Mother & the Pill

Dear Mother: How is your little one? Must be a real live wire by now . . . charming everyone with adorable antics . . . and amazing you with all the things he can do.

For 35 years, such friendly letters have been mailed from Fremont, Mich., to mothers of U.S. infants. Signing them, with an eye to new business as well as to new citizens, is Mrs. Dan Gerber, "Mother of Five," longtime corporate mother-figure of the baby-food company organized by her husband 38 years ago. Today, with 65% of a highly competitive market, Gerber dominates the $300 million-a-year baby-food business; last week the company reported fiscal '66 sales of $195,218,397, only $1,196,425 higher than the year before.

Twice as Much. But the opportunity rate for Mrs. Dan Gerber to dash off such happy greetings is slipping. The Bureau of Natality of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare reports a consistent drop in the U.S. birth rate since 1958 (TIME, May 6); last year it sagged 7%, and the total of 3,800,000 was the smallest in 15 years. Understandably, Mrs. Gerber and her husband's industry are beginning to fret. The newest item on the fret list of the baby-food business is the growing popularity of "the pill." The baby-food people still just seem to hope that it will somehow go away. "Birth control," says a Gerber executive primly, "is a necessity in some countries but not the U.S."

Even if the pill prevails, baby-food processors can prosper for a while on sheer weight of numbers, higher per-baby consumption and a parallel trend to convenience food. Pet Milk's "Infant Nurse" and Mead Johnson's "Nursette," both prebottled formulas in disposable containers, have been successful with younger mothers. Swift sells strained meats for six-week-olds, keeps them on junior food until four years. Gerber's five original varieties have grown to 130, including cherry vanilla pudding and Dutch apple dessert; the company estimates that today's baby eats 15 jars a week, or almost double the consumption of a baby a generation ago.

Abroad & the Aging. Meanwhile the industry is spreading overseas with a rise in living standards. Heinz is small in U.S. baby-food markets but strong in England and Australia, and is now moving forcefully in Italy. Gerber markets in 74 countries on its own or by license. It uses local foods wherever possible;

Latin American infants, for instance, eat Gerber passion fruit and guava.

Gerber, with babies still its only business, has begun thinking beyond infant appetites to consider the total baby. The company is marketing pants, bibs, socks, shirts, crib sheets and toddler clothes, is testing paper washcloths, diapers and lotion-treated tissues, and five months ago set up a department to explore other diversification.

Gerber, as well as its competitors, is also eying the potentially rich geriatrics market, which now accounts for about 8% of sales. Old folks like easily digested baby foods. But they are embarrassed to buy them, usually shove the cans or jars along supermarket counters with the explanation that grandchildren are coming to visit. The baby-food firms understandably have been reluctant to try the hard sell in the delicate old folks' market. But it would be no great surprise if, one of these days, oldsters were to start getting letters from Mrs. Dan Gerber, grandmother of 15.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.