Sit At The Kids' Table

Fortified products and all-in-one meal solutions are two areas retailers might want to consider in developing kid-friendly store brand products.

Don't assume that if little Billy had his way, snack time would be an occasion to enjoy cookies and pop. A November 2010 study from the American Dietetic Association Foundation — surveying 1,193 pairs of children (ages 8 to 17) and their parents — revealed significant positive changes in eating patterns, meal and snack purchases, and family patterns that are related to healthier weights in children.

Of particular interest is how often kids are snacking. According to the study, children snack while taking part in various activities, including homework, watching TV, playing computer games and talking on the phone. About 25 percent of children eat while watching TV, and roughly the same number of kids claims to snack after dinner.

Snack attack

Because snacking youngsters tend to not be as concerned as adults are with their own weight or health, they usually are less receptive to ingredients such as alternative sweeteners, says Ricardo de la Blanca, CEO of Miami-based consultancy DLB Group Worldwide.

"That's why retailers need to make products that in some way 'disguise' the healthful ingredients used in a certain food to make it attractive for youngsters," he says, adding that packaging should engage kids with attractive images while maintaining a less-prominent space that explains the benefits of a product to parents.

After all, if a child doesn't like the look or taste of a product, perception of the entire brand could be harmed, says Patrick Rodmell, president and CEO of Toronto-based integrated retail agency Watt International. Retailers looking to appeal to the discriminating child palate might want to consider combo packs that feature both healthful and not-so-healthful snacks. Another option is to fortify less-healthful snacks with additional nutrients, Rodmell says.

Sarah Gammon, innovation director of Stamford, Conn.-based Daymon Worldwide, agrees. Daymon recently worked with a retailer to greatly enhance a food's nutritional value by adding undetectable nutrients.

"Imagine a mother on a tight budget who feeds her kids PB&J sandwiches for lunch each day," Gammon says. "She doesn't feel great about it, but the kids are fussy eaters, and it's affordable. Now imagine the same sandwich tasting the same, yet providing the nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables."

A June 2010 webinar from global research firm Mintel International suggested several other tweaks retailers could make to their kid-friendly foods — including diversifying fruits in dairy and cereal products, combining cereals with probiotics, adding omega-3s and prebiotics to breakfast bars, and using natural fruit and vegetable colorants (and detailing their origins on packaging).

But healthful attributes are not the only factors that make a product kid-friendly. Convenience also matters, especially to kids' on-the-go parents.

In recent years, several retailers have rolled out lines of kid-friendly lunch solutions similar to Oscar Mayer's Lunchables product. For example, Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix unveiled the Publix Deli Kids Meals in July 2010.

Made fresh daily and retailing for $3.99, each meal is made up of an entrée, two or three sides, and a beverage, and packaged in a clear container to provide parents with transparency, Publix says. The retailer's in-house registered dietician was involved in the planning process to make sure meals are balanced, wholesome and nutritious.

After their release, the Kids Meals were featured in advertising during the Back-to-School season, and stores were given seasonal point-of-purchase kits. Coupons for $ 1 off the purchase of two or more Kids Meals were provided, too, to help spur trial.

Getting personal

In non-foods, although dollar sales of children's personal-care (CPC) products saw a decline of 4.8 percent in 2009 and 3.8 percent in 2010 in food, drug and mass merchandiser outlets, increases of 2.3 percent in 2011 and 3.0 percent in 2012 are expected, according to Mintel's "Children's Personal Care — US — December 2010" report.

The report says some retailers — including Walmart, Walgreens and Roundy's — have introduced private label CPC products in recent years to meet demand for competitively priced national brand goods.

But despite competitive pricing, many parents are not purchasing CPC products, meaning their kids share the same adult personal-care products used by other household members. The report notes that only 50 percent of mothers of children under 12 who buy CPC products say adult personal-care products are not suitable for children.

Therefore, marketers should consider taking steps to more clearly identify the benefits of purchasing separate adult personal-care and CPC products. For example, children's bath soap is usually made for sensitive skin. This attribute should be communicated on packaging and in-store signage, the report says.

Don't tune out toons

Speaking of packaging, cartoon characters have been shown to help products — even healthful ones — "taste better" to children. An article in the March 2011 issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine details a study in which four cereal boxes were presented to a panel of children; two boxes were labeled "Sugar Bits" and the other two "Healthy Bits." One box of each pair featured two penguins from the animated movie Happy Feet, and the other didn't. All boxes contained the same cereal.

The children who saw a popular media character on the box reported liking the cereal more than those who viewed a box with no character on it.

Safeway, Pleasanton, Calif., understood the value of cartoon mascots when it teamed up with Warner Bros, in 2008 to feature Looney Tunes characters on more than 100 Eating Right Kids products.

However, Craig O'Keefe, managing partner with Brandjolt LLC, a Cary, Ill.-based marketing agency, believes there's more to licensing than simply putting images of a cartoon character on packaging. Retailers should use the license every chance they can to get customers interacting with a store brand.

O'Keefe offers four strategies:

• Create a single, kids-focused event and communications banner.
• Underwrite the initiative by securing participation from all relevant brand and product partners.
• Generate consumer participation with an array of exclusive purchase-triggered awards.
• Own your store. Use every available on- and off-premise media, merchandising and promotion tactic to dominate the competition during the drive or promotion period.

But what if a retailer cannot afford to pay expensive licensing fees? In this case, Rodmell says it should consider marketing with its own cast of characters.

"This idea needs more effort than simply putting animated characters on a cereal box — an entire marketing campaign can really help deliver brand loyalty and end up costing significantly less than licensing fees," he says.

In the end, whether the product teaches about good nutrition or offers the chance to enter a contest or sweepstakes, the child — not just the parent — should feel like he or she is involved in the transaction and interacting with the brand.

"Honor and reward the kids as 'gatekeepers' for their leadership and participation," O'Keefe says. "It's about providing and making choices. If your store brands satisfy needs and expectations, they are equally viable as the 'big' brands."

'If your store brands satisfy needs and expectations, they are equally viable as the 'big' brands.'

— Craig O'Keefe, managing partner, Brandjolt LLC