Lunchbox lunacy

We’re just a few weeks into the new school year and the lunchbox battles have already started in our house. And we know mums across the country are having similar problems. We recently carried out some research for Soreen and we found that kids have the most say (or try to!) on lunchbox items.

We’d expected that children would want their lunchboxes packed with crisps and chocolate but what we found is that they are just as opinionated about fruit and yogurts. We usually associate pester power with junk food but in fact it seems it also applies to healthy food choices.

We found…

• Lunchbox items were high on children’s food preferences – 17% of mums specifically mentioned lunchboxes (21% mentioned fruit, 19% snacks, 15% yogurts and 7% crisps).
• Children aren’t just influenced by television or other advertising in the supermarket but also by looking in other kids lunchboxes.
• Mums recognise the influence of advertising on their children. Some mums give into the demands of their children but most try and strike a balance between healthy foods and treats.
• Many children are now more clued up about five a day than their parents and are both educating their mums and dads and pestering for healthy alternatives.

Keep your eyes peeled for new products from Soreen early next year.

A good night’s sleep

It’s not often you can spend the day in bed and say you are working. But we think we can get away with this at the moment because we’re working on product testing and new product development with Silentnight Beds. Silentnight are the UK's biggest bed manufacturer and we’re keen to hear what features parents want in a mattress for their child.

We know they have to be robust but do parents want a waterproof cover or hypoallergenic materials? We’ve been asking our panel of thousands of mums, dads and grandparents what they think and then this feeds into the process of new product development.

Getting the right bed can mean the difference between a great night’s sleep and a poor one. A lack of sleep means not just a grumpy child (and mum or dad) but it has an impact on their ability to concentrate at school and even socialise and make friends. We’ll keep you updated on the new Silentnight products.

Positive messages for kids

In the last few years there has been a real movement in the UK to get our children eating healthier food – whether that’s moving them away from a junk food, processed diet or improving the food they eat at school every day. One change we’ve seen is that some food manufacturers are taking on this idea and communicating healthy messages on their food. I was recently in the supermarket with my daughter and she spotted Yoplait yogurts.

Yoplait want to emphasise the goodness in yogurt and they do this by featuring a big bone on the front of their pots. My daughter immediately spotted the bone and told me that yogurt made her bones healthy because of calcium. This allowed me to open up a conversation about healthy eating and food choices and it was good to know that the education she is getting at both home and school is getting through.

One of the many positive benefits of this kind of messaging is that my daughter pesters me for that product – rather than a chocolate bar or junk food. We’re currently working with Soreen on new product development and as we’ve being doing consumer and market research we’re seeing an increasing trend of the introduction of healthier alternatives for children.

Magical Morrisons!

My trip to the supermarket is not normally one I relish (still don't). My 4 year old daughter is often in tow and she normally lightens the dreary load by singing at the top of her voice or skipping down the aisles. Anyway, Morrisons is our normal grocery stop and today Katie was very pleased that she joined me. There were pictures of her favourite princesses and Mickey Mouse guys all around store. She made me take notice and then start to wonder what the Disney Magical Moments cards were all about.... and this is where Morrisons have hit the mark. I really like this family promotion.

It harnesses pester power,correctly. tick. It offers 1,000 chances to win a free DisneyLand Paris holiday with gold tickets. tick. It provides Disney cards with childrens favourite characters on them to collect (trump card style). tick. It links the distribution of the 'free' Disney cards to specific purchases or amount of shop. tick. It appeals to a wide range of children (and adults). tick. It is happening over the summer holidays, when it normally rains or you go travelling so trump cards have their place. tick. It is Disney related. double tick.

Overall for Morrisons, it brings in the money from the FMCG suppliers who are paying for the promotion to be linked to their products. It increases footfall and sales in store over the summer months (with repeat purchases). It harnesses word of mouth and is good for brand communications, PR and image. It keeps the regular customer and their children happy and 1,000 holidays are to be won. It is linked to Disney.

My daughter received two packs of cards this time (no gold card unfortunately) and she is already wanting more. Plus, I wouldn't mind winning a holiday, so we will be back and next time I will be looking at the specific items, such as Cravendale milk, that are linked to getting free packs of cards with purchase. I did wonder why the man next to me was buying 11 bags of lettuce (truthfully not just adding this in for effect) and now I know. Well done Morrisons.

Incentivising the seasonal kids clothes & shoe shop!

Firstly I need to blog more. Apologies. Running my own business and bringing up a family makes me very time poor.... (in the words of marketeers).

Anyway, in relation to being time poor (alike so many mums) we are seeing an expressed need for retailers to be in tune with our parents needs and thought patterns. And I was pleased to see this happening more when I was in the shops at the weekend, in particular at Marks & Spencer!

For the last 4 years I have expressed the need for retailers to recognise that many parents go out shopping in bulk for their childrens clothes and shoes at the beginning of the two main seasons - Spring and Autumn. Children grow rapidly and as the weather changes most of last years clothes do not fit (and/or their child wants the new range!) So once March approaches it is time to buy new T-shirts, skirts/shorts, cardigans, jackets... the list could go on! So one question I have always asked is why do retailers not incentivise this 'bulk buy' more at these times?! i.e. Buy 5 items for 4. So it was good to see Marks & Spencer is doing exactly this early in the season with '£5 off when you buy £30 on Kidswear'. I walked out of the shop with £30 worth of kids wear for £25 (plus some books, socks, T-shirts etc for myself)!

So I am hoping to see more of these parent centric offers in the shops in the next couple of months.

Heritage brands still mums favourite

We recently asked our mums at MumPanel what brands and toys do they trust the most and it was the heritage brands that won through. Clarks shoes, Fisher Price and Lego were at the top of the list. Many mums had grown up with these brands and continue to trust their 'knowledge' and 'adaptation'.

The best heritage brands are the ones that continue with the classic well loved aspects of their brand but improve it and evolve their product and service to the needs and wants of todays kids and parents. For example, lego's well loved building brick is now part of a Star Wars kit or Duplo farm set. Building bricks with characters and scene settings that add another dimension to the child's imaginary world. Clarks still has the trusted fitted shoe but is now online, in Mothercare and has designs that kids want as well as mums.

Brand heritage is an advantage that should be maximised in the right direction.

iPad for kids

I was an iPad sceptic at first. 'Who wants to read lengthy books on a screen', I thought. I have trouble reading emails on screen without printing them out!

However, the Apple iPad is far more than a reading and reference device, as was always going to be the case. For our household its main purpose is for applications, specifically playing games. Kids application games to be precise!

My 3 year old loves the iPad, she adapted to touch screen technology far quicker than me and plays fun and educational games with such dexterity and ease. Animal matching pairs is one of her favourite games, which incorporates sound as well as picture. She is learning the alphabet, colouring in pictures, creative drawing and playing games where you need to move the iPad to get the jelly to roll. She does everything by touch. When we sit at my laptop together she wants to touch the screen not the keyboard or the mouse. The way forward I presume.

Plus when I talk to other parents and mums with iPads I am hearing the same things, it is the children that use it more than the adults at times! I used to think the iPad was going to be a mid-life male dominated gadget but I now see the massive potential for the younger generation and their parents (and the games,TV and toy brands!).

Childrens games and applications on the iPad are going to be massive, there is an eager young audience out there ready and waiting (and parents ready to please and purchase!). I'll certainly be one.