Mexico Baby Food, 2019

Mexico Baby Food, 2019

Summary

Mexico's birth rate remains among the highest in Latin America, but the number of births has been generally downward. The population comprises a large group of people living in poverty and a smaller group of middle and upper income consumers, and it is the latter that are the main purchasers of industrially prepared baby food. Nonetheless, sales are high and expanding, led by milks, although wet meals and cereals performed nearly as well. The sector is fairly traditional, with products such as pouches and liquid milks only launched in the last four years. The majority of baby food is produced domestically.

Mexico has become a major exporter, particularly of milks and sweet meals. Nestlé continues to dominate, accounting for over half of sales. It has a virtual monopoly of cereals and drinks, accounts for 85% of wet meals, and leads in baby milks. Only Heinz challenges Nestlé in wet meals. In milks, Mead Johnson and Aspen lie second and third, followed by Abbott, Danone and FrieslandCampina. Pharmacies remain a significant distribution channel, dominating the supply of milks, but supermarkets and hypermarkets account for over half of value sales. Consumption is expected to grow during the next six years, fueled by the relatively buoyant state of the economy (though this will depend on political and economic relations with the US), and increased manufacturer competition, slightly offset by declining birth numbers.

“Mexico Baby Food, 2019” is an analytical report by GlobalData which provides extensive and highly detailed current and future market trends in the Mexican market.

What else does this report offer?
- Consumption data based upon a unique combination of industry research, fieldwork, market sizing work and our in-house expertise to offer extensive data about the trends and dynamics affecting the industry.
- Detailed profile of the companies operating and new companies considering entry in the industry along with their key focus product sectors.
- Market profile of the various product sectors with the key features & developments, segmentation, per capita trends and the various manufacturers & brands.
- Overview of baby food retailing with a mention of the major retailers in the country along with the distribution channel.
- Future projections considering various trends which are likely to affect the industry

Scope

- The live birth rate has been on a generally downward path since the late 1990s, although 2017 and 2018 saw slight increases. Nonetheless, at 18.2 per thousand population in 2018, Mexico's crude birth rate remains among the highest in Latin America.
- Imports of baby milks and cereals are relatively low overall (9,294 tons in 2017) and fell heavily in 2017. The Netherlands accounts for the largest proportion of imports (44 % of volume in 2017). Mexico has become a major baby food exporter, and in 2017 exported 42,613 tons of milks & cereals, mostly to other Latin American countries, as well as almost 14,000 tons of sweet meals.
- Nestlé continues to dominate, accounting for well over half of all retail sales. It has a virtual monopoly of the cereals and drinks categories and accounts for 85 % of wet meals, as well as leading in baby milks.
- It is increasingly the domain of large scale outlets, and these also dominate the distribution of baby food: in 2018, supermarkets and hypermarkets accounted for almost 53% of value sales.
- The government hands out a six month supply of free infant formula to mothers unable or unwilling to breastfeed. Therefore, despite many Mexican mothers being unable to afford the high price of infant formula, this practice has helped to maintain consumption levels of breast milk substitutes.
- All categories are expected to achieve increased sales by 2024, reaching a value of Mex$25.7 billion.

Reasons to buy

- Evaluate important changes in consumer behavior and identify profitable markets and areas for product innovation.
- Analyse current and forecast behavior trends in each category to identify the best opportunities to exploit.
- Detailed understanding of consumption by individual product categories in order to align your sales and marketing efforts with the latest trends in the market.
- Investigates which categories are performing the best and how this is changing market dynamics.