of interest, by type of health/dietary supplement purchased, 2026
- Graph 27: product concepts of interest, by type of milk powder purchased, 2026
- Children’s milk formula and health supplements can use enhancing physical and cognitive abilities as an anchor
- Graph 28: parents’ health concerns, by type of health/dietary supplement purchased, 2026
- Graph 29: parents’ health concerns, by type of milk formula purchased, 2026
- Product examples
- Learning and sleep are prime scenarios for children’s health supplements and milk formula
- Graph 30: product choices for specific scenarios, 2026
- Brands can use more food-like health supplements to improve absorption and utilisation of nutritional ingredients
- Graph 31: product concepts of interest, by type of health/dietary supplement purchased, 2026
- Product examples
- Riding the convenience trend, brands can develop portable packaged milk powder products
- Graph 32: share of ease of use claims in new food, drinks and health supplements positioned for children (5-12), 2021-26
- Graph 33: key purchasing factors, by type of milk (including plain and flavoured milk) purchased, 2026
- Product examples
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APPENDIX – METHODOLOGY AND ABBREVIATIONS
- Methodology
- Methodology: how to interpret the Formats/Textures Landscape
- Abbreviations
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