Hydration and vitamin supplementation tailored to children’s needs

Increasing health consciousness drives the market of children’s drinks

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2024/4

“Unflavoured children’s water products also reduced in volume 2023 compared to the previous year. However, thanks to the introduction of new products in the category, a single-digit value sales rise occurred by the end of 2023. While baby waters have to comply with strict hygiene and composition regulations, can be given to babies within 24 hours without boiling and are suitable for formula, children’s waters are more aimed at facilitating hydration for young children through the ergonomic design of the bottle, and making the consumption of natural mineral water part of their daily routine”,

explains Dóra Dávid, brand manager of Szentkirályi Magyarország.

Constant innovation

In 2023 Szentkirályi introduced a product for toddlers called Cseppség. The shape of the Szentkirályi Cseppség bottle is optimised for the small hand of children, making it easy and convenient for them to drink Szentkirályi mineral water anywhere, anytime. Szentkirályi Magyarország is committed to continuous innovation, and wants to come out with exciting new products in 2024.

András Palkó
marketing director
Coca-Cola HBC
Magyarország

Coca-Cola Hungary entered the baby water segment with baby water Naturaqua Babavíz in 2022.

“Naturaqua Babavíz is natural mineral water from Zalaszentgrót, extracted from a depth of 685 metres and filtered for 14,000 years. Its dissolved mineral content is 627 mg/l. Naturaqua Babavíz can be given to children up to 6 months of age without boiling, and can be used to prepare formula and food without prior heat treatment”,

says András Palkó, marketing director of Coca-Cola HBC Magyarország.

Needs and expectations

Márton Vecsei
senior brand manager
HELL ENERGY

“We believe that the weight of reliability expectations will continue to grow alongside sustainability considerations, so it will be especially important for manufacturers to assure their potential customers: the products they offer contain nutrients that will be useful for future generations and also contribute to a sustainable future”,

says Márton Vecsei, head of soft drink brands at HELL ENERGY Magyarország Kft.

For the SWISS Laboratory brand it is a priority to provide consumers with quality ingredients alongside good taste. The SWISS Laboratory Multivitamin Kids non-carbonated soft drink contains calcium and magnesium, together with seven vitamins, making it the perfect choice for kids and adults alike.

Among children’s juices, it is fruit purees that do particularly well

Baby and children’s products are strong in the fruit juice category too

NIQ data reveals that the children’s juice market grew more strongly in value terms last year compared to 2022 (+24.9%) than the overall FJND market (+7.3%), mainly driven by a significant strengthening in fruit purées (+47.5%), but also a growth in the children’s fruit drink (+15.1%) and juice&nectar (+23.6%) segments.

Anna Kisházi
marketig manager
Sió-Eckes

“The constant strengthening of the children’s juice market shows that this category is much more resilient to economic and environmental impacts than the market as a whole. Parents prioritise buying quality products for their children”,

informs Anna Kisházi, marketing manager of Sió-Eckes Kft.

Vilmos Várkonyi
group brand manager
Maspex Olympos

Maspex Olympos Kft.’s Kubu brand is concerned with what children drink. They target consumers who follow a healthy lifestyle, as several products have added vitamins and every Kubu is made without preservatives and artificial colours.

“We plan to add new products to the Kubu portfolio in 2024, primarily limited in-out products”,

says group brand manager Vilmos Várkonyi. Kubu offers more than just drinks, as the cereal-enriched Kubu TÍZÓRAI range is the perfect choice for kids.

“Thanks to the 100g packaging, they are ideal for satisfying hunger and can be a great choice for breakfast, lunch, between meals and even snacks. The products are made exclusively from natural fruit purées enriched with nutritious cereals”,

adds the group brand manager.

Competing for consumers

There is strong competition in the market and the positive impact of innovation on sales is evident. As a result, many new flavours and formats have emerged recently, with exciting, even exotic flavours coming to the fore in the category, alongside fruits that children love. Other new-type products include fruit purées with added cereals as a substitute for snacks, and flavoured waters for children. The renewed SIÓ Vitatigris sub-brand has produced a double-digit value sales growth recently. All SIÓ Vitatigris products are fortified with extra vitamins and contain no artificial colours or preservatives. In March 2024 the company came out with SIÓ Vitatigris Apple Fruit Purée with 100% fruit content, which is the only fruit purée among branded products that contains only apples, no added sugar, no artificial colours, no preservatives and no added vitamins.

It is health that counts for parents, whereby children prefer taste and attachment to the brand

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