From baby food into vitamins
Companies are now making toys not for children but for grown-ups, baby food companies are active in special and clinical nutrition products for adults, with some targeting those with diabetes and others offering nutritional supplements, while some that manufacture baby wipes are now producing incontinence diapers instead of baby nappies.
The low birth rate and aging population that plagues Greece, the demographic problem, is not only a “ticking time bomb» for the pension system, as is often reported. The dramatic decline in births threatens entire business groups, which until recently depended on the production and marketing of items for babies and children for their existence.
What has been taking place in Greece in recent years – and in Europe in general – is leading them to adjust their strategy and choose new product categories, adapted to the needs of adults, in order to limit losses.
A few days ago, Convert Group, a market research company that tracks online store sales in real time, published data on the turnover of e-pharmacies in the first half of 2024. According to them, the turnover of e-pharmacies increased during the period from January to June by just 1% compared to the corresponding period in 2023, amounting to 145 million euros. This is actually a negative development, given that the sector in question has experienced double-digit growth in recent years – and not only due to Covid-19. The interesting thing is that, according to the analysis of Convert Group, behind the poor figures of online pharmacies lies, among other things, the dramatic decrease in births recorded in recent years.
It is no coincidence, therefore, that the largest sales decline in online pharmacies was recorded in items for babies and children, which showed a decrease of 16% on an annual basis. The biggest drop (25%) was in sales of baby milk, followed by sales of baby diapers (-21%), sales of oral care items for infants and children (-9%), baby accessories (-5%), bath products (bubble bath, sponges etc) for babies and children (-3%), while sales of skincare products remained at the same levels.
