Consultancy - Landscape Analysis of Child-Directed Digital Marketing and Market Sizing of Foods and Non-Alcoholic Beverages in Eastern and Southern Africa at UNICEF

Scope of Work
Objectives

• Monitoring of digital food marketing:
  • To situate digital marketing of food and non-alcoholic beverages at national, regional and international level, drawing on policies, laws and regulatory frameworks
  • In Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Uganda, analyze:
    • Adolescent device use, platform preference and digital marketing prevalence;
    • Popular foods and non-alcoholic beverages;
    • Digital marketing strategies and adolescent exposure.
• Market sizing:
  • To size market in retail value for i) total packaged food categories, ii) sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), and iii) chained fast food outlets latest year[1];
  • To identify the priority five to six packaged food categories by retail sales;
  • To provide a historic growth rate for total packaged food and priority food categories/SSBs, to assess and compare how these products have performed over time;
  • To rank leading manufacturers (in 2.a.i-iii) based on retail sales for latest year.

Expected results

• The assignment will fill a significant gap in understanding some of the key drivers of the increasing consumption of unhealthy products among children and adolescents, and consequent obesity burden in ESAR. Resulting recommendations will support stakeholders involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of public policies that regulate the exposure and power of unhealthy food and beverage products.

Activities And Tasks
MONITORING OF DIGITAL FOOD MARKETING (COMPONENT A)

• To guide the monitoring and restriction of digital marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages aimed at children and adolescents the proposed methodology will include the WHO CLICK monitoring framework[2], specifically, the first two steps of the CLICK framework where C stands for “Comprehend the digital ecosystem” and L represents “Landscape of campaigns”. For the latter, proposed methods include the WHO Protocols and Templates[3] for monitoring marketing of unhealthy products to children and adolescents in social media. The consultant will be required to undertake a critical analysis and write up of campaigns in Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Uganda of food and beverage brands through nutrient profiling and power analysis and influence of the identified campaigns on social media platforms.

MARKET SIZING (Zimbabwe and Tanzania only) (COMPONENT B)

• Following standard market analysis procedures, this component entails three parts. Firstly, it involves combining desk research, data collection, and analysis. This includes secondary data analysis encompassing import/export statistics, investment reports, company reports of major players, academic papers, NGO reports, and press articles. Secondly, it includes analyzing local data such as UNICEF partner data and conducting store audits in formal and informal retail outlets to identify market trends. Thirdly, stakeholder consultations with various industry experts and authorities are conducted to gauge market size and value. The consultant should ensure that data from these diverse sources are triangulated for a comprehensive analysis, incorporating desk research, available data, and stakeholder insights.
• The consultant will provide detailed guidance document on the application of study methods, and hold a stakeholder event to build capacity in ESAR COs and institutions for digital marketing analysis and food and beverage market sizing.

Outputs/Deliverables
Deliverables
Deliverable 1

• A & B Combined proposal and methodology for Food Marketing Monitoring and Market Sizing for 3 countries

Deliverable 2

• A Desk review results for child & adolescent media use/ brand preferences/branded food sales in 3 countries
• B Desk research and store audit results in 2 countries

Deliverable 3.

• A Data collected cleaned and analysis ready in 3 countries on food marketing.
• B Completion of expert consultations for market sizing in 2 countries.

Deliverable 4.

• A Data analyzed in 3 countries with draft findings for discussion with UNICEF.
• B Interim market sizing data and qualitative insights including presentation in 2 countries.

Deliverable 5.

• A Final report, .ppt and policy briefs for 3 countries on food marketing.
• B Completion of all data sets and analysis; final presentation on market sizing in 2 countries.

Deliverable 6: Market sizing methodology & stakeholder event delivered ESARO
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• Master’s in one of the following disciplines: Public Health, Nutrition, Public Policy, Psychology, Marketing, Technology (with a focus on health/nutrition). CVs of involved professional should be made available upon submission of a technical proposal.
• The consultant should have experience in market research, digital ecosystem, knowledge of regulatory and cultural framework in ESAR region, childhood overweight prevention, excellent documentation and report writing skills (in English) and able to work in a multicultural environment. Experience working in ESAR Region, for the food industry and for UN agencies (especially UNICEF) will be considered an asset.

Specific Requirements For The Consultant

• Essential: experience of minimum 10 years in quantitative and qualitative research; releasing studies on behavioral change, food marketing directed to children, digital marketing, digital ecosystem, etc.

Desirable: Knowledge of CLICK monitoring framework/methodology for monitoring digital marketing of unhealthy foods and non-alcoholic beverages directed to children (or other similar internationally endorsed); nutrition/health, public health, nutrient profile models, quantitative and qualitative research.

• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset