Baby Care Products Industry Offering Huge Opportunity to Franchises & Distributors

Did you know that a baby care brand, on an average, sells more than 200,000 products in a year?

The baby care market is one of the rapidly growing segments in India. In fact, the number of baby care products in India has almost doubled in recent years. India’s huge population pool and the growing rate of birth, increasing literacy rate, urbanisation of the rural population and the improved purchasing power are also fostering the growth of the segment.

Parents today make their purchase decisions after doing their research on Google, reading customer reviews, taking reference from friends etc. Also, new parents are extremely concerned about the safety of their child. It is very difficult to win a customer’s trust in today’s market

Moreover, consciousness about the toxins and their harmful effects on babies has given rise to negativity against the industry giants. Educated parents especially mothers are looking for only safe options for their kids and this itself has opened up an ocean of opportunities for innovative products in the baby care market.

Recent years have witnessed a spurt in the market for baby care products via franchising or distribution. The babycare segment is also one of the only industries that have seen a higher number of repeat purchases, with over 50% of shoppers being repeat buyers.

In conversation with Franchise India, Ghazal Alagh, co-founder, Mamaearth, talks about the growing baby care market, opportunities & future.

 Emerging Consumer Trends

The biggest trend is the inclination of parents towards organic products today. The internet has started a discussion about every single issue related to raising a child. Parents are not just being led by fancy advertisements or big names; they are actively looking for safer ingredients in the product. Ayurvedic and natural recipes for baby care products are gaining popularity not only in the urban market but also in the developing semi-urban and rural markets too. Tier 2 and tier 3 cities are also creating new pockets of demand and rural customers are experimenting and accepting products which are new to them. 

 Small Cities, Big Potential  

The baby care products are in huge demand in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, which is primarily fueled by increased awareness. Internet penetration has made information accessible for Indian rural consumers, which are influencing their purchase decisions.

Today the parents from small towns and cities are equally informed as their urban counterparts and level of brand consciousness is increasing leading to the growth in quality baby care products in the hinterland. The focus of these consumers is shifting towards value-based purchases instead of price-based buying due to the increase in overall income.

The semi-urban and rural market offers unlimited opportunities for the segment to touch nearly one-third of the county’s population who are on their way to urbanisation.

Organic is the New Black

Indian mothers are very concerned about the health of their kids; the moment they realize something is harming their child, and they immediately step back. This is what has happened in the baby care market, where parents have finally realized the damaging effects of harmful chemicals and toxins in some of the products in the market today. And they are therefore opting for natural and organic products for the safety of their children. 

With increasing awareness, consumer preferences are shifting gradually towards natural and organic baby care products. The new generations of Indian parents are no longer driven by brand names and pricing; they are now consciously led by the quality and impact of the product, which is creating a market for natural products that are yet to be tapped to its full potential.

What does the Future Looks Like?

The growth in working-class and increasing wealth of the rising middle class in the country brings in an enormous growth opportunity for the baby care market in future. Also, increasing awareness and education is leading parents towards making conscious choices. In the coming years, the millennial parents will not just seek quality products; they will also be driven by the sustainability quotient of the products. 

In addition, in the current era of aware and environmentally conscious parenting, organic products are bound to steal the show in the market. The world is going back to the past natural recipes and so are the new age parents. Parents are choosing organic products and are even ready to pay a bit more for the safety of their children. People have understood the need to rely on only natural products for healthy living. For brands that are honest and offer nature-based products for green parenting, the market holds a huge potential.

Moreover, with the next billion users of Bharat coming online the segment will penetrate deep into the semi-urban and rural India. All in all the market seems very lucrative for safe and healthy baby care products in years to come.

Franchising & Distribution Opportunity

The baby care market has emerged as one of the profitable businesses in recent time. The segment has unfolded entrepreneurship opportunity in both franchising & distributorship.

Brands such as Firstcry are offering high-revenue franchises to aspirants. Other brands such as Johnson & Johnson, Himalaya, Mama-Earth etc also works in the distribution method. For instance, Mamaearth sells its products on e-commerce platform via zero-level distribution channels, i.e., Distributor to Consumer.  These brands are increasingly offering distributorship opportunity for entrepreneurs looking to invest in profitable business.