Baby and Child-Specific Products in Bulgaria

PRE-COVID-19 PERFORMANCE

Bio and organic products perform well in 2019 due to growing concerns over pollution

Bio and organic products continued to gain share in baby and child-specific products in 2019. This was linked to a rise in the incidence of skin irritations and allergies, which continued to drive consumer interest in natural products offering clean ingredients lists in 2019.

Companies succeed in driving volume growth in 2019 despite declining birth rate

Bulgaria continued to register record lows in birth rates at the end of the review period, with the birth rate continuing to drop in 2019. Birth rates are in particular falling in the major cities Sofia and Plovdiv, with this constraining retail volume sales growth.

Lavena holds onto lead in 2019, but faces competition from natural and private label products

The leader in baby and child-specific products remained Lavena in 2019, with its legacy brand Bochko often used by adult consumers as it is perceived to be natural and clean in terms of ingredients. Lavena’s products are affordably priced and based on popular herbal/traditional ingredients such as camomile, lavender, calendula and sumac.

2020 AND BEYOND

COVID-19 impact

Sales of baby and child-specific products are now expected to marginally decline in 2020 in 2019 constant value terms in light of the impact of COVID-19. This compares to an expected 4% rise forecast for 2020 during research conducted at the end of 2019 before the spread of COVID-19.

Affected products within baby and child-specific products

While economic concerns will negatively impact most categories across baby and child-specific products, baby wipes is expected to see growth strengthen in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These products are benefitting from a growing focus on hygiene, not only being used for infant care but also being used by adults to sanitise hands and surfaces, both at home and on-the-go, with these often viewed as a more natural and gentle alternative to general purpose wipes.

Recovery and opportunities

With sharp declines expected for many areas of baby and child-specific products in 2020, most products will slowly return to growth in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Bulgaria’s economy likely to take some time to recover. Baby and child-specific hair care and skin care will see retail volume demand remain low in 2021, while baby and child-specific toiletries will see a further marginal decline.

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