How Rising Family Incomes are Shaping Consumer Choices in the Baby Formula Market 

From Shelf to Highchair: How Rising Family Incomes are Shaping Consumer Choices in the Baby Formula Market 

The baby formula market has significantly changed in recent years. Previously, parents didn’t think much about the formula content and its effect on a baby’s health. Besides, inflation and unemployment made them choose cheaper foods. Today, rising family incomes influence consumer choices because they can afford more. Consequently, consumers became more picky regarding their food choice, including baby formula selection. 

Why do parents prefer the HiPP Comfort milk formula to classical formulas? How are food fashions and family incomes interrelated? What are consumers’ quality expectations and consumption patterns today? Let’s find it out.  

Organic Products are Gaining Popularity Daily

Organic products are more expensive than their conventional alternatives. It takes more time and cost to grow ecologically clean and healthy products. Moreover, farmers spend a lot to care for animals because cows and goats need good-quality grass, hay, and medicine to kill possible infections and parasites. Consequently, organic goods become trendy because they are natural and don’t contain pesticides, chemicals, and other unhealthy ingredients. So, they are healthy and safe for babies. 

Organic Baby Formulas and Baby Foods are Highly Nutritious

Companies that produce organic foods concentrate not only on their safety but on their nutritional values as well. People need fats, carbs, vitamins, proteins, and minerals to thrive and handle bacterial and viral infections. It’s not a secret that a person who experiences avitaminosis needs more time to recover from sinusitis, sore throat, and other “typical” seasonal problems. Eventually, infants require formulas to fill their bodies with the needed macronutrients and micronutrients.

Organic baby food brands mention the amount of all ingredients on their packs. Besides, they make different formula stages to adjust one serving to a baby’s requirements. For example, stage 3 meets the needs of babies from 10 months. Conventional American formulas create standard formulas, which makes baby feeding non-convenient. European formula is adapted to the organism of a baby at a specific age period. Due to that, a young organism receives all the macronutrients and micronutrients safely.  

Different Formula Types to Satisfy Health Peculiarities of Infants

Newborns usually suffer from indigestion, colics, or bloating during the first three months of their life. Mothers often give prebiotics and probiotics or keep to strict diets to help their kids suffer less. Formula-fed infants need specific baby formulas to feel well and explore the world without pain. Fortunately, the European baby food market offers the following types of baby formulas:

• hypoallergenic for lactose intolerant babies
• comfort for colicky bellies
• probiotic-rich for sensitive tummies
• cow and goat milk formulas with different nutritional values
• full-cream and skimmed milk to satisfy the nutritional needs of everyone

The Lifestyle Demands

An active lifestyle is a demand of time, and parents must adapt to it. Not all mothers feel comfortable when breastfeeding in public, and constant pumping irritates. Others find it hard to find a clean surface and sterile cutlery to prepare powdered milk formula when being out. Fortunately, European brands have created single-serve ready-to-feed formulas that are the best solution for busy caregivers. Natural ingredients make them safe like breast milk and comfy bottles simplify the feeding process. Even though they are a bit expensive, parents don’t worry about the cooking conditions and time needed for formula measuring and preparation. 

Expansion of E-commerce and Online Shopping

Everyone who has a smartphone but lacks free time benefits from online shopping. It’s easier to order things online and ask for “to-the-door” delivery than to buy things traditionally. Traditional purchasing turns into torture with newborns who always need something or cry. European formulas became trendy during the pandemic formula shortage. Overseas parents highlighted the beneficial influence of organic products on their kids and refused to return to conventional formulas with artificial additives, sugar, GMOs, pesticides, and antibiotics.

Ecological Problems and Expensive Treatment are Also Influential

Today, more people are concerned about the eco-friendliness of most products. Organic formulas go in eco-friendly packages, so there is no need to worry about litter and harm to nature. Another reason for the popularity of organic goods is the cost of medications. It’s easier to develop healthy eating habits and avoid harmful ingredients than to treat diseases. 

So, parents prefer buying costly organic formulas to have more time to make money, enjoy comfort, and provide their babies with the healthiest products to prevent diseases in the future.