'VIB Tribe' Shakes 1 Trillion Won Market... Kids' Food Ingredients Grow Rapidly in Low Birthrate Era

Major Food Ingredient Companies See 10% Growth in Infant and Toddler Sales
Increased Demand for Healthy Food Drives High Value-Added Creation
Differentiated Competition with Various Cooking Classes and DIY Kits

Although the ultra-low birthrate phenomenon continues, the infant and toddler food ingredient market, valued at around 1 trillion won, is showing steady growth. This is attributed to the increasing number of parents seeking 'healthy food' and the expansion of government support such as childcare services. Competition among food ingredient companies to dominate the infant and toddler care dining tables in daycare centers and kindergartens is also intensifying day by day.

According to the industry on the 13th, CJ Freshway's kids food brand 'Ainuri' achieved sales of 130 billion won last year. This is the result of 10 years since launching the kids brand in 2014, as demand for high-quality infant and toddler food increased. This figure represents a 19% increase compared to the previous year, with an average annual growth rate of 25% over the past three years. Ainuri is continuously setting new records every year and is becoming a core business group of CJ Freshway.

CJ Freshway 19%, Ourhome 13%... Rapid Growth in the Infant and Toddler Food Ingredient Market

Currently, the domestic infant and toddler food ingredient market is worth about 1 trillion won. Alongside Ainuri, the industry's second-largest player, major brands such as Pulmuone Foodmus's 'Pulskids' in first place and Ourhome's 'Ourkids' in third place are continuously expanding their scale. Pulskids recorded sales in the 180 billion won range last year, marking more than a 10% increase compared to the previous year. This year, they aim to surpass 200 billion won. Ourkids sales also grew by 13% compared to the previous year. It has expanded by more than 85% since 2020, showing rapid growth.

The steady increase in the infant and toddler food ingredient market despite the low birthrate is due to the growing demand for high-quality food ingredients. As the average number of children decreases, parents who want to feed their children good ingredients even if expensive have actually increased. Recently, a new term 'VIB (Very Important Baby)' has emerged in the distribution industry, reflecting how parents are actively investing in their children. This trend is spreading not only to household dining tables but also to the dining tables of daycare centers and kindergartens, which are major clients of food ingredient companies. Parents can check photos of the side dishes and snacks provided on the day through applications like 'Kids Note.' The recent expansion of government policy support, such as increasing childcare services, is also growing the market.

Pulmuone's Pulskids Cooking Class

Capturing the High Value-Added Market... Intensifying Competition Among Companies with 'Differentiation' Strategies

Accordingly, food ingredient companies are anticipating that the infant and toddler food ingredient market will generate high added value and are fiercely competing to increase their market share. Commonly, they supply various certified products such as eco-friendly agricultural products and animal welfare-certified livestock products. At the same time, they are seeking differentiation in additional products and services.

In the case of CJ Freshway, experiential DIY meal kits such as dumplings, cakes, cookies, songpyeon, soy meat, and kimchi developed under the concept of 'fun food that children make themselves' have contributed to improved performance. Additional services that provide practical support for childcare facility operations are also popular. They offer cooking classes using 60 self-developed recipes to provide healthy food culture experience education for infants and toddlers. There is also a hygiene consulting service where hygienists visit the cooking sites within childcare facilities to provide hygiene management guidance and inspection support.

Pulmuone also offers products for experiential activities at infant and toddler facilities, such as the 'Traditional Kimchi Making Kit' for kimchi-making experiences. They also conduct education on proper eating habits through cooking classes for families. The Pulskids cooking class is an educational program where children and parents cook together to emphasize the importance of healthy eating habits and consideration for the global environment. Ourhome provides customized food ingredients from size to packaging tailored to children's eating habits. Additionally, Ourhome has designated its Yongin logistics center as a kids-only logistics center, conducting quality inspections and meticulous safety management. They also operate a 24-hour metaverse customer center, establishing a system that can respond to customer needs at any time.

An industry official said, "With concerns over population decline due to the low birthrate intensifying competition in the food ingredient industry, we look forward to the development of the kids food ingredient market, which focuses on improving the quality of products and services."