A spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down? No chance, say parents

Streetbees spoke to 1200 parents around the world to explore the snacking habits of their children, and understand what it’s like to combat ‘the sugar epidemic’ from the front line.

Sweet treats are under the spotlight in the UK thanks to a new ‘sugar tax’, and the health of the nation’s children is a driving force behind the campaign. But how do parents around the world approach their children’s diets — and do they share the same concerns around sugar?

Streetbees spoke to 1,200 people around the world, each with at least one child, to explore the snacking habits of their young ones — and found British parents aren’t alone in their worries.

More than 9 in 10 worldwide expressed concern over the level of sugar in their children’s snacks, a level consistent across each of the countries surveyed (bar the US, which was slightly lower at 85%).

“I’m concerned because of misaligned incentives between food companies that want tasty, addictive snacks, versus parents who want to minimize sugar and maximize nutrition,” said one respondent — articulating a primary reason many in the UK support government intervention.

For others, it’s much simpler: “A lot of children’s snacks contain high sugar levels. I just worry about the onset of addiction from a young age.”

These concerns mean that 4 in 5 actively monitor the sugar levels in the snacks their children eat, but it raises a crucial question: whose responsibility really is it to keep children healthy?

More than 1 in 4 people in both the UK and China believe that it lies with the government — almost as many in the remaining six countries where, on average, just 1 in 8 feel the same. Similar legislation to the British sugar tax, then, could meet opposition if proposed elsewhere.

How worried should parents be — are kids stuffing their faces with sugary snacks?

Well, not quite — but the some countries have more cause for concern that others.

The study shows a distinct correlation between the types of snacks children eat, and the amount they eat them.

In markets where unhealthier snacks such as sweets, crisps and chocolate are more popular, they are eaten on fewer occasions. Where healthier snacks are most popular, the opposite occurs: snacks are eaten much more frequently.

For example, more than half of people surveyed in China, where sweets are the number one choice for children, say their young ones only snack ‘a couple of times a week’. Something that is reflected in India (1 in 3 people) and Nigeria (over 40%).

In the markets where fruit is the most popular snack, children eat at much more frequent intervals: 2 in 3 British children eat one to two snacks per day, and in South Africa the same figure eat between two and five.

The US are the heaviest snackers of all, with 8 in 10 children eating two or more per day — and while fruit is the most popular, with 75% of children eating it, sweets (64%) and crisps (60%) aren’t far behind.

What does this mean for brands?

For brands targeting China, or emerging markets such as India and Nigeria, there is clear scope for expansion. With children snacking only a handful of times per week — and eating unhealthily when they do so — the potential for healthier alternatives to fill the gaps is huge.

Concerns over sugar content are clearly top of mind, so parents will welcome ways to wean their children off the sweeter treats — particularly in India, where the diabetes epidemic is spreading at a rapid rate.

The UK, US and South Africa present a different challenge. Healthier snacks have clearly made a big impact on these markets, and children are eating them frequently — but the battle is far from over.

With parents still deeply concerned about the sugar content of the snacks they feed their children, it’s up to brands to create products and campaigns that allay these fears. Healthy snacks already account for a large share of the market (the industry is estimated to be worth over $30bn by 2025); with the right messaging, they can capitalise further.

More findings from the wide-ranging study include:

• Nigerian parents are less likely to waste snacks, with 55% saying this never occurs in their household
• Single parents are less likely to monitor sugar content, with 1 in 4 saying their children can ‘eat as much sugar as they like’
• 1 in 3 Indian children prefer vegetable-based snacks — higher than anywhere else included in the study

***

Streetbees can help your business understand markets in real time.
Get in touch to find out more.

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

A quick word on our methodology: The figures in the article are taken from Streetbees community members in the UK, US, India, China, The Philippines, Nigeria and South Africa, collected in May 2018. All of the data was collected by mobile and web surveys, and is accurate to within 3 percentage points 19 times out of 20.