Mother & Baby
in China
A ¥4.6 trillion market where trust outweighs price — and foreign brands hold the advantage that matters most to Chinese parents.
A Market Built
on Trust
In no other consumer category does country of origin matter as much as it does in mother and baby. Chinese parents pay more — willingly — for products they believe are safer.
The 2008 melamine scandal permanently changed how Chinese families buy baby products. Nearly two decades later, imported brands still carry a trust premium that domestic competitors have not been able to close — particularly in formula, skincare, and anything a baby ingests or wears against its skin.
Fewer Babies,
Bigger Spending
China's birth rate fell to 5.63 per 1,000 in 2025 — the lowest since 1949. Only 7.9 million babies were born that year, down 17% from the year before. On paper, the market should be shrinking.
It isn't. Per-child spending is rising faster than birth rates are falling. Chinese parents — concentrated in first- and second-tier cities — are channelling resources into one or two children rather than spreading them across larger families. The instinct to give your only child the best of everything is intensifying.
Premium diapers now account for 35% of the Chinese diaper market and are growing at nearly four times the rate of standard products. Premium infant formula expanded to 37% of the market in 2024, up from 32.8% in 2023. P&G is selling diapers made with real silk fibers — and posting double-digit growth.
The opportunity isn't about reaching the most parents. It's about reaching the right parents with products that justify the premium — and in baby care, "imported" is itself a justification.
Key Product Categories
The mother and baby market spans multiple high-value segments, each with distinct dynamics and import brand advantages.
Infant Formula & Nutrition
Largest segmentChina remains the world's largest infant formula market. Premium and super-premium segments are growing while the overall market restructures around brand strength and scientific credibility. Biostime reached 15.9% market share in the super-premium segment in H1 2025. Domestic brands lead by volume, but foreign brands — Aptamil, a2 Milk, Friso — command price premiums and growing share in the premium tier.
Diapers & Hygiene
$10.9B (2025)Projected to reach $16.4 billion by 2032 at 5.9% CAGR. The premium segment is the story: parents are paying 15-20% more for hypoallergenic materials, and ultra-premium products using silk and plant-based fibers are driving double-digit growth for brands like P&G's Pampers Prestige. Japanese brands (Merries, Moony) and premium foreign brands carry strong trust.
Baby Skincare & Care
High growthChinese parents are hyper-conscious about what touches their baby's skin. Organic, natural, and hypoallergenic formulations are the fastest-growing sub-segments. Foreign brands carry strong credibility through stricter home-market safety testing and ingredient transparency. Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu) and Douyin are the primary discovery channels for new baby skincare brands.
Maternity Health Products
Growing faster than categoryPrenatal vitamins, DHA, folic acid, calcium, and iron supplements for expectant mothers are growing faster than the overall maternal and infant market. Gen Z mothers are more health-literate and supplement-conscious than any previous generation. Cross-border is the default entry path — the same CBEC advantages that apply to health supplements apply here.
Baby Food & Complementary Feeding
Clean-label demandAge-specific formulation, organic certification, and clean-label positioning define the premium tier. Parents want transparency on every ingredient. European brands carrying EU organic certifications have a built-in credibility advantage. The shift from homemade to commercial complementary food is accelerating, particularly in lower-tier cities.
Gear, Strollers & Safety
Premium imports preferredCar seats, strollers, carriers, and nursery furniture are categories where safety certification and engineering quality drive purchasing decisions. Foreign brands with European safety certifications (EN standards) command strong price premiums. This is a category where brand heritage — decades of safety engineering — translates directly into consumer willingness to pay.
Why Foreign Brands Are Trusted
In mother and baby, trust isn't a marketing advantage — it's the product. Chinese parents apply more scrutiny to baby products than any other category, and the structural preference for imports is deeply embedded.
The Melamine Legacy
In 2008, melamine-contaminated infant formula made approximately 300,000 children sick and caused six confirmed deaths. The contamination wasn't limited to one company — multiple major domestic brands were involved, including industry leader Sanlu Group.
The scandal permanently damaged trust in domestic baby products. Nearly two decades later, Chinese parents still check country of origin on every baby product they buy. This isn't fading — it's been passed down to a new generation of parents.
Your foreign origin is your most powerful differentiator in this category. It signals safety before you've made a single marketing claim.
Stricter Standards Abroad
Chinese consumers believe foreign regulatory systems — FDA, EU food safety, TGA — enforce stricter quality controls than domestic equivalents. For baby products, this perception is particularly strong. Parents extrapolate from "stricter regulation" to "safer product" automatically.
EU organic certifications, Australian TGA listings, and FDA compliance aren't just regulatory boxes in China — they're marketing assets that justify premium pricing and build trust faster than any advertising campaign.
Feature your home-market certifications prominently on product pages and store design. What feels routine at home carries real commercial weight in China.
Premium Equals Safe
In most consumer categories, premium pricing creates purchase resistance. In baby products, it does the opposite. Chinese parents interpret higher prices as confirmation that a product meets higher safety and quality standards.
This is why the premium diaper segment is growing four times faster than standard, and why 83% of parents say they're willing to pay more for clean-label, certified-quality formula. Competing on price in this category would actually undermine trust.
Don't discount into this market. Price your products at a premium that signals quality — Chinese parents expect to pay more for imported baby products and are suspicious of cheap foreign brands.
New Parents, Same Trust Gap
Post-95s are now the primary parenting demographic. They're digital-native, globally aware, and research products extensively on Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu) and Douyin before purchasing. They compare ingredient lists across countries and read international reviews.
While Gen Z parents are more open to domestic brands in some categories, baby products remain an exception. The combination of safety consciousness and access to global information makes them even more discerning about sourcing and certification than previous generations.
Invest in content — ingredient transparency, manufacturing process, safety testing documentation. Gen Z parents do their homework, and brands that provide the evidence win.
Selling Through Cross-Border
Skip the Regulatory Complexity
Mother and baby is one of the most heavily regulated product categories in China. Domestic sale of infant formula requires SAMR registration — a process that involves extensive testing, formula disclosure, and timelines of 12-24 months. Baby skincare requires NMPA filing. Baby food requires GACC facility registration and CIQ inspection.
Cross-border e-commerce sidesteps the most burdensome requirements. Products sold through Tmall Global are classified as personal imports. Your existing home-market certifications are generally sufficient, original packaging is accepted, and products ship from bonded warehouses inside China with 1-3 day delivery.
What Cross-Border Enables
- Baby skincare, supplements, and diapers sold without NMPA registration
- EU, FDA, or TGA certifications accepted
- Original international packaging and labelling permitted
- No Chinese entity or local warehouse required
- Lower tax rates than standard import (9.1% CBEC tax for most categories)
- Per-transaction limit: ¥5,000 | Annual per-person limit: ¥26,000
Mother and baby sits on China's CBEC Positive List, meaning most product types in this category are eligible for cross-border sale. The exception is infant formula sold domestically, which requires full SAMR registration regardless — but cross-border infant formula has its own simplified path.
In 2008, melamine in baby formula made 300,000 children sick. Nearly two decades later, Chinese parents still check where their baby's formula was made. That instinct isn't going away — and it's the single biggest advantage foreign brands have in this market.
Your brand's China team — from market research to daily store operations.
From regulatory assessment and market research to Tmall store setup, daily operations, campaign management, and logistics coordination — we handle your entire China mother and baby launch.
International leadership. Local execution. One partner for your baby care brand's China e-commerce operation — no middlemen, no scattered vendors.