This report looks at the following areas:
- Macro-economic factors and policies shaping the children’s nutrition market
- Product marketing and innovation trends in light of modern parenting styles
- Analysis of supply and demand for children’s nutrition products
- Opportunities for product innovation targeting children’s health needs
- Product innovation strategies to address picky eating
When developing fortified foods tailored to children’s health needs, brands need to tap into parents’ willingness to invest in their children’s wellbeing and alleviate their concerns with innovative products that address poor eating habits.
Qianqian Ji, Senior Analyst, China Insights
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
- Definition
- What you need to know
- Market factors
- Product innovation trends and opportunities
- Consumer demand and product innovation strategy
- Address poor eating habits and modern parenting concepts to drive differentiation and strengthen brand influence
- What we think
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THE MARKET
- Market factors
- Declining birth rates may impact the long-term development of the children’s nutrition market
- Graph 1: birth rate (per 1,000 population), 2014-23
- Graph 2: percentage of the population aged 5-14*, 2014-23
- New group standards for different food categories highlight opportunities for child-specific  products
- Marketing activities
- Marketing communications centred on modern parenting concepts are a growing trend
- Enhance brand influence among parents through content sharing and interaction
- Challenge traditional authoritarian parenting and respect children’s emotional needs
- Find elements that appeal to parents and children alike
- New product trends
- The share of products designed specifically for children remains stable amid the trend towards family nutrition…
- Graph 3: share of food, drink and health launches positioned for children (5-12)*, 2020-24
- …but indulgent product launches positioned for children have grown over the past three years
- Functional, traceability and minus claims have seen significant growth over the past year
- Graph 4: share of food, drink and health launches positioned for children (5-12), by select claims, 2020-24
- Claims related to probiotics, prebiotics, skin health and energy are on the rise, while stress relief and sleep support are emerging
- Graph 5: share of food, drink and health launches positioned for children (5-12), by select functional claims, 2020-24
- In the L/N/R trans fat segment, claims of reduced trans fat are growing rapidly, while L/N/R sodium and sugar claims remain lukewarm
- Graph 6: share of food, drink and health launches positioned for children (5-12), by select minus claims, 2020-24
- Overview of ecommerce sales performance
- Health supplements and dairy products see value and volume growth
- Children’s health supplements with dairy-based ingredients are firm favourites
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The consumer
- Overview of children’s health issues
- Weakened immunity and digestive issues remain key concerns, while skin allergies and underweight have risen for three consecutive years
- Graph 7: children’s health issues, 2023-25
- Height, eyesight and mental health remain parents’ top priorities, despite low prevalence of related issues
- Graph 8: parents’ health concerns, 2025
- Children of parents concerned about oral and gut health are more likely to have weakened immunity
- Graph 9: % of children with poor immunity, by parents’ health concerns, 2025
- Parents concerned about skin health are more likely to have children with poor eyesight, mood issues and fatigue
- Graph 10: children’s health issues, by parents concerned about their children’s skin, 2025
- Anchor innovation and communication in two key areas of children’s health
- Innovation opportunities in nutritional food and drink addressing children’s key health needs
- Focuses of this section
- Physical health benefits are the key selling point for children’s food and drinks
- Graph 11: attitudes towards children’s nutrition – health focuses of children’s food and drink, 2025
- Dairy-based fortified food and drink products are highly favoured by parents…
- Graph 12: preferred product formats for nutritional supplementation, 2025
- …especially among parents concerned about oral health
- Graph 13: preferred product formats for nutritional supplementation – dairy products, by parents concerned about their children’s oral health, 2025
- Fortified sweet treats are favoured by parents focused on skin health
- Graph 14: select product formats for nutritional supplementation, by parents concerned about their children’s skin, 2025
- Parents aged 30-39 still prefer traditional health-oriented categories, while younger and older parents are increasingly open to indulgent categories
- Graph 15: preferred product formats for nutritional supplementation, by age of parent, 2025
- Calcium and probiotics are the top nutrients parents seek to supplement in their children’s diet…
- Graph 16: nutritional supplementation concerns, 2025
- …and are especially popular among parents of children with cavities and low immunity
- Graph 17: % of parents who pay attention to supplementing probiotics and calcium, by children’s health issues, 2025
- Parents of children with sleep and emotional issues are particularly focused on supplementing selenium and unsaturated fatty acids…
- Graph 18: % of parents who pay attention to supplementing unsaturated fatty acids and selenium, by children’s health issues, 2025
- …and candies, chocolate and jelly featuring these as key ingredients are more appealing to parents
- Graph 19: select product formats for nutritional supplementation, by nutritional supplementation concerns, 2025
- Dairy-based nutrition products offer stable revenue while indulgent foods drive future growth
- Attitudes towards nutrition products for picky eaters
- Focuses of this section
- Most parents need external support to address their children’s dislike of healthy foods
- Graph 20: % of parents who need help supplementing foods their children dislike*, 2025
- Graph 21: concerns about children’s unhealthy dietary habits, 2025
- Parents who need help supplementing dairy are more likely to have children with digestive, bone, energy and sleep issues
- Graph 22: children’s health issues, by parents who need help supplementing milk and dairy products, 2025
- Health supplements are the primary solution for insufficient dairy intake
- Graph 23: nutritional supplementation methods for picky eaters, 2025
- Different categories can highlight their unique advantages to expand the market for supplementing specific food groups…
- …but comprehensive nutrition remains the key priority
- Graph 24: number of nutrients of concern for supplementation, by parents who need help supplementing foods their children dislike, 2025
- Palatability is essential for all children’s nutrition products, while specific health claims and age segmentation are key differentiators for supplements
- Graph 25: children’s nutrition product features that appeal to parents, 2025
- Aligning with demand for specialised health management, multi-ingredient formulas and product bundles are the most popular supplement formats
- Graph 26: attitudes towards children’s nutrition – supplement product combination format, 2025
- Graph 27: attitudes towards children’s nutrition – supplements’ ingredient format, 2025
- Occasion-based segmentation is reinvigorating the competitiveness of health supplements, especially in study and exam settings
- Graph 28: children’s nutrition product features that appeal to parents, 2025
- Graph 29: attitudes towards children’s nutrition – scenario-specific food and drink, 2024
- Children with irregular eating habits are more prone to mood, energy and sleep issues
- Graph 30: children’s health issues, by concerns about children’s unhealthy dietary habits , 2025
- Add value to supplements for picky eaters through specialised nutrition and occasion-based attributes
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Issues and insights
- Identify innovation opportunities in dairy products to tackle poor eating habits
- Innovation in children’s dairy products is declining, but opportunities remain
- Graph 31: share of dairy launches positioned for children (5-12) among all dairy launches*, 2020-25
- In extra meal scenarios, emotional issues are a health focus
- Launch more fruit- and dessert-flavoured dairy products to counter children’s preference for sweets over fruit
- Use classic dairy dessert flavours as sources of innovation
- How supplements can compete with diet-based approaches to address picky eating
- Globally, products targeting picky eaters remain scarce, but supplements are emerging as a key area for innovation
- Graph 32: share of children’s food, drink and health launches mentioning ‘picky/fussy eater’*, 2020-24
- Graph 33: sub-category distribution of children’s food, drink and health launches mentioning ‘picky/fussy eater’, 2020-24
- Now: launch multi-ingredient supplements that support children’s agency, aligning with parents’ mix of hands-on and laid-back parenting
- Graph 34: attitudes towards children’s nutrition – main roles in children’s health management, by age of parent, 2025
- Graph 35: attitudes towards children’s nutrition – main roles in children’s health management, by gender of parent, 2025
- Product examples reflecting this approach
- Future: reposition supplements from a ‘fourth meal’ to a mealtime companion
- Harness emotional value to strengthen brand momentum in the era of modern parenting
- Food, drink and health supplement brands must highlight distinctive innovations to reinforce brand identity
- Graph 36: attitudes towards children’s nutrition – brand choice for children’s nutrition products, 2025
- Short-term: collaborate with popular children’s franchises to expand reach
- Long-term: leverage ‘edutainment’ and recognisable brand mascots to establish brand recognition
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Appendix – methodology and abbreviations
- Methodology
- Flavourscape AI: methodology
- Abbreviations
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