Moms Ready to Have "The Talk," But Daily Conversations Prove Tougher POSTED BY Stacy DeBroff AT 10:05 AM

We recently partnered with Bausch + Lomb to understand how Moms feel about having "The Big Talk" with their teen. Our findings? The majority of Moms surveyed feel well-prepared to talk to their teens about tough topics such as drugs, smoking and alcohol but agreed the daily chats about nutrition, make-up or contact lenses prove tougher to navigate:

“The Daily Talk” survey, conducted amongst more than 800 moms in the U.S. with at least one child over the age of 10, showed that 93 percent of moms have already had the “big” conversations with their child about drugs, alcohol and smoking and that 63 percent felt well-prepared to discuss these topics. On the other hand, the survey showed that it’s the day-to-day conversations about issues related to nutrition, use of contact lenses and makeup that were hardest to navigate. Overall, moms felt least prepared to talk to their children about makeup (33%) or to talk with a child who wants to forego glasses for contact lenses (21%).

“We find it interesting that moms feel stymied when it comes to discussing those issues that are more closely linked to a child’s self confidence. Wearing makeup and contact lenses are associated with a child’s desire to look better and not as closely linked to safety as some of the’big talks’. These topics can however, help a child to address issues related to self-confidence and even academic performance,” said Stacy DeBroff, CEO and Founder of Mom Central Consulting. “Speaking with an outside party, such as a doctor can help to provide answers while also giving your child another impartial, but credible source of information.”

For more information about "The Daily Talk" survey please visit Bausch + Lomb's website. For more information about surveying our Mom Community, please contact us via contactus@momcentral.com.

Inc. 5000 Applicant of the Week: Mom Central POSTED BY Stacy DeBroff AT 3:23 PM

In case you missed it last week, last week Inc. listed Mom Central as Inc.'s Applicant of the Week:

During an eight-year stint as a lawyer at Harvard Law School, Stacy DeBroff realized that there were many women around her struggling to maintain balance between work and family life. Debroff saw a need to remedy the struggle of busy moms, and launched a series of mom resource books. She ultimately began landing jobs as a spokesperson for top companies that were interested in reaching the audience of moms she had worked hard to connect with. However, instead of seeing companies answering to the needs of moms, DeBroff only saw more issues.

"I was taken aback by the disconnect between a company's marketing language and top-down messaging to reach moms versus what moms really wanted to hear and how they were making decisions," DeBroff says.

In response, DeBroff took Mom Central, a website she launched in 2007 to give parenting advice and tips, and transformed it into a social media agency focused on Moms. Utilizing what DeBroff calls "relationship marketing," Mom Central connects brands with influential mom-bloggers, twitter personalities, and other influencers to launch word-of-mouth buzz about a product. DeBroff says these "mom-influencers" reach the core of the busy mom audience with their passion for brands.

We're so proud of our Mom Central Family!

Full article.

Nutrition Trends: Moms and Frozen Yogurt POSTED BY Stacy DeBroff AT 9:53 AM

A recent Chicago Tribune article by Emily York touches on two big trends among women and nutrition: taking better, more thoughtful care of our own bodies, and feeding our kids well.

The expansion of the frozen yogurt chains parallels the huge growth in regular yogurt sales to women - especially with the surge in popularity in the relatively low calorie, high protein packed Greek yogurts (such as Fage). Adding to the increased discussions: the addition of probiotics to many yogurts (such as Activa), as well as general education among women about how the live bacteria cultures in yogurt boost digestive health and immunity.

As a result, frozen yogurt has emerged as a perceived "healthier than ice cream" option by most women, and the trade-off has launched a whole micro-industry. Consumers think they get the great taste, creamy texture, and sense of dessert decadence but without the calories, fat and sugar of "real ice cream."

Therein lies the key misperception: that frozen yogurt is as healthy for you as regular yogurt. Or that it is "good" for you given it may still have high levels of sugar, dramatically less protein than found in regular yogurt, and the fat content equal to ice cream, depending on what type you get. (Only more so when you add all those delicious toppings!)

 

Moms and Nutrition - Three Emerging Trends POSTED BY Stacy DeBroff AT 11:50 AM

Last week, we co-presented a Mom webinar with our friends at Cymfony.  Analyst Cathy Buena presented "5 Truths About Food and Nutrition," as part of Cymfony's "Moms Research Series."

In our section, we outlined the ongoing strategic trade-offs Moms make to balance their budget constraints while trying to provide healthy and nutritious meals for their family.

We discussed the 3 emerging trends we're seeing in this space:

Budget Conscious and Sticking To It
The economic recession reached the upper and middle classes and left Moms conscious about where and how they spend their money. As these financial shifts impacting Mom’s purchasing behavior will endure post economic recovery, we see a rise in:

Increase in “White Label” Purchases-

• Moms move “off brand” for the basics/staples on grocery list: i.e. pasta, flour, sugar
• But though they might save $$ by buying white label pasta, they’ll splurge for brand- name tomato sauce.

Ubiquitous Couponing-

•  No longer used by only lower income brackets
•  Everyone now relies on saving $$ with coupons
•  “Extreme Couponing” takes it to the Nth degree

And Mom's Shopping “Footprint” Expands-

•  More Moms move to:
  •  Bulk Shopping (i.e. BJ’s, Costco)
  •  Mass Merchants (i.e. Walmart, Target)

Feeding Our Families Well vs. Cost
From cooking "kid-friendly" options to missing meals all together, Moms believe that their diets and their children's diets lack the nutritional value they need.  But with a tight budget, where does Mom best spend her money?  Strategic trade-offs allow Moms to sacrifice cost for “better” products in specific categories, such as fresh produce. Again, we see a shift in:

Increase in Category-Specific Organics-

• Concerns about pesticides, fertilizers, and hormones drive Moms to buy organic fruits, vegetables and meats

Best in Class Choices-

• Moms supplement with “Canned vs. Fresh” or “Frozen vs. Fresh” choices. Label Reading – mistrust of “hidden” ingredients drives 99% of Moms to read labels.

Retail Shopping Patterns-

• Whole Foods vs. general food store
•  Local sourcing – healthy and sustainable options.

Enriched and Added Nutrients Purchases-

•      Which are priorities: For Mom? For Kids
•      Whole grains, Omega-3, Probiotics

Time Pressure Trade-Offs
Finally, Moms perceive a constant tension: busy days mean they often need to make meals fast and yet find themselves wanting their time to be better spent. Meal prep changes to accommodate:

Ease of Use of Frozen Food

• Frozen food viewed may be viewed as less healthy than fresher options but still more nutritious than take-out, allowing Mom to reduce her overall prep time.

Rise in “Semi-Homemade”

• Combining pre-packaged ingredients with fresh – less time-dependent than cooking from scratch and alleviates “take-out” guilt.

5-Ingredient Recipe

• Scoffing at complex recipes with extensive ingredient lists, Moms want easy, fast recipes their families will love.

Bottom Line:
In these tough economic times, Moms face new expectations, increasingly tightened budgets and changing values.