Abstract:
China has the largest and fastest-growing breast milk substitutes (BMSs) market and a disproportionately low exclusive breastfeeding rate. Many BMS manufacturers have established Chinese e-commerce stores. This marketing is of concern as it is likely to undermine breastfeeding. This study aimed to identify: (1) the marketing themes and strategies used to promote BMSs on the Chinese BMSs e-commerce websites; (2) if and how digital BMSs marketing may deviate from the World Health Organization Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes (the Code) recommendations. Content analysis was conducted on the flagship websites of 10 BMSs companies on the Chinese e-commerce platform \"TMall\" in July 2019. The main landing page (n = 10) of the flagship TMall website and the product description page (n = 113) of all individual formulas (Stages 1-3) within each company\'s TMall website were examined. The content was analysed and coded using an iterative thematic analysis approach. Emphasis on Premiumization and Science & Nutrition was the most commonly used marketing approaches. A total of 27.4% of the product description pages sampled used images of infants (<12 months), 33.6% made favourable comparisons of BMSs to breast milk, and only 34.5% included probreastfeeding statements. Marketing strategies were often inconsistent with the Code, and companies used \"creative\" ways to target mothers, often circumventing the Code recommendations. Unsubstantiated information was commonplace and of concern, because the e-commerce platform provided easy opportunities for bulk purchases. National regulatory actions are urgently needed to monitor online BMS marketing and the undermining of breastfeeding in China.
摘要:
中国拥有最大和增长最快的母乳替代品(BMS)市场,纯母乳喂养率低得不成比例。许多BMS制造商已经建立了中国电子商务商店。这种营销令人担忧,因为它可能会破坏母乳喂养。本研究旨在确定:(1)在中国BMS电子商务网站上推广BMS的营销主题和策略;(2)数字BMS营销是否以及如何偏离世界卫生组织的母乳代用品营销守则(守则)建议。2019年7月,在中国电子商务平台“TMall”上的10家BMS公司的旗舰网站上进行了内容分析。检查了旗舰TMall网站的主登陆页面(n=10)和每个公司TMall网站中所有单独配方(阶段1-3)的产品描述页面(n=113)。使用迭代主题分析方法对内容进行了分析和编码。强调Premiumization和科学与营养是最常用的营销方法。共有27.4%的产品说明页面抽样使用婴儿(<12个月)的图像,33.6%的人对母乳进行了良好的比较,只有34.5%包括预喂养声明。营销策略往往与守则不一致,公司使用“创造性”的方式来瞄准母亲,经常规避守则的建议。未经证实的信息司空见惯,令人担忧,因为电子商务平台为批量购买提供了轻松的机会。迫切需要国家监管行动来监测中国的在线BMS营销和母乳喂养的破坏。