In the infant formula market, such labels often appear prominently on the packaging, and are frequently used by parents as an important criterion for selecting formula; however, their specific efficacy is uncertain.

With the official implementation of the "Registration and Management Measures for Infant Formula Product Formulas" in 2018, the dairy industry will enter a new milestone. The industry will become more regulated, whether it's formula registration or adjusting product labels.

In fact, the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) mentioned in the "Technical Guidelines for Registration and Labeling of Infant Formula Products (Trial)" issued in May 2017 that the product names of infant formula should comply with relevant laws, regulations, and national standards, and should not include exaggerated words that violate scientific principles such as "premium" or "upgraded," words related to prevention, treatment, or health functions such as "strengthening," and expressions that explicitly or implicitly indicate functions such as increasing resistance or immunity, or protecting the intestines, such as "probiotics".
The new regulations stipulate that, starting January 1, 2018, the outer packaging of infant formula will all adopt "simplified" packaging, and these expressions suspected of exaggerated advertising will be prohibited. What is the market situation of the new packaged formula without these functional descriptions?

Plain" formula slow to market

A visit to several shopping malls, supermarkets, and baby stores in our city revealed that most formula still uses the previous packaging. Apart from Wyeth's Gold Standard Kinder 2-stage formula, which has a new packaging, no other new packaged products were found.

In the Hua Run Wan Jia supermarket on Xinhua Street, Wyeth's Aisle 2-stage formula was just placed on the shelves. The reporter noticed that the new packaging of "Wyeth Gold Standard Kinder" has been renamed "Wyeth Aisle," and the prominent markings on the old packaging, such as "Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) contributes to the normal development of infant vision and contains choline and lutein," have all disappeared.

According to Wyeth's promotional staff, this formula was delivered to the supermarket a few days ago. "Currently, national standards prohibit the inclusion of 'Gold Standard' and similar descriptions on formula packaging. Currently, all Wyeth products with such descriptions are being gradually withdrawn from the market, and new packaged products will gradually enter supermarkets."

What is the difference between the new and old packaging formula? According to the sales staff, the content of added nutrients has been adjusted, which can be seen in the ingredient list on the back of the can. In the past, if the nutrient content of the formula was adjusted, it would be marked with "new upgrade" on the can.

Clearer consumer choices

Opening various formula online flagship stores, the packaging upgrade descriptions are prominently displayed. The reporter noticed that most brand formula flagship stores sell new and old packaging randomly. According to online store sales staff, this "mixed" sales allows consumers to compare the formula and nutritional costs, thus better transitioning to and accepting the new packaged formula.
The simplified new packaging formula no longer contains any promotional statements about the formula. Will this change consumer choices? The reporter interviewed several consumers in supermarkets and baby stores. In their opinion, they rarely look at the ingredients when choosing formula, mainly focusing on the efficacy, but with too many efficacy claims, it becomes difficult to choose. Some parents also believe: "This is just a word game played by businesses; the efficacy may not be real."

This new packaging, without any promotional statements, may initially cause parents to spend more time selecting formula, but it also allows consumers to better choose the formula suitable for their children, rather than being guided by various suggestive advertisements on the packaging. After separating from marketing concepts, competition among formula companies will enter an era of focusing on internal strengths, such as quality, consumer experience, and taste, which will make choices clearer for consumers.

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