U.S. Baby Food Market Outlook - 2026
The U.S. baby food market size was valued at $12.9 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach $17.2 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 3.7% from 2019 to 2026. Baby food refers to the food prepared for infants aged between four-six months and two years. It is typically made up of minced and mashed vegetables, cereals, meats and fruits. Over the past few years, packaged baby food has been extensively adopted by parents owing to convenience and healthier nutrition offered by these foods. In addition, increase in awareness among people regarding the various health advantages of feeding baby food to infants has considerably fueled the growth of the U.S. baby food market.
Infants require different amount of nutrition during different stages of life. However, the essential amount of nutrition may not be obtained merely through traditional meals. Due to this, the addition of supplements to their meals is regarded as a necessity by parents. Consequently, parents have developed a high preference towards prepared baby food products which generates a positive impact on the market. Although millennial parents prefer less kids, they adopt the “quality over quantity” approach. They prioritize organic foods and chemical-free baby products and are ready to purchase products at a higher price. In the coming years, brands providing high quality fresh foods will experience elevated growth. In addition, the concept of meal-kit delivery services of packaged baby food has become a pioneer in the baby food retail industry. Many brands have introduced baby food processed through a method called High Pressure Pasteurization (HPP). The food products are cold-pressed and cold-packed, which help to maintain the nutrition level and shelf-life of the baby food. They also provide customized meal plans to their customers depending upon their requirements and demand. The concept of middlemen is disregarded by these meal suppliers. Instead they prefer delivering the meal boxes through their personal integrated delivery service. This has additionally boosted the U.S. baby food market growth.
However, the rise in incidence of fertility disorders among female population and lower success rate of artificial fertility treatment had decreased the overall number of pregnancies in the U.S. Fertility rate in the U.S. has reached to the lowest level in 32 years. This has created a negative impact on several baby product businesses, including baby food products. Likewise, the decline in consumer household spending in the U.S. is also expected to hamper the U.S. baby food market.
On the contrary, the U.S. baby food industry has witnessed several transformations, essentially driven by parents’ lifestyles and their rise in interest in food, particularly organic. Numerous brands introduced healthier ingredients and tastier baby food products. A few of them include little spoon, Yumi, Nurture Life, Pure Spoon, Fresh Bellies, Smushed Organics and Cerebelly. This can be viewed as an opportunity by manufacturers to further grow the market.
By Product Type
Other baby food segment would exhibit the highest CAGR of 6.2% during 2019-2026.
The report segments the market based on product type and distribution channel. Based on product type, the market is classified into prepared baby food, dried baby food, cereal, and other baby food. Among these, the cereals segment leads with maximum U.S. baby food market share in terms of revenue, as they are rich in iron and thereby consumed by infants on a regular basis. However, the dried baby food segment is expected to experience high demand in the market during the forecast period, due to growth in awareness among parents regarding adequate baby nutrition.
Based on distribution channel, the market is bifurcated into hypermarket & supermarket, independent grocery store, specialty store, direct to consumer, and online store. Among these, the hypermarket & supermarket segment leads the market with maximum share in terms of revenue since consumers are heavily reliant on the types of baby food they purchase and want to be able to purchase the best and freshest foods available. The ongoing preference for the availability of baby food through direct to consumers segment is considered to be an influential U.S. baby food market trend.
By Distribution Channel
Direct to consumer segment would exhibit the highest CAGR of 10.8% during 2019-2026.
However, the direct to consumer segment is expected to experience high demand during the U.S. baby food market forecast period, since they provide fresh food made from organic ingredients and deliver it to the doorstep. They not only provide healthy food but also convenience. Furthermore, infant formula producers have evaluated several ingredients as a part of their continuous effort to estimate the nourishing and functional properties of human milk. Hence, many key players have set up extensive R&D to determine new ingredients. Prebiotics and probiotics are now being promoted as an ingredient in commercial infant formulas. This can be regarded as an opportunity by the manufacturers to boost their product sales and gain an edge in the market.
The key players in the market include Abbott laboratories, Beech Nut, Danone, Diana Group, The Hain Celestial Group, Inc., The Kraft Heinz Company, Little Spoon Inc., Mead Johnson & Company, LLC., Nestlé S.A., and Plum, PBC.
Key Benefits for U.S. Baby Food Market:
- This report provides a quantitative analysis of the current trends, estimations, and dynamics of the U.S. baby food market from 2019 to 2026 to identify the prevailing market opportunity.
- Porter’s five forces analysis highlights the potency of buyers and suppliers to enable stakeholders to make profit-oriented business decisions and strengthen their supplier-buyer network.
- A comprehensive analysis of factors that drive and restrict the U.S. baby food market is provided.
- An in-depth U.S. baby food market analysis helps to determine the prevailing U.S. baby food market demand.
- The report includes details of the analysis of the regional markets, key players, U.S. baby food market segments, application areas, and growth strategies.
U.S. Baby Food Market Segments:
By Product Type
- Prepared Baby Food
- Dried Baby Food
- Cereals
- Other Baby Food
By Distribution Channel
- Hypermarket & Supermarket
- Independent Grocery Store
- Specialty Store
- Direct to Consumer
- Online Store
Key Players in Value Chain
- Abbott laboratories
- Beech Nut
- Danone
- Diana Group
- The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.
- The Kraft Heinz Company
- Little Spoon Inc.
- Mead Johnson & Company, LLC.
- Nestlé S.A.
- Plum, PBC.
U.S. Baby Food Market Report Highlights
| Aspects | Details |
 By Product Type |
|
 By Distribution Channel |
|
 Key Market Players | MEAD JOHNSON & COMPANY, LLC, NESTLE S A, DANONE, Little Spoon, Inc., PLUM, PBC, ABBOTT LABORATORIES, BEECH-NUT, THE KRAFT HEINZ COMPANY (HEINZ), THE HAIN CELESTIAL GROUP, INC. (HAIN CELESTIAL), DIANA GROUP ( SYMRISE GROUP ) |
Analyst Review
In accordance to several interviews conducted, the CXOs of the leading companies stated that the U.S. baby food market is a mature and hence expected to witness a stagnant growth in the future. The brand name, level of nutrition and safety of ingredients play a vital role in influencing the purchase decisions of consumers for baby food products. Americans have become gradually become very conscious regarding the ingredients, which go into the making of their baby food products and hence tend to prefer specific trusted brands that cater their requirements. Furthermore, the importance of organic and natural foods is also regarded as a vital purchase consideration in their baby food purchasing decisions.
The preference for direct to consumer baby food has gained high recognition in the U.S. baby food market and is becoming the trend. Parents are looking for quality nutrition and hence are opting for subscription-based meal-kit delivery services. There are numerous startups in the U.S. providing customized meal plans for babies with door-step delivery. Owing to the convenience and health benefits they provide, the direct to consumer brands are expected to experience high growth in the coming years.
In addition, innovative product packaging that includes benefits such as convenience, food freshness, packaging reuse, and is environmental-friendly are appealing to the consumers. Moreover, consumers tend to purchase products, which are labeled as recyclable, or easy to recycle, since they are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious. Hence, eco-friendly packaged products help to influence the decision of eco-conscious parents up to a certain extent
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