Accelerating innovation and portfolio growth in kids’ vitamins
Growth
objectives
A leading health brand aimed to expand its kids' vitamin portfolio by introducing innovation that would not only grow its own revenue but also lift the overall category. Two key strategies were on the table: 1) extending an existing brand with premium varieties, or 2) introducing a new brand into the segment—one that was already successful in an adjacent category. The client was also open to optimizing the current assortment by removing underperforming SKUs to make space for innovation.
Challenge
The children’s multivitamin space is crowded and complex, with over 100 SKUs competing for attention. To ensure new offerings would resonate, the client needed to understand price sensitivity, trade-up potential, and cannibalization risks—while staying aligned with evolving parent preferences across age groups.
Key questions
Will innovation grow portfolio and category revenue—or simply shift volume within the brand?
What is the optimal number of new products to launch for maximum revenue impact?
Which SKUs could be retired to support a more efficient assortment?
How should pricing be structured to reflect added benefits without losing consumer interest?
How we did it
Astrea deployed its Portfolio and Price Optimizer, a choice-based virtual shopping simulation. Participants—buyers of multivitamins for children—were asked to select products from a competitive set representative of U.S. mass retailers. They evaluated new and existing SKUs across a variety of price points. The approach quantified willingness to pay, potential share shifts, and the overall impact of innovation on portfolio performance.
Key learnings
The research revealed that innovations featuring benefits like added iron and targeted probiotic support offered strong trade-up potential and contributed to meaningful portfolio growth. These offerings resonated with distinct consumer segments, helping minimize cannibalization. One standout product not only improved efficiency by reducing SKU count while increasing sales—but also expanded category revenue by addressing previously unmet consumer needs.
Outcome
The insights gave the client a clear roadmap for innovation, helping them grow brand revenue by 13% and improve portfolio profitability by up to 10%. Retailer profitability also increased by as much as 67%. Armed with a better understanding of consumer preferences, pricing, and assortment optimization, the brand was able to confidently move forward with a data-driven strategy for growth.
