Among the top concerns for Brazilian parents when purchasing personal care products for their children is allergy-related issues. According to Mintel research, over half of parents with children aged 12 and under agree with the statement: “I worry that baby and child personal care products from brands I do not know might trigger allergic reactions.” This indicates that parents not only worry but also pay close attention to what they buy for their children.
It is important, therefore, that brands – mainly those that are less known in the market – have a strong focus on communication and promotional actions that bring consumers closer to the brand and win their trust. One way that children’s personal care brands could gain awareness is to offer their products, especially hypoallergenic ones, through subscription services. PetiteBox, created in 2012, offers its customers a subscription service of products targeted at pregnant women and babies and is a great example of fulfilling a consumer need. Every month, subscribers receive a box at their home containing four to six items from different brands. In 2014, the company expanded its service by launching a cosmetics range for breastfeeding mothers and pregnant women.
We also see national and imported products are a concern among parents. Our research indicates that one quarter of consumers agree that Brazilian products are as high quality as imported products. What’s more, men with children aged 12 and under are more likely than women to agree with the statement (36% of men vs 23% of women).
This patriotism can be explained by the Mintel Trend Patriot Games, which describes how today’s consumers live in a globalized society where everything is easily bought, sold or imported to anywhere in the country. This is making consumers strengthen their belief in – and support for – their country of origin through the products they choose to buy.
What’s more, we’ve seen that fathers seem to be more willing to spend or to spend more than mothers at the time of purchase. Although few Brazilian consumers (11%) consider the quality of private brands (eg supermarket brands) as good as the quality of products by regular brands, men are more likely to find this to be true than women. In these incidents, men tend to be more practical than women when shopping. Campaigns from children’s products targeted at fathers could therefore gain their trust. Bepantol Baby ran a successful campaign in August 2015 (the month when Father’s Day is celebrated in Brazil) targeting fathers. Leading with the title “Papai Manda Bem” (“Dad Always Gets It Right”), Bayer aimed at starting a dialog with fathers in order to encourage them to get involved in bringing up and looking after their children. The campaign included several initiatives, including the installation of diaper changing units in men’s public bathrooms throughout the country.
The importance of reading the ingredients list of each product before purchase also stood out in our research, as a concern for over one third of parents. This highlights another reason for brands in this sector to become aware that this market is made up of demanding consumers and that there is plenty of competition.
Juliana Martins is a Beauty and Personal Care Analyst at Mintel, based in Brazil. She has ten years of experience in communications and marketing in Brazil and France. Prior to Mintel, she worked in market intelligence for Chanel Parfums Beauté in Paris.
