Sugar reduction becomes the core selling point of children's snacks

In recent years, the children's snack market has developed rapidly.

At present, children's food on the market is basically divided into children's staple food, complementary food, fresh food and snacks.

"Zero sugar" trend prevails

At present, there are some problems that cannot be ignored in the children's snack industry, such as the lack of a unified standard in the market, etc.

With the growing health awareness of consumers, "sugar-free, low-sugar" foods have appeared on the market one after another, and this trend has gradually affected infant and children's food

The popularity of "zero-sugar" children's food presents new opportunities for snack giants

Many brands focusing on infant snacks have also won the favor of capital

"Sugar substitute" is still controversial

The "General Rules for Nutrition Labeling of Prepackaged Foods in National Food Safety Standard" shows that if the food label claims "no or no sugar", the sugar content per 100 grams of solid or 100 ml of liquid cannot exceed 0.

Are these kid's snacks really healthy enough? In this regard, Ruan Guangfeng, director of the Science and Technology Communication Department of the Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center, said that the concept of not adding preservatives, additives, flavors, and spices is not very useful, because regular preservatives, additives, flavors, and spices are harmful to the human body.

"For enterprises, labeling low-sugar, sugar-free, sucrose-free and other words is nothing more than wanting to highlight their advantages among similar products and attract consumers to buy

Behind the "zero sugar" pandemic is the "victory" of sweeteners and sugar substitutes

"The difference in sweetness between sugar alcohols and white sugar is only a few tens of percent at most, while glycoside sweeteners and synthetic sweeteners are 'high-efficiency' sweeteners, which are tens to several times sweeter than sucrose.

Fan Zhihong said that the sweetness of sugar alcohol sweeteners is relatively natural, the absorption and utilization rate is low, and the calories are low, which will not cause the problem of tooth decay

So, are low-sugar or sugar-free food for children good for preventing obesity and diabetes in children? Fan Zhihong believes that compared with children's foods containing a lot of sugar, the health risks of low-sugar and sugar-free foods may be slightly smaller, but whether "sugar substitutes" are harmful to health is still controversial

She said some studies suggest that "sugar substitute" foods don't promote obesity and diabetes like a lot of sugary foods

"It should be noted that fructose has a refreshing and pleasant sweet taste, and its application has become more and more popular in recent years, and it is sought after by the market

Brand professionalism needs to be improved

"There are too many children's snacks to choose from on the market, but I don't know which product is suitable for children of what age

In China's children's snack industry, there are still problems such as lack of standards, non-standard food labeling, market confusion, and low trust in domestic brands
.
The industry only has the group standard of general requirements for children's snacks, and there are many children's snack products that follow corporate standards
.

Chinese food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng believes that as a segment of the food industry, the industry currently wants to highlight the concept of children's snacks, but consumers have not fully recognized this concept
.
This is related to the fact that brands use the foundry model, but more importantly, it is because of the lack of industry national standards
.
After the introduction of the national standard, the children's snack industry will have mandatory requirements and thresholds, and will better protect consumers, which is the key to the development of the industry
.

Chen Muli, a researcher at Shenzhen Zhongwei Zhiyan Consulting Co.
, Ltd.
, said that according to the law of industry development, the segmentation of children's snacks is an inevitable trend in market development
.
With the participation of all parties, as the market is swept away, some companies with outdated products, outdated management, and outdated innovations must be screened out.
The development of the industry will gradually become standardized, and the market prospects will be considerable
.

　　Industry insiders believe that the children's snack industry seems to be very popular, but from the perspective of investors, the development prospects are mediocre, and it is difficult for new brands to open up a place
.
The relevant person in charge of the three squirrels said that after the rapid development of the children's snack market in the early stage, it has now entered a stage of stable development.
Diversified and personalized needs
.
As a brand, if you want to survive in this field for a long time, you need to improve the professionalism of the brand and create products that can withstand the inspection of consumers with a "magnifying glass"
.

　　What kind of products will the children's market need in the future? In this regard, Zhu Danpeng said that the entire children's food market will continue to develop and continue to increase.
The key is how companies can grasp the core points of the entire category: safety, integrity of the supply chain, differentiated advantages, and brand tonality.
, customer stickiness, and scene innovation ability
.
Industry insiders believe that the future children's snack market can be a dual-driven development of "IP + products".
Consumers will consider cost performance, product appearance, brand, etc.
when purchasing products, but they will eventually return to the product itself
.
Therefore, in order to prevent consumers from becoming one-time consumption, quality is the key
.

　　(Comprehensive by Zhu Meiqiao)

　　"China Food News" (07 edition on April 12, 2022)

　　(Editor in charge: Zhu Meiqiao)