Kids Food, Beverages Poised for Growth Spurt

ROCKVILLE, Md.The kids food and beverage market reached $10 billion in 2010 and is poised for a 40-percent growth spurt by 2015 as food manufacturers turn up the heat on the sales and development of products specifically for children, according to a new report from Packaged Facts.

Packaged Facts qualifies a food as being a kids' food when it has a taste kids love; nutrition kids need; or entertainment kids crave. Ideally, the product would possess all three of these characteristics through formulation, packaging, and marketing.

In 2010, 40 percent of the kids' food market could be described as having some better-for-you element with products claims such as "made with whole wheat" and "lower sugar". This trend is expected to continue as food manufacturers address the growing childhood obesity epidemic.

The "Kids Food and Beverage Market in the U.S." report examines retail-packaged food and beverage products targeted to children in the 2- to 12-year-old age group. The report divides the market into eight segmentsfrozen foods, dairy products, beverages, cereal, produce, meals (shelf-stable), snacks (salty and sweet) and other.

The frozen foods segment is the largest in the market and rings up $2 billion or 23 percent of retail sales, followed by beverages and dairy products, respectively. According to the report, the largest frozen food segment is the ice cream/novelties subcategory that is irresistible to kids and parents alike when featuring popular cartoon characters. The beverage segment is large because of the variety and volume of conveniently packaged aseptic juices and juice drinks in boxes and pouches. Dairy products lead in the kids' market, with yogurt driving sales.

"The kids' food market gained attention after the turn-of-the-century, but never really had a fair chance to gain momentum, as the recession entered the picture," said Don Montuori, publisher of Packaged Facts. "In 2009 and 2010, a number of marketers turned up the heat, and started getting aggressive in this very important food marketing segment. We forecast that the next several years going into 2015 will mark a period of tremendous growth in the sales and development of food and beverage products marketed and designed for children."