The Kids Insights Global Food & Drink Report 2020 report reveals a comprehensive overview of key challenges, opportunities and trends that they are seeing from the results of surveying more than 200,000 children
Kids Insights, the global leader in kids’ market intelligence, issued its Kids Insights Global Food & Drink Report 2020. The report reveals a comprehensive overview of key challenges, opportunities and trends that they are seeing from the results of surveying more than 200,000 children between the age of 3 and 18 a year across the UK, US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, India, Brazil and Mexico.
Nick Richardson, CEO Kids Insights comments
“This generation of kids are like no other: they are super-informed, constantly connected, and their attitudes, behaviours and consumption choices are not only significantly different from their predecessors but are evolving continually.
They have more financial freedom and growing influence within the household.
For example, across the 20 household expenditures areas Kids Insights track (including food & drink), the number of kids who influence their parents has increased across every single one of them between Q1 and Q2 2020 in the UK, as the family decision process becomes a democracy. The trend is similar in countries such as Germany and the US, where almost half the categories have risen.
Children’s say in household purchasing decisions is greater than ever and therefore every brand must now become a ‘family brand’.”
As investigated in detail in The Global Food & Drink report 2020, the industry continues to be shaped by emerging trends worldwide while shifting consumer priorities encourages innovation from new product development to retail. Key findings from the Kids Insights Global Food & Drink Report 2020 include:
- Health: A major consideration – Brands not only have the power to positively influence kids and teens; they can also strategically benefit from the awareness of serious issues that is building among the next generation of consumers. Our data shows that kids are increasingly looking for healthy options when it comes to food and drinks. In Italy, even amongst 6-9 year olds, 47% think about how healthy a product is, and this rate grows with age up to 55% for 16-18 year olds. In the UK, the figure is 31% and healthy food is deemed particularly important amongst teenage girls.
- Eco-friendliness helps drive purchase – Companies now understand that a clear and transparent environmental strategy can give them a competitive advantage while staying relevant. In the UK, teenagers concerns about the environment have risen 50% year-on-year, reflecting the surge in attempts made by brands over the past year to become more sustainable. In the US, teens considering the environmental effects of their food has risen 156% between Q4 2018 and Q4 2019, and is now more important than on-pack giveaways (8.4%).
- Licensed food & drinks: A lucrative business that continues to grow – Food and beverage licensing represented 6%, or $16.3bn, of global retail sales of licensed merchandise in 2018, according to Licensing International’s – the world’s largest trade association in Licensing – Annual Global Licensing Industry Survey 2019 Report.
Around 1 in 10 French and British teenagers have purchased licensed food related to their favourite film – higher than other European countries surveyed by Kids Insights. 8% of under 13s in Germany say they have bought food relating to their favourite TV show. Preschoolers are the most likely to have bought licensed food products, 50% more so than 6-12s, illustrative of how younger children are the most captive audience. In Spain, children’s favourite snacks offer the opportunity for sponsorships. For example, Spanish lollipop brand Chupa Chups has announced a sponsorship of Vodafone Giants, taking a step into the world of esports.
- Favourite restaurants & drinks and snacks – In the US, Chick-Fil-A continues to challenge McDonald’s’ crown while it becomes the top favourite for 16-18 year olds. While McDonald’s is a consistent favourite across the European countries surveyed by Kids Insights, Italian kids favour it the most strongly. German and French kids are the next biggest McDonald’s fans, with 31% in each country listing it as their favourite. In Brazil and Mexico, KitKat and Oreo are the most popular snacks in biscuits & bars while Coca Cola rules in both countries in drinks.
- Taste & price: important motivations for children – Taste and price are key considerations for kids determining their food choices across many markets worldwide. In the US, children have become gradually more price conscious over the past year. For American kids who are choosing their own snacks over-index on considering price (+33%) and health factors (+20%), whilst parents and kids who are making choices together over-index on considerations on taste (+17%). In India, the number of kids choosing food because they like the brand increased by 8% over Q3 2019 – Q1 2020.
Utku Tansel LLB, MBA Head of Global Industry Reports Kids Insights commented:
“The new generation children are increasingly looking for healthy options and on a wider scale, as part of shifting consumer priorities, health is ever more perceived as the new wealth. Kids’ concern for the environment is showing consistent growth, indicative of how the ethics surrounding what they consume are integral. Expanding their eco-credentials is more important than ever for brands to keep kids and teens engaged. If brands are not already incorporating these key trends and developments across their advertising, marketing, product development and sales strategies, they need to act fast”.
For more further information about the Kids Insights Global Video Game reports, please visit http://kidsinsights.com/global-food-report
