While the frozen baby food market has been expanding in France and the UK, German baby food producers are reluctant to venture into unknown territory.
By Katya Witham, senior Food and Drink analyst, Mintel
Although the risks must be considered, the frozen baby food market in Germany represents an untapped niche for companies keen to seize the first-mover advantage.
Homemade baby food is the gold standard
When it comes to baby feeding, today’s parents across the developed world are spoiled for choice with the ever expanding selection in the baby food aisle. For many parents, however, the choice between commercial and homemade baby food is not quite so easy. Homemade baby food is considered by many parents to be a healthier, more nutritious and often more economical alternative to baby foods available in stores.
German parents are no exception, showing a strong preference for home cooked food for their little ones. In 2014, nearly 60% of German households with young children aged 0-4 years old admitted that they trust homemade baby food over commercial offerings. Moreover, nearly two-thirds (64%) of German parents of under 5s worry about the sugar and salt levels of manufactured baby food. Another worry is the quality of ingredients, almost half (49%) concerned about the quality of meat used, for example. Finally and not least, pricing plays an important role for German parents opting for home-cooked baby meal options, with 50% resorting to home-cooking to save money.
However, increasingly hectic lifestyles are having a major impact when it comes to parents’ choices in baby feeding. For the new generation of parents wishing to be more flexible in response to modern life’s demands, manufactured baby food offers a convenient alternative for both feeding at home or on the move. In fact, one in five German parents of under-5s admit that they don’t have enough free time to prepare home-cooked food for their children.
Frozen baby food – the untapped market
Baby meals in a jar dominated the German baby food industry for years, with generations of German parents being raised with the perception that baby food in a glass jar was the healthiest option. Over the past few years, baby food in pouches has also been rapidly proliferating in the German market, driven by the growing demand for convenient feeding solutions.
There is, however, one baby food format – frozen baby food – that remains largely untapped in Germany. With Germany being the largest frozen food market in Europe, frozen foods, and especially vegetables, have a healthy image and enjoy an excellent reputation among German consumers, as they fulfil consumer needs for freshness and convenience.
Given the nation’s love of frozen products, frozen baby food should be a popular category in Germany, as it has a superior freshness quality and a higher nutrient content compared to shelf-stable jars as well as convenience of storage and preparation. Moreover, high-quality frozen baby food could capitalize on consumer preference for home-cooked baby food, and would resonate emotionally with time-strapped German parents, providing the taste and nutritional benefits of home cooking but without spending hours in the kitchen.
However, this makes it all the more surprising to notice the absence of frozen baby food in the German supermarket aisles. In fact, there hasn’t been a single recorded launch in Mintel’s Global New Products Database (GNPD) of frozen baby food in the German mainstream grocery retail market between 2010 and 2014. While the frozen baby food market has seen an expanding range develop in France and the UK, spearheaded by baby food specialist brands such as the British startup ‘Kiddie Cubes’ or ‘Mes Premiers Repas’ from the French grocery retailer Picard, German baby food producers are clearly reluctant to venture into unknown territory.
“Babyviduals” taps into the frozen baby food segment
The hesitation of German baby food manufacturers to explore the opportunities of the frozen format can’t be put down to the lack of consumer interest. Mintel consumer data reveals that almost one in three German parents express an interest in frozen baby foods, suggesting untapped demand in this category. The risk of product launch failure however must be considered as relatively high, as frozen baby food products would have to prove they are better than other, more trusted formats (e.g. jars). Moreover, it will require a lot of investment to convince parents to deviate from the traditional consumption pattern and to guide them to the frozen aisle. Finally, another drawback to frozen baby food is the lack of portability, likely limiting its usage to consumption at home rather than outside.
Although the risks seem substantial, the frozen baby food market in Germany does represent an untapped niche for companies keen to seize the first-mover advantage. As per today, the only significant market entrant was the Nürnberg-based start-up Babyviduals, which made its debut with a range of baby food frozen into spoon size portions in 2010.
The company designed its range to mimic what parents might cook for their babies at home, offering a selection of single-ingredient purees which can be mixed to create individual meals. The purees are made with fresh organic ingredients that were gently steamed and then flash-frozen to retain as many of the nutrients, flavors and textures as possible.
Babyviduals currently operates outside the mainstream retail channels – it runs its own online shop with delivery service in Berlin, Munich and Nürnberg areas, and its products are also available at some independent organic food stores across Germany. Whether the company will actually succeed in getting into the German retail major leagues will depend on a retailer willing to take somewhat of a gamble in developing this new potential opportunity.
