Simply nutritious

According to \"Marketing to Kids,\" an October 2012 report from global market research firm Mintel, in 2012, kids aged 6-11 numbered about 25.7 million and accounted for about 8 percent of the total U.S. population. Moreover, \"Kids Food and Beverage Market in the U.S.,\" a May 2011 report from the Packaged Facts division of Rockville, Md.-based MarketResearch.com, estimates that retail sales of kids foods will grow by 40 percent between 2010 and 2015. This outlook provides a great opportunity for retailers to encourage moms, the typical family grocery shoppers, to purchase child-oriented store brand products.

More than ever before, moms are social shoppers. They are 43 percent more likely to go online to gather coupons, 38 percent more likely to visit store websites, and 20 percent more likely to use social media to plan their grocery trips than the average grocery shopper, states Packaged Facts November 2012 \"Moms as Food Shoppers: Grocery Store and Supercenter Patterns and Trends\" report.

Thus, to connect with moms, retailers must connect online. Here, they could offer coupons, recipes, cooking tips and meal-planning programs, as well as cooking videos or even information about in-store cooking classes.

After drawing Mom into the store with a social presence, retailers now face the challenge of encouraging the purchase of child-oriented store brand items over national brands.

Packagings pull
Packaging plays a critical role in attracting moms to a sale, so design is key. While it is true that children are attracted to products that feature well-known movie and TV characters, retailers often cant or wont spend the money on licensing agreements to feature said characters on store brand products. Retailers, then, must find other ways to differentiate their products from both the national brands and retail competitors.

Product ingredients and benefits should be a main selling point for store brand items, says Christine Bellamo, director, global business development, dairy/frozen for Daymon Worldwide, Stamford, Conn. By pointing out how a product is healthful, retailers avoid getting lost in the clutter of the national brand arena, where its too expensive to match marketing dollars, she adds. Clear on-pack communication should emphasize terms that are easily identifiable and sought after by parents: gluten-free, natural, organic, real fruit, reduced sugar, low in sodium, whole grain, high in omega-3, high in fiber, no high-fructose corn syrup, a full serving of fruit/vegetables, etc.

Additionally, packaging design is moving away from bright colors and bold fonts, which look \"sugary,\" to more muted natural themes, says Matthew Hudak, research analyst, Euromonitor International, with U.S. headquarters in Chicago. An example he gives of a name brand that seems to have navigated this arena successfully is GoGo squeeZ (squeezable fruit in a pouch). With an earthy green background and simple cartoon fruits that indicate what is inside the product, GoGo squeeZ manages to attract the attention of children and parents at the same time.

Another change in packaging design is the movement away from cartoon character mascots and more toward \"anthropomorphizing\" the food itself. For example, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Krave cereals prominently feature their cereal pieces walking, talking and eating, Hudak notes. One reason for this depiction, he explains, is that as obesity rates continue to rise, parents increasingly do not want product mascots advertising directly to their children, telling them what to eat or how much to eat.

Another reason, Hudak continues, is that as children get older, they dont want to be associated with foods that make them seem immature. By minimizing the cartoon mascot, brands are able to let their products age with the child so they appeal to a larger audience.

David Hyland, director, global business development, salty snacks for Daymon Worldwide, agrees.

\"Multiple age targets [are] important considerations as the kid category encompasses such a broad range of ages,\" he says. \"As we know, products that visually appeal to a 5-to-7-year-old may completely fail the cool factor test for older kids that might otherwise have enjoyed the product.\"

Packaging design refers not only to the labeling of a product, but also to the functionality and convenience of the package itself. Food pouches recently have become very popular for kids because they mix the ability to snack on the go with the ability to \"play\" with the food with a minimal mess factor, Bellamo says. Another important convenience factor are the pouches built-in straws, which eliminate the need for a spoon, giving parents one less thing to buy or worry about having on hand, Hudak says. Retailers should take note of these convenience packaging trends sooner rather than later, he cautions, because once consumers become accustomed to a certain level of convenience, the price difference associated with a store brand wont matter to the consumer who now cant think of the product without that ease-of-use component.

Retailer advantages
Retailers have a variety of advantages when it comes to cultivating loyal store brand shoppers, especially moms. First and foremost it begins with trust, says Kristen Bodenstein, director, global business development, beverages/candy/cereal for Daymon Worldwide.

\"Retailers have an advantage over national brands, because theres an inherent level of trust between consumers and the store they choose to shop,\" she says.

Coupling this trust with the knowledge that mom is already more likely to choose store brands compared to consumers on average, according to Packaged Facts \"Mom as Food Shoppers\" report, retailers have the perfect opportunity to bolster store brand sales.

After mom buys a kid-related store brand product in one category and thoroughly enjoys it, her trust in the brand has been affirmed. Now, she is more willing to buy store brand kid-related products in other categories, because she trusts that retailer to provide the same level of commitment to quality throughout the store, Bodenstein says.

What about those few national brand products that mom isnt willing to give up for the store brand equivalent? Here, loyalty cards and data come into play, says Craig OKeefe, managing partner at Cary, Ill.-based BrandJolt. Retailers are in the unique position of knowing exactly who their consumers are and when they buy store brand products versus national brand products. By analyzing their loyalty card data, OKeefe continues, retailers can encourage mom to try store brand products with coupons or promotions specifically aimed to encourage crossover from the national brand to which she is still attached.

When mom makes the switch and becomes attached to these kid-related store brand products, those products become part of the draw that pulls her into the store, OKeefe says.

Now \"their private label plays just as big a role as their fresh vegetables do,\" he adds.