Take Good Care of My Baby
Personal care for moms and babies is a growing phenomenon. Key are safe, natural ingredients, cute packaging and niche nostrums that meet moms' special needs.
By Meredith Schwartz -- Gifts and Dec, 9/1/2008 12:00:00 AM
If organic and natural are gaining widespread acceptance as personal care buzzwords, that goes double for baby care. Many parents, including those who happily use conventional products on themselves, think twice about exposing sensitive developing systems to chemicals, especially those that are being studied for potentially harmful side effects.
Only the Best for Baby
Virtually all the alternative brands of baby and kids personal care available through the gift market emphasize natural ingredients and lack of the chemicals which are standard in many drugstore brands. Debbie Luddington, creator of the FarmBaby line by Sweet Grass Farm, Greenland, NH, says, “They want ingredients they can trust […] products that are not made in China and natural ingredients. There is so much focus on sustainability and natural ingredients, especially recently. Green is everything.”
Despite the growing green push among mass market brands, Luddington doesn't see those offerings cutting into specialty's market share. “I know the mass brands are starting to cut over to that, but the consumer is so savvy now; I think they're shopping for things outside the big box store to satisfy the health component. It is not unusual for them to go to a gift store if that's where they can find something that won't serve up a dish of chemicals to their children.” Diana Renee, owner of Butt Naked Baby, Long Beach, CA, agrees. “You'll find anything that is over-the-counter has cheaper ingredients, not your organic, natural ones. You'll find the real harsh chemicals, parabens and sulfates that shouldn't be used.”
…and for Mom, too
Says Luddington, “There are moms that are still using — let's call them unnatural products — for themselves who wouldn't think of using anything else on their children.” And once moms have their eyes opened to the benefits of organic and natural products for their children, they are likely to be more receptive to organic and natural alternatives for themselves, too — especially if they come from a brand the mom has come to trust. Moms have some special needs, as Debra Rubin-Roberts, founder of New York-based Mommy Makeup, points out, “After having children a lot of women go through hormonal changes; their skin becomes a lot more sensitive.”
And then there are concerns about passing contamination on to kids. Dana Luchini, co-founder of Healthy Aging Living Organics, Chattaroy, WA, is a medical esthetician, who got into mom and baby personal care when she became aware that “babies are being born now with higher levels of hormone-disrupting and cancer-causing chemicals. Mom can pass down parabens.” Says Luchini, “Most of the gals that call us are aware in their own lives, or they're having a child and all of a sudden they're checking into everything.”
Fragrance Free
One growing trend is toward fragrance-free personal care, particularly for newborns. Whether it is desire not to mask that “new baby” smell, backlash against turning kids too grownup too early, or avoiding potential sensitivities, keeping things simple has definite appeal. Renee says, “We started the first unscented baby line; we didn't know any others. We see more now. You don't want fragrance on a brand spanking new baby. They already smell good enough.”
Marketing to Mom
Selling personal care for moms requires focusing on several distinct sets of concerns. One is meeting challenges unique to pregnant women and new mothers, such as stretch mark prevention, tired feet or backs, morning sickness fighters, etc. Moms-to-be may not realize there are specific products available for these conditions, and the time window in which they are welcome is narrow. But the ingeniousness of the idea makes them an easy sell, and if they work well, word-of-mouth can become a powerful marketing tool. Luddington explains, “They pass it along between themselves like a virus; these moms are so well networked, it's very easy to get some brand recognition just from adopters that spread the word.” Renee agrees, “Absolutely they can look everything up on the Internet.” Think about displaying pregnancy personal care near baby products rather than bath and body offerings and offering samples to the moms-to-be who sign up for baby gift registry.
Once the baby is born, there are different condition-specific products, such as healing nursing nipples, but there is also the broader range of offerings that make things easy for busy moms. Rubin-Roberts explains, “It [Mommy Makeup] saves the woman time, money and clutter, and that's the big thing that moms want. They'll spend money on everyone else in the family before they spend money on themselves.”
Good Things Come in Gift Packages
A gift store may not seem like the obvious place for new moms to stock up on supplies, but most drugstore-alternative brands enter moms' consciousness as a gift first. Personal care gifts are great choices for second and third children, whose moms already have the basics, and for later-life moms, who may have higher income and developed tastes that make nursery décor hard for an outsider to choose.
Says Luddington, “We're seeing a lot of gift purchases and then adoption afterwards. I think that appealing packaging is key for adults and babies.”
Sets are essential, since they make elegant and easy gifts-to-go, while offering the recipient a sampling of what the line has to offer. To convert shoppers to self-purchase, larger sizes of individual products should also be on hand, and packaging should be mom-and-kid-friendly: easy to use and hard to break. Luddington adds, “I did get a comment just yesterday from a mother who really loved the fact that the lotion and the wash are one-hand useable because they have a pump. You don't have to pick the bottle up.” Renee adds the importance of offering gifts to coordinate with the baby care. “The classic powder candle does so well for our retailers, as well as the onesie,” she says, “those are our two top gifty items.”
Growing Sales
Kids personal care sales don't have to stop when the baby starts walking and talking, either. Look out for kid-friendly, natural sunscreens and insect repellants, as well as bath toys and silly soaps that go way beyond bubble bath in helping moms (and stores) clean up.
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