Kids’ dairy and snacking: 10 case studies in marketing and innovation

Snacks and dairy products are major categories in the kids’ food market – but innovating in kids’ dairy is challenging and the market for kids’ snack products is extremely competitive. This 48-page report looks at routes to innovation in these categories, including new approaches to distribution and marketing – and in particular, marketing to that powerful and increasingly on-line buying group, mothers.

About this report

Snacking is the over-arching trend in food and health, not least in the kids’ food market. But the market for healthier kid-specific snacking products is a tough place in which failure is more common than success.

This report outlines the factors for success in kids’ snacks – factors that the six companies in our snacking case studies are using to their advantage.

In dairy, too, innovating successfully is one of the most difficult challenges. There is a narrow spectrum within which consumers – specifically, mothers – will accept innovative dairy products. Product developers’ innovation efforts in kids’ dairy are taking one (or more) of five possible routes, as the four dairy case studies in this report demonstrate.

How to successfully market to mothers: companies are changing the way they market to mothers. Effective marketing to mothers is starting to shift from traditional messaging that was directed at mothers to campaigns that evolve with them – increasingly delivered via social media. Mothers are the strongest-growing group of users of social media – and the companies in our case studies have had success with social media campaigns targeting moms – yet there remains room for improvement in marketing to mothers, with 75% of mothers saying they are portrayed in marketing in ways that are stereotypical and outdated.

New approaches to distribution and marketing are also fuelling success, with forward-thinking companies tackling the challenges of how to take new products to market in ways that enable companies to earn better margins, to build better relationships with consumers and give new ideas a chance to grow.

Table of contents

Executive Summary

Five elements of innovation in the tough world of kids’ dairy

A wealth of innovation opportunities

Secrets of marketing to mothers

Dairy Case Studies
Case Study 1: Can Frumoo lure kids back to milk?
Case Study 2: Kraft turns granola bars into kids’ dairy snacks
Case Study 3: Schools welcome Dean’s reduced-sugar chocolate milk
Case Study 4: Playing a long game with probiotic chocolate milk

Snacking Case Studies
Case Study 5: Crunch makes the difference for freeze-dried fruit snacks
Case Study 6: Snikiddy goes “all natural” and “all family”
Case Study 7: Snacks king Organix aims to take bite out of kids’ meals market
Case Study 8: Buzz Strong brings healthier cookies to schools and vending
Case Study 9: Benjoy puts convenience, taste and nutrition at heart of toddler snacks
Case Study 10: Castus cracks Denmark’s snack bar market – UK is the next focus

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Related research categories

By sector: Children's (in Soft drinks), Dairy (in Soft drinks)