Demand for baby and toddler products in South Korea is shifting rapidly toward higher-priced, higher-function goods, as a rise in births coincides with parents' willingness to buy better products for their children. Sales of items marketed on quality and performance stand out across formula, diapers, food and clothing, pointing to a clear premium shift in spending on child care.
Goat milk formula sales at E-Mart rose 115.2% in the January-August period from a year earlier, more than triple the 37.8% growth for standard formula, industry officials said on the 5th. At Lotte Mart, premium goat milk formula sales fell 17.1% in 2024 but turned around with 23.0% growth last year, then accelerated to a 34.9% gain in the first eight months of this year.
Goat milk formula is a premium product that uses goat's milk instead of cow's milk as its main ingredient, and it sells at a higher price than standard formula. Leading products in Korea include Ildong Foodis' Goat Milk Formula Signature and Maeil Dairies' Absolute Platinum Goat. The Signature product sells for 54,900 won for an 800-gram can, about 40% more than the same company's True Mom New Class at the same size, which costs 39,800 won.
Product lines are also becoming more segmented. Maeil Dairies recently launched Absolute Goat 100, aimed at infants up to 100 days old. As goat milk formula sales grow quickly, its share of the formula market is expanding. The industry expects goat milk formula to account for 13% of the total formula market this year, up from 10% in 2022.
The same premium demand is showing up in diapers. Premium diaper sales at E-Mart rose 26.2% in the January-August period from a year earlier, a contrast with the declines recorded in 2024 and 2025. Premium diapers use naturally derived materials such as bamboo, or offer stronger absorption, breathability and fit, and sell at higher prices than standard products. Huggies Nature Made is among the leading brands.
Demand is also growing for food developed specifically for the age and eating habits of infants and toddlers. Through August this year, E-Mart's sales of baby snacks and baby-specific seasonings rose 31.9% and 12.6%, respectively, from a year earlier. Where parents once cooked adult food with less salt and sugar for their children, more consumers are now looking for separate products developed to match a child's age in months and nutritional guidelines.
The same pattern appears in children's clothing. Sales are growing fastest in department store kids' fashion, which carries relatively high prices. Shinsegae Department Store's kids' fashion sales rose 27.6% in the January-August period from a year earlier. Over the same period, sales also rose at Lotte Department Store, up 15.0%, and Hyundai Department Store, up 20.9%.
Retailers are strengthening related services and membership programs to court the growing number of customers buying baby and toddler goods. E-Mart is running a Baby Week festival through the 7th of this month, discounting diapers, formula and baby food by up to 50%. Shinsegae Department Store operates a Kids Membership program at outlets including Daegu Shinsegae, Gwangju Shinsegae, South City, Gimhae and Cheonan Asan, offering rewards of up to 8% and child care benefits to customers who shop in its children's categories. Hyundai Department Store runs a Mom's Club at some stores as a separate customer club within its H.Point program for shoppers with children.
"The number of births is rising, but a high share of them are first children, so there is a strong tendency to use better products on a single child," an industry official said. "Right after birth it is formula and diapers, and later it is snacks and seasonings chosen for their ingredients, and then clothing. Across the board, spending is spreading that values quality and function over price, matched to each stage of a child's growth and to specific uses."
