Baby Food in Egypt

PROSPECTS

Recovery of baby food continues as long-term price stability encourages sales

Demand for baby food continued to recover in 2019, with the category’s volume sales performance improving further, more than two years after the value of the Egyptian pound tumbled in the wake of it being unpegged from the US dollar. The return of price stability has encouraged consumers to purchase more baby food, with the dominant category of milk formula in particular benefiting from higher spending.

Consumers abandon subsidised baby food brands in a return to old favourites

Prior to the drastic price increases that were seen in the wake of the devaluation of the Egyptian pound in late 2016, demand for milk formula was decidedly inelastic. Specifically, consumers were highly loyal to certain brands which had established strong reputations for consistently high quality.

Egyptian government and NGOs respond to rapid growth in Egypt’s birth rate

Recent years have seen considerable growth in Egypt’s birth rate as the country’s population continues to increase rapidly, soaring past 100 million (including expatriate Egyptians), according to the 2017 census. While this has created fertile ground for strong growth in sales of baby food, at the same time the country’s leadership remains concerned over the ability of the country’s infrastructure and governance systems to cope with such a huger number of people and also to keep pace with the accelerating growth in the population.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Nestlé’s multiple successful brands ensure its retention of leadership

Nestlé Egypt SAE remains the strong leader in baby food in Egypt, maintaining a considerable lead over its closest rival Danone Egypt. Nestlé can largely attribute its strong position in the category to the popularity of its milk formula brands Nan & S26.

Nestlé’s Cerelac leads in dried baby food, although Riri poses price competition

Nestlé remains the leading player in dried baby food with its widely distributed brand Cerelac, which is widely distributed and is thus able to reach a significant consumer base. Cerelac faces competition mainly from Riri Co’s brand Riri, which is well positioned in both rural and urban areas of Egypt due to its lower unit prices than Cerelac.

Milk formula advertising remains limited despite a lack of regulation

There is virtually no formal advertising for baby formula in Egypt as the owners of the leading brands are reluctant to promote the product over breastfeeding. Despite their desire to expand sales, industry sources have indicated that it would be highly unethical for them to promote milk formula over breastfeeding due to the widespread knowledge that breastfeeding is without question healthier than milk formula.

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