Year In Review: Baby Formula

The following insights are powered by Nielsen in partnership with Unioncrate, an artificial intelligence demand planning platform that combines consumer behavior and historical shipment data to predict sales and inventory with up to 91.6% SKU-level accuracy.

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Welcome to Day 25 of Unioncrate’s Year In Review, looking at the baby formula category, which saw a 0.1% decrease in sales in 2020.

Baby Formula

• While stocking up on formula in March gave parents a good head start for the pandemic, that overflow meant that there was no need to buy more in the following weeks. The category grew 32.7% in the 4-week period ended 3/21 but dropped in the next period, falling 16.1% compared to the same period last year.

• Soy formula experienced negative growth over the course of the pandemic, dropping 7.1% in the 40 weeks since March.

• Ready-to-drink formula made all those feedings just a little bit easier, and parents loved it. Specialty RTD formula sales grew 6.6% during the pandemic.

Formulating Success

• Plant-based baby and toddler nutrition company Else Nutrition’s plant-based toddler formula ranked number one on Amazon’s list of the top products in the category when it was released earlier this year.

• Nature’s One formulated a new toddler formula option using organic A2 milk, said to help resolve dairy digestive sensitivities.

• Celebrity model and personality Chrissy Teigen called for an end to the “formula shaming” that many mothers face, with formula brands and consumers alike backing her with support.

• Abbott launched a new infant formula that contains an ingredient identical to an immunity component in breast milk, giving the babies who drink it an extra boost to support their development.

Up Next: Baby Wipes

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About Unioncrate

Unioncrate is an AI-powered Integrated Business Planning (IBP) platform that delivers demand forecasts with unmatched accuracy, collaborative visibility, and actionable intelligence—enabling CPG brands to plan and execute agile supply chain strategies at the click of a button.