(Yicai Global) March 6 -- Chinese baby product makers are speeding up upgrading and transition to attract young parents as the market retains huge potential despite China’s birth rate slumped last year.

The Covid-19 pandemic did impact the industry to some extent, but “excellent products will always have business opportunities regardless of the environment,” Gu Xiaoyuan, a baby product industry observer and general manager of Informa Markets China, told Yicai Global.

Almost 9.6 million babies were born in China last year, marking the first reading below 10 million since 1950, according to official data. The birth rate was almost 6.8 per thousand, and the number of new births was only about 56 percent of that of 2016.

The maternal and infant industries need to keep an eye on changes in the market demand and hike the innovation and development of products to adapt to the market changes, Gu noted.

These industries will continue to grow rapidly, and the consumer demand will upgrade against the backdrop of China’s new childbirth-supporting policies, new consumption patterns, and new-generation users, she predicted.

Products can only gain the favor of consumers if they are useful, good-looking, and liked by young parents, He Cunyou, general manager of stroller maker Playkids, said to Yicai Global.

Gu also suggested that companies should focus on products for children aged three to 12 years old because the market has a huge potential and is more stable and sustained than that for newborns.

Not all baby product makers had troubles during Covid-19. For example, Ningbo Welldon Manufacturing, a Chinese child safety car seat producer, saw its business grow during the pandemic.

One of the main reasons for the company’s sales growth was the fact that many parents used to take their children out taking public transport, but during the pandemic, they preferred to drive their own cars to avoid contact, Wang Fang, Welldon’s deputy general manager, told Yicai Global. “After all, young parents have a stronger sense of safety.”

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione