{
  "id": 12166087,
  "title": "What Singapore's historic low fertility rate means to homegrown baby-care brands",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/what-singapores-historic-low-fertility-rate-means-to-homegrown-baby",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-05T12:16:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Independent Singapore",
    "slug": "the-independent-singapore",
    "url": "https://theindependent.sg/what-singapore-s-historic-low-fertility-rate-means-to-homegrown-baby-care-brands"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Singapore's historic low fertility rate of 0.87 is raising concerns for homegrown baby-care brands, as evidenced by the recent winding down of Tollyjoy after 55 years in the industry. Despite this bleak outlook, retail experts say that fewer babies do not necessarily translate to less spending from parents. Nanyang Business School's Associate Professor Lau Kong Cheen points out that Singapore's baby and mother-care retail value sales rose 7% to S$117 million in 2025, even as the TFR hit a historic low. This suggests that parents are becoming more discerning, favoring niche and premium products that offer safety, convenience, and multipurpose functionality. However, concerns remain as Professor Jean Yeung warns that fewer women of childbearing age could lead to fewer births in the future, regardless of a slight recovery in the TFR. Higher costs of doing business, including rising raw material, freight, and oil expenses, are also squeezing margins for baby-care companies. To cope with these challenges, some firms are turning to automation, while others are focusing on premiumization and expanding their customer base across a wider age range.",
  "summary": "SINGAPORE: After homegrown baby-care brand Tollyjoy announced in mid-September that it was winding down after 55 years in the industry, attention has turned to what Singapore’s record-low fertility rate could mean for the city-state’s baby-care brands. While Tollyjoy said its decision was not driven by financial considerations, its announcement came as Singapore’s total fertility rate hit a…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}