Products formulated for toddlers with nutrition-rich dairy ingredients represent a major untapped opportunity for food and beverage brands.
The popularity of dairy ingredients such as whey continues to rise in the mainstream food market, and they are already well established as key ingredients in the tightly regulated infant formula sector. However, says leading supplier Arla Foods Ingredients, they remain under-used in products aimed at children in the 1-3 years age bracket – a crucial period in every child’s development.
According to Euromonitor, the global toddler food and beverage market was worth US$34 billion in 2015, making it significantly bigger than the $24.7bn infant formula market. Sales of toddler products are forecast to post a compound annual growth rate of 11.4% between now and 2018 to reach $47bn, indicating the enormous potential this market offers.