Parents trust babyfood brands for freshness and quality
Glass remains packaging material of choice
According to research for O-I, the world’s leading producer of glass bottles and jars, parents around the world place brand loyalty, freshness and health above price when choosing food for their baby. The research*, conducted by research firm Ipsos, polled parents in homes and grocery stores in 10 cities around the world including: Chicago, London, Munich, Shanghai, Sydney, Warsaw, Paris, Sao Paulo, Caracas and Bogota. The study showed remarkable consistency in the factors which drive parents towards choosing particular foods for their children: • Brand Name: Consumers believe that reputable, long-standing brands will provide high-quality, safe foods for their children. • Freshness: Food freshness is of vital importance to all parents. Glass keeps products fresh and safe, prevents bacteria growth, and allows parents to easily see the fresh food inside. • Health and Wellness: Parents gravitate toward products they believe provide health and wellness benefits to their babies. While there is not global consensus on the requirements for healthy food, all parents reported checking for acceptable levels of salt and sugar. • Price: Parents are willing to pay more for brand-name, healthy and fresh baby foods. Price was only a major factor in two countries—Columbia and Venezuela—where prepared foods often are priced higher. The research also shows parents appreciate smaller-sized, pre-packaged baby foods for easy storage and portability, including those foods kept in glass. Results found that parents value glass packaging for baby food, because it: • Keeps food safe • Is environmentally friendly • Is pure • Is good at preserving product freshness • Allows easy identification of the product inside • Is premium, high-quality • Convenient to re-use and re-seal In a counterblast to the widespread perception of the UK as a throwaway society, researchers found that parents here make more home cooked food for their babies and toddlers than their counterparts in Germany, Poland or France. Parents pack and freeze these foods in a variety of containers but concerns about the effects of warming baby food in plastic play a large part in consumer preference for glass. O-I has responded by launching a website (www.baby.eu.o-i.com) aimed at that minority of parents who make their own food. The site features recipes for natural baby foods which consumers can create, then preserve, heat and serve in reusable glass jars. Viivika Remmel, O-I Europe marketing manager for foods says, “This in depth study provides an interesting picture of baby food and packaging choices around the world. It is remarkable that parents have the same determination to give their babies the best nutritional start in life and trust the brands to provide it no matter what their cultural background or economic status.” ENDS
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