Baby Friendly
The Wegmans eat your fruits and veggies line of clothes are made of 100% organic cotton and designed with low-impact dyes.
PL diapers and wipes remain a hot item as always, but as parents' environmental concerns amplify, retailers are adding more green products into the mix.
Drugstores and mass merchandisers have always offered affordable private label baby care items, but in the current economy store brand products stand to benefit more than before. While the average age of women at first childbirth is expected to continue to rise, according to a Euromonitor International report, their disposable incomes are unlikely to follow suit, thanks to the economic downturn, reports www.drugstorenews.com.
“The major potential threat to growth during the forecast period is the economy, as consumers will be inclined to use fewer baby care products and to choose private-label and mass-market products over higher-priced brands,” the report stated.
Private label baby products are plentiful and poised to take advantage of this as they evolve and become more sophisticated, giving national brands stiff competition.
Wipes Wipe Up
Babies and toddlers will always need diapers and wipes no matter the economy. Private label baby wipes sales rose 6.19% to over $157 million in drug and mass-merchandisers (excluding Wal-Mart, Club stores and Gas/Cstores) with a 23% share in the moist towelettes category, according to the last 52 weeks ending on October 4, 2009 according to Information Resources Inc. (IRI), Chicago.
Many retailers have yet to capitalize on the fusion of consumers’ needs for everyday baby care products and their desires for eco-friendly products. Wal-Mart, Bentonville, AR, continues to stand out as one of the few retailers offering 100% biodegradable baby wipes. Wal-Mart’s Parent’s Choice baby wipes are made with organic cotton and other naturally derived fibers. According to the packaging, the wipes are “extremely soft and gentle against your baby’s skin” and the resealable packs use 80% less packaging then conventional baby wipe tubs, so they create less waste as well.
Toddler wipes packaged in plastic tubs that appeal to little kids is another trend that has emerged. The push-button tubs make it easy for little hands to get wipes out and their bright, attractive colors allure toddlers.
CVS Pharmacy, Woonsocket, RI, carries these wipes in a purple and teal plastic tub with a rubber heart-shaped push button. A cute duck using the wipes adorns the label, which also reads, “Fits Pampers Kandoo Tub,” suggesting interchangeability of the refill products. The CVS brand tub cost $2.49, while the Kandoo tub cost $3.49, and the Kandoo tub refills were also a dollar more than the CVS brand refills.
Wal-Mart has purple and yellow private label toddler tubs with refills priced at only $.97 cents and Dollar Tree, Chesapeake, VA, sells a Wipes for Kids tub in bright green and purple. Harris Teeter, Matthews, NC, carries a range of products under its yourbaby and yourtot lines, including Yourbaby Wipes with push button tubs and refills that “pop up like a tissue.”
Big Baby Brands
Delhaize Group-US, Salisbury, NC had Marketing Management, Inc.’s creative group, Immotion Studios, develop the new brand name Home360 for its operating companies. The sub brand Home360 Baby includes the retailer’s line of baby products, from diapers to baby oil.
Safeway Stores, Pleasanton, CA, launched mom to mom last May, “a new line of high-quality baby products designed and created by moms, for moms,” according to www.safeway.com. The line includes a wide variety of wipes, Kiddie Ups (training pants), nutritional drinks, Supreme diapers, everyday diapers, formula, and toiletries, including SPF 50 Baby Sunscreen.
Mentioned earlier, Harris Teeter carries a selection of baby products including yourbaby Diapers, which feature characters from the Dreamworks Animation SKG movie, Shrek the Third.
Targeting Consumers
Target, Minneapolis, MN, continues to be positioned as a major player in private label baby care. The exclusive Dwell Studio for Target line includes fashionable clothing choices like its Henley top and pants set for boys, priced at $5.99, or its short-sleeve tunic and leggings set for girls.
Under Target’s Up & Up line shoppers can find anything from wipes to liquid baby laundry detergent. A 40 count of baby diapers is priced at $6.49 and came with a $2 off coupon for more Up & Up diapers when purchased. The diapers are stylish with large blue and green dots on them and feature a hypoallergenic inner liner with aloe and vitamin E.
Jean Coutu, Longueil, QC, carries Personnelle baby oil and says on their website it provides all-over skin conditioning for babies and adults and suggest it can also be “perfect for removing eye makeup and replenishing the skin after sun exposure.” The line also includes baby powder and baby shampoo, all with an adorable light blue bird on the label. Its PJC Éco Nature Soft Care Laundry Detergent for Baby is entirely biodegradable.
Wegmans, Rochester, NY, carries store brand Supreme diapers in addition to Wegmans diapers and also carries baby wipes, kid wipes, formula and bottle liners under the Wegmans brand. One unique item consumers can find at Wegmans is organic baby clothes. Wegmans eat your fruits & veggies line includes organic hats, rompers, one-pieces, cardigans and pants. The outfits come in peach, pea and blueberry, with illustrations of fruit and phrases like “just picked” or “eat your peas.”
The tags explains “these 100% organic cotton clothes are designed using low-impact dyes, water based inks and nickel-free snaps. By taking even baby steps, together we can make a difference for the environment.”
With an array of new and evolved old items to choose from, consumers may switch to private label brands to save money, but might stay for quality. If retailers can take advantage of consumers’ new willingness to try store brand baby care products and simultaneously captivate them with impressive products, then private label might just come out on top, despite economic woes.
