Babies may only have small appetites but their slice of the food industry is worth millions of pounds. With consumer interest in fresh, wholesome foods at an all time high, it appears that produce suppliers and baby-food manufacturers should reap the rewards.
Parents normally start their babies on solids from 4-6 months of age and even the most easy-going of mothers are often paranoid about what to feed their young when weaning time approaches.
Weaning is when fruit and vegetables are introduced into a babies diet. The majority of parents start with cooked carrots, sweet potatoes, apples and pears while avocados - as modelled by Annie, above - and bananas are also popular as first foods.
According to food experts, getting children used to a wide variety of fresh produce as early as possible can make all the difference between a healthy, non-fussy child that tucks into anything and everything and one that will only eat fish fingers and beans.
Abel and Cole is well known for offering organic fruit and vegetable boxes throughout the country and has enjoyed success with its babybox. Priced at £10, this box contains four different types of vegetables and three types of fruit.
The service is limited to the south of England but includes a number of cities outside London, including Southampton, Cambridge and Bristol.
“Our boxes change each week depending on what’s in season locally,” says Andrew Hall, customer service training coordinator. “We’re providing a good start for babies and young children to eat seasonal fresh produce.”
Other companies keen to publicise their products include the South African Avocado Growers’ Association, which has consistently targeted mothers to be and new mothers with its PR campaign. The association also notes that avocados are a ‘wonderful’ first food for baby.
“An avocado is smooth and creamy when mashed - a perfect food that will more readily be accepted as babies begin solids,” SAAGA says, adding further that avocados are easy to digest and are also great for young children.
Avocados are often described as a superfood and little wonder when you consider that they are packed with vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and niacin. The fruit is also a rich source of the antioxidant vitamins C and E and also contains the highest concentration of dietary fibre of any commonly eaten fruit.
As well as being concerned about the vitamin and mineral content of foods, organic produce is a priority for a lot of mums, according to research.
The Soil Association estimates 43 per cent of babies are weaned on an organic diet and 70 per cent of babies have organic food at least some of the time.
According to Hipp Organic, organic baby foods now make up half of all baby foods sold in the UK.
“With prices of organic recipes just a few pence higher than non-organic, more and more parents are choosing organic for their babies; whether or not they choose to buy organic foods for themselves,” says Samantha Mort, communications manager for Hipp Organic.
“Research has shown that 80 per cent of health professionals are concerned about the exposure of young babies and children to environmental contaminants, such as pesticides. At Hipp we believe that an organic diet is the most beneficial, particularly in the first two years of life.”
For parents who don’t have the time or energy to chop, boil and purée carrots and pears, convenience baby foods are welcomed with open arms.
These have never been healthier as many companies worth their salt are cutting out additives and preservatives and are basing their ready-made meals around high-quality fruit and vegetables.
Plum Baby is one baby-food producer that ticks all the right boxes. The company only uses organic products and is the first baby food to bear the Fairtrade logo.
The six Plum Baby recipes, which include mango and banana, have been selling at Sainsbury’s stores since March. Retail distribution will be increased next month when Plum Baby fills Waitrose shelves.
While there are no plans as yet to expand overseas, Plum Baby founder Susie Willis tells FPJ that she has received interest in her recipes from as far afield as Hong Kong.
Jars remain the most popular baby food by far but alternatives are gaining ground and frozen lines are starting to make waves.
“We believe that frozen organic baby food combines the convenience of shop-bought baby food with the quality of home made,” says Gerrie Hawes, managing director and founder of Fresh Daisy Organic.
The company’s stage 1 purées consist of single ingredient, organic steamed fruits and vegetables. Its stage 2 foods include the award-winning squash and red lentil while its apple and tropical mango dessert is a favourite, says Hawes, adding that new varieties will be available later this year.
“At Fresh Daisy Organic we endeavour to use UK-grown produce whenever possible and we work closely with the East Anglian farming co-operative which trades fairly with growers, supporting the future of independent farmers and the local farming community,” Hawes tells FPJ.
“Our range is 100 per cent organic and our view is organic is better, not only because of the reduced toxic load, but also because we find the flavour and general quality of the purées to be better than from conventional ingredients.”
Smoothie ice-creams are the firm’s most recent addition to its range. Fresh Daisy Organic Little Discoveries consist of 50 per cent real dairy ice cream and 50 per cent fruit and vegetable smoothies. Available in three flavours - orange and carrot, pear and parsnip and minty apple - these are sold in 500ml tubs.
While other frozen baby foods exist on the market, Fresh Daisy Organic claims that it is the only 100 per cent organic, non-sterilised range, that’s available for supermarkets and home delivery.
Hawes concedes that raising brand awareness is challenging for a small company when faced with competition from existing baby-food giants.
In addition, common misconceptions about frozen food are a further hindrance. However, the firm notes that there is a growing number of food-aware parents who recognise freezing foods is a highly beneficial practice to preserve food.
“We need to make sure parents know about Fresh Daisy Organic and at the same time encourage the supermarkets to give us the shelf space and sign posting to make it easier to find in store. We often tell parents the hardest thing about Fresh Daisy Organic is finding us in store,” Hawes says.
With the number of new firms snapping at their heels, baby-food giants have made a number of changes to their ranges in recent years.
Hipp is a significant player in the UK baby-food market, accounting for a quarter of all baby food sales. “The wet food market is in decline and has seen a 8 per cent drop in value sales since June 2005,” says Mort. “Hipp’s sales however have continued to increase during this as a result of our new packaging and updated recipes launched in mid 2005.”
With last year’s re-launch, Hipp has introduced many new fruit and vegetable jars, including butternut squash and chicken, vegetable, turkey and cranberry dinner and mango and banana melba.
Hipp’s most popular products are its stage 1 and stage 2 jar meals. Stage 1 now includes ‘First Tastes’, which are 80g jars of fruit or vegetable purees.
From seven months, Hipp recipes have a slightly lumpier texture to encourage chewing and to introduce baby’s taste buds to stronger flavours. The company’s stage 2 range was revamped last year to improve recipe formulations and develop new lines.
“We source our fruits and vegetables from all over the world,” says Mort. “Our bananas for example are grown in Costa Rica and all the ingredients used in UK recipes are organic. Hipp in Germany is the world’s largest processor of organic foods.”
Heinz is the baby-food brand leader with a 40.6 per cent share of the £101.1 million market. “The UK baby-food market is currently hugely competitive with new products and brands regularly being launched,” says Victoria Swing, brand manager for Heinz Baby Food.
“It is also extremely fast-moving with high numbers of new mums entering but also exiting the market everyday. New mums tend to leave the baby-food market within six to nine months as their babies grow and develop. Although this presents us with the opportunity to constantly talk to a fresh audience, all marketing activity needs to be as targeted and as informative as possible.”
Heinz relaunched its jarred organic baby-food range as Heinz Simply Organic last year. “Our organic range offers high quality purées with simple combinations of ingredients that are suitable for babies from four to six months,” Swing says. “We also know how important clear labelling is for mums and the new fresh green packaging has an easy to read, simplified ingredients list, which also reflects our commitment to good food values.”
When questioned about fruit and vegetable sourcing, Heinz said that fresh produce is harvested at the natural peak of freshness and is taken from trusted suppliers to very exacting specifications.
“Heinz expects farmers to respect natural crop cycles and apply good agricultural practices,” says Swing. “As part of the Heinz promise, we thoroughly test all of our ingredients for the most minute traces of chemicals and pesticides before use, carefully steam-cook our ingredients to reach just the right tastes and textures for babies and only work with farmers who respect natural crop cycles and work to high standards of animal welfare.”
While lots of attention is obviously lavished on babies’ diets, it is vital to remember the nutritional needs of toddlers. Indeed, this age group is often the most fussy of eaters but can also be one of the most important to fresh-produce suppliers as they crunch on apples and nibble on cherry tomatoes.
“It is best to familiarise children with a range of fruit and vegetables,” says nutritionist Suzannah Oliver, who recommends taking your toddler shopping to choose new options or have ‘tastings’ at home.
Baby-food producers are keen to hold on to the child market for as long as possible and both Hipp and Heinz have designed foods for toddlers.
“A brand new Hipp concept launched last year was our soup recipes for toddlers,” says Mort. “These soups are low in salt and therefore perfect for babies from 10 months.”
Heinz has also introduced a new range of finger foods and meals for toddlers, designed to bridge the gap between baby and childhood. “Heinz Toddler’s Own provides confidence for mums at a time when feeding her growing baby can be complex and worrying,” says Swing. “As her baby starts to move from simple nutritionally balanced jars and dried food to family meals and convenience foods, she needs to know that she can bridge that gap with products that are nutritionally sound.”
Heinz Toddler’s Own finger foods include mini apple bears, mini vegetable biscuits and banana cereal bars with a creamy coating.
All those involved know that the message of healthy eating still needs to be hammered home. According to the latest government figures, thenumber of obese children aged two to 10 has increased from 10 per cent in 1995 to 16 per cent in 2004 for boys, and from 10 per cent in 1995 to 11 per cent in 2004 for girls.
Given these worrying statistics, initiatives such as 5 A DAY, school fruit schemes and simply encouraging our young ones to eat lots of fruits and vegetables have to take centre stage.
As Public Health Minister Caroline Flint succinctly notes: “We can all do things today to improve our future health and that of our children.”
No comments yet