Baby and children's products and services in Japan - statistics & facts
Japan is facing the demographic challenges of an aging society, but the children and baby care market is growing despite a declining number of newborns. The sales value of children-related products and services grew in the past decade and was forecast to return to pre-COVID-19 levels by the fiscal year 2023. The leaders of various industries have expanded their presence to related niche markets by incorporating product variations for children in their portfolios. To offset the challenges of a shrinking customer base, businesses are shifting their attention to value-added products and targeted marketing strategies.
In contrast, the segment for school-age children targets both, parents and children, with a focus on durable goods and services. While childcare services cater to the busy lifestyle of parents amid a rising number of dual-income households, educational services, and extracurricular programs are at the heart of the market. Imparting knowledge and skills at an early age is considered an investment in children’s future development and career, which sets the foundation of a trillion-yen educational business industry offering supplementary classes and out-of-school education for arts and culture skills like music lessons.
From baby essentials to career building
The children-related market is highly fragmented and an amalgamation of the core segments of food and beverages, fashion, personal care, entertainment and leisure, educational goods and services, and care services for children. The two submarkets include products and services for babies and those for school-age children. The submarket for babies targets mainly parents of infants and toddlers with convenient products and support services to reduce the challenges of the early stages of childcare. Essentials like infant formula and baby food, body care, and sanitary products are highly competitive segments in which general food manufacturers and personal care brands have claimed a stake.In contrast, the segment for school-age children targets both, parents and children, with a focus on durable goods and services. While childcare services cater to the busy lifestyle of parents amid a rising number of dual-income households, educational services, and extracurricular programs are at the heart of the market. Imparting knowledge and skills at an early age is considered an investment in children’s future development and career, which sets the foundation of a trillion-yen educational business industry offering supplementary classes and out-of-school education for arts and culture skills like music lessons.
