Strengthen Brand Loyalty through Consumer Engagement Activities

An Increasing of Demand in Baby Food Industry

According to the United Nation’s Population report, the global population will reach 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion by 2050, and exceed 11.2 billion in 2100 with a yearly growth of roughly 83 million people in the world. The population growth is mainly driven by emerging countries.

Societal shifts support the growth of the baby food market. Traditionally, children were fed with home-made food in the majority of developing and underdeveloped countries. Since globalization and emerging market evolutions, there has been a population movement from rural to urban areas. This change in lifestyle resulted in an increased demand for manufactured infant food products. Moreover, due to the increasing number of working women and dual-career households, parents are open and willing to convert to the more convenient practice of feeding their children with milk formula and wet food – across continents and different cultures.

Trust – a Key Element that Drives Sales & Brand Value

Baby food brand owners are facing challenges. For those who have managed the challenges and are continuously listening the voice of their consumers, trust has been enhanced and strengthened. Trust is the key driver for consumers to continue to purchase specific brands and become brand influencers.

  • When retailers and consumers know that brands are authentic and transparent with their quality, as well as the origin of the production;
  • When parents have more visibility of the ingredients so they can make confident decisions about what they feed to their children

Manufacturers build brand equity and trust, differentiating themselves from other players in the industry through consumer engagement activities.

In a sensitive industry like infant nutrition, consumers usually carry out multiple searches online and check within their communities prior to trying or purchasing a product for their children. Hence, providing information and applying consumer engagement before, during, and after the purchasing process, is the most important aspect that brand owners should consider.

Consumer Engagement Strengthen the Connection with Parents

With the concept of customer centricity and digital transformation, companies in each and every industry have started to consider consumer engagement as a product offering or as a complementary service. According to the Label Insight and the Food Marketing Institute survey, in 2016, 39% of surveyed consumers said they would switch from the brand they usually buy to comparable brand that provides more in-depth product information, beyond what is on the physical label. This percentage increased to 74% in 20182.

Packaging is a crucial part of consumers’ access to goods. The purchasing decision is based on both intangible items such as brand awareness, and tangible items such as price and packaging appearance. According to McKinsey Survey of consumers purchasing dairy products, the large majority are in the category of ‘must know’ or ‘would like to know’ about product ingredients, manufacturing processes, and sourcing practices while making the purchasing decision3.

The goal of consumer engagement is to create a connection between brand owner and consumer, before the buying decision has been made. Through unique identifiers, such as QR code, presented on the package of infant formula, parents get access to the “richer-than-package” information. This can be done by scanning the QR code with their mobile devices and browsing the website.

Manufacturers are able to provide tracking details, such as:
  • Where the product was produced,
  • From which city it was exported and imported,
  • Where the raw material was sourced,
  • How the powder milk was made.

Companies can also build loyalty programs through consumer engagement activities.  Scanning the unique code on a product, sharing information within the community, and answering questions from other users are just a few examples of how consumers can be rewarded with credit points, discounts for their next purchase, or possibly free trial of new products, or a privilege status as VIP of brand events.

All consumer engagement activities are intended to create trust. At the same time, brands will be rewarded with consumer insights gained from these activities. Massive data will guide companies to understand parents’ decision making for their children:

  • When did they buy our product
  • in which channel,
  • how frequently they purchase
  • and their satisfaction together with the reaction from their babies.

This sustainable cycle of engaging consumers and improving offerings will bring long-term authenticity of a product and loyalty to a brand in this competitive baby food market.

Laetus is your business partner with a shared vision of digitalization and consumer engagement. We offer track and trace solutions for your infant formula packaging line at every level of your consumer engagement plan. With a robust project deployment and end-user integration team, we implement the change for you to drive workflow efficiency, flexibility, and agility, contributing to your digitalization and consumer engagement goals.