Bunge Loders Croklaan, an oils and fat solutions provider for the global food industry, unveiled a new lipid ingredient called Betapol Select that is claimed to make infant milk formula more suitable for Chinese babies.
Through extensive in-house research of breast milk samples of Chinese mothers and infant nutrition, Bunge Loders Croklaan found that the composition differed significantly from that of Western mothers’ milk.
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Breast milk from Western women was found to contain higher levels of a fat-like substance (lipid) named OPO compared to another lipid named OPL. Contrarily, breast milk samples from Chinese women were found to contain a higher ratio of OPL to OPO. Through this insight, Bunge Loders Croklaan developed Betapol Select, a premium quality ingredient that can be added to infant milk formula to replicate the OPO-OPL ratio in mother’s milk, and help in complying with the Chinese Guobiao (GB) standards for infant and toddler formulae.
Infant formulae customised for Chinese babies are poised to strike a chord with two-fifths (41%) of Chinese consumers who say the choice of products for their children is always influenced by how well the product is tailored to the needs and personality of their child; notably, a further 55% claim to always be influenced by a products health credentials when purchasing for their child*.
While China has the world’s second-largest baby population, at just 8.2kg per baby aged 0–3 years, the per capita consumption of baby milk in 2019*² is low by international standards, which indicates the untapped potential of the market. While the government put an end to the one-child policy of the 1970s, due to the high cost of child-rearing, most new generation parents are opting to only have a single child and provide the best upbringing for the child. This is supported by rising household disposable incomes and improving the retail distribution of baby products.
At the same time, a report published in February 2019 by the China Development Research Foundation found that exclusive breastfeeding rates in China are 29.2%, well below the government’s 50% target. The lack of knowledge about the benefits of breastfeeding, coupled with a high proportion of working mothers, particularly in urban areas, has led to a sharp decline in exclusive breastfeeding rates in recent years. For instance, breastfeeding rates have declined rapidly after three to four months post-childbirth, largely due to the need to return to work after the 14 weeks’ maternity leave.
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By GlobalDataDemand for infant formula in China continues to surge due to the convergence of these factors, with overall value sales of baby milk forecast to increase by 40% between 2019 and 2025 to reach $22.9 billion*². In this light, products that are claimed to be similar to mother’s milk are poised to have a competitive edge over the competition in the Chinese market in the coming years.
* -GlobalData Q3 2018 Consumer Survey – China published in September 2020
*² – GlobalData Consumer Intelligence Center – Market Analyzers
