Text: China Children's Media reporter Li Reform
"Now domestic mothers and babies are very rolled, and washing and care are even more rolled, big rolls. "At the NBM exhibition, this is what the maternal and infant care brand said to reporters the most.
Volume selling point
The demand of the new generation of mothers for cleaning and care products is focusing on three dimensions: more refined, safer and more professional.
These three dimensions are simply not enough for so many domestic cleaning and care brands. Every dimension is highly competitive.
According to the latest data from Xiaohongshu, when buying maternal and child toiletries, mothers will pay more attention to the formula of the product, and the demand for pure natural and zero additives ranks first. Head brands such as Ambelle, Chubao, Babycare, Red Elephant, and Rabbit Head Mother have launched a variety of products that focus on "peace of mind" and "rest assured", all emphasizing the safety and harmlessness of ingredients.
Ambelle's natural hydrosol creams;
Chubao's infant cream containing vegetable squalane;
babycare,000,000,000,000
Rabbit Head Mother Focuses on Six-fold Plant Essence Series Cream......
The main selling points are similar, the latecomers are inspired by the former, and the former is impacted by the latecomers.
Since the basic requirements of safety and harmlessness are very volatile, what about changing the track?
In fact, maternal and infant care products are also very volatile in terms of efficacy, the most volatile of which is the allergy track.
At present, the phenomenon of allergies at a young age is becoming more and more prominent. According to statistics, as of 2022, 30% of infants and young children have been plagued by allergies, among which the most common problem is skin and mucosal allergies. Where there is demand, there is a market, and the exclusive solutions around sensitive babies have been paid attention to by more maternal and infant brands.
Amber launched baby skin health cream for Minbao;
For different symptoms, Runben has launched a series of products such as itch relief cream and comfrey cream;
Duowang launched a series of special care ......
The allergy track has long become a must for various maternal and infant care brands.
The TOP1 brands in the functional track of maternal and infant care products on Taobao and Tmall have been changing, and the sales gap between several leading brands is not large, and there is always a danger of being overtaken.
If you want to open up the gap with other brands, you have to find another way, and if you look away from the crowded competition of functional products?
In fact, with the decline in the number of births, almost all merchants have begun to rush to make middle-aged and large children's products. Compared with the neonatal care market, which lacks stamina, the market size of 3-12-year-old children's care is huge, reaching 50 billion, which has attracted the attention of many maternal and infant brands.
Major brands have begun to pay attention to age-specific cleaning and care, and when promoting product packaging, they are clearly listed with words such as 0-3 years old, 3 years old +, 3-12 years old school-age muscle and 13-year-old + juvenile muscle, newborn series and primary school series, or marked on the detail page for children over 6 years old.
According to Xiaohongshu statistics, the search volume of entries about "age" has increased significantly in the past two years, indicating that consumers attach great importance to product age and segmentation.
Once there is a market, it will be quickly occupied, and if it is not fast enough, it will not even be able to drink the soup.
Rabbit head mother launched the age-splitting cream bunny bottle series;
Red Elephant Launches Age-Based Skincare Products for Babies and Children......
Think that's the end of it?
Today's baby care brands are not only divided into ages, but also by gender.
Red baby elephant shower gel for girls;
Yingshi launched men's and girls' toiletry products;
Aubell launched a series of products for girls......
At present, all tracks on the market seem to be crowded, and it is difficult to stand out by relying on products of inherent categories.
Volume Marketing
After rolling the product, the volume is marketing.
Today's young people's entertainment preferences have changed, and they are no longer satisfied with traditional e-commerce shopping such as Taobao and JD.com, but are more keen on "expanding", watching videos, and forming groups to find partners. This new phenomenon has also driven a change in the marketing methods of mother and baby brands.
New forces such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu have risen and have begun to deploy e-commerce. Because the platform has the potential to achieve the two-in-one content marketing and product sales, it can help brands maximize the monetization of grass planting and reduce customer loss to a large extent, which makes the two platforms still have room to dig and become one of the few channels for brands to form public opinion and reputation and obtain increments.
However, now the threshold for Xiaohongshu to plant grass and Douyin is getting higher and higher. From the past period of "those who see it" to make money, it has changed to the consideration of "grass planting + operation + deep cultivation + private domain + transformation" integrated and comprehensive operation.
The baby care brand on the Douyin e-commerce platform has long been killed.
Since Xiaohongshu opened its e-commerce platform at the end of last year, the largest maternal and infant community platform in China has attracted many brands to settle in. Compared with Douyin's live broadcast's rough product promotion, Xiaohongshu requires higher requirements for brand promotion. Since Xiaohongshu joined the e-commerce camp, brand network marketing is about to enter a new era, with Tao, JD.com, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu competing in all directions, and it is more difficult for maternal and child care brands to stand out in online marketing.
Judging from the data of Guoji, in the fourth quarter of 2023, the total number of notes on maternal and child care on the Xiaohongshu platform reached 292,400, an increase of 109 times over the previous cycle, of which the number of commercial notes increased by 62%, indicating that brands are paying more and more attention to the promotion of Xiaohongshu. In the content of maternal and infant care, notes on baby care and facial care account for 50% of the total.
(Photo courtesy of Guoji)
Take Duowang, the maternal and infant care brand participating in this exhibition, as an example, since 2024, it has also begun to focus on online marketing, and the number of notes it has published on Xiaohongshu has increased by 73.91% compared with the previous quarter.
In addition to Xiaohongshu, short videos represented by Douyin are the second battlefield for the supply side to seek breakthroughs and leverage growth. Merchants generally rely on well-made parenting tips, parenting and nursing knowledge, baby desensitization, etc., to expand exposure, attract fans, and finally lead to live streaming or direct orders in stores, so as to pull up the sales GMV.
Volume segmentation
Segmentation has always been the only way to differentiate.
Consumer needs have been changing, and the field of maternal and infant care is also subdividing new tracks.
For example, Aiyunuo, a baby and children's upper respiratory tract care brand that made its debut at the NBM exhibition, focuses on children's upper respiratory tract conditioning, which can be regarded as a new path in the field of maternal and infant care.
There is also a brand focusing on children's oral health, Yupa, children's toothpaste sales are booming, children's toothbrushes, children's clean mouthwash, and children's dental floss have also begun to be recognized by more and more consumers.
Pregnant mothers are also a special group of people who need attention, and this market as a whole is still in the stage of consumer education and just penetration, and many brands have not yet made efforts. Pregnant mothers need gentler toiletries, and postpartum mothers need products to eliminate stretch marks and manage their body, these are all potential opportunities for maternal and baby care brands.
Either jump out to find a new blue ocean, or "roll" in the present, looking for opportunities in continuous subdivision, may be the way to break the "volume".