Speciality-Food-Magazine-JanuaryFebruary2025

“Retailers need to show they value the health of children by providing little ones with the real food they deserve,” she continues, “and parents the convenience they so desperately need, without the guilt of ultra- processed ready meals and pouches.” Shopping these days is about whole family nutrition, Edward agrees. “Gone are the days when we’ll feed the kids whatever they have at 5pm, while we have ‘proper food’ later. Kids are growing, and they need good quality food. It makes sense for farm shops to sell options for them as well. If we can raise the category, offering kids’ food in that setting, a family may very well buy more of their weekly shop there, knowing they can get everything in the same place.” Adding children’s meals is a good way to add value for customers, Edward exerts. Annabel says retailers taking their first tentative steps into this arena would do well to ‘play it safe’ with tried and tested flavours before offering anything too exotic. “If you can pretty much guarantee your child is going to enjoy a meal with minimumwastage, you’ll invest in that product and brand,” she says. “Children are famously finicky eaters, so once a customer finds a product that their child enjoys, they will buy from those brands time and time again.” With curries and lasagne the bestsellers in premium ready meals, and plenty of ‘child-friendly’ versions of these products emerging, the opportunity to ‘bridge’ meals across generations in a convenient way has never been stronger. children’s food.” Parents are more concerned than ever before about what they give their children, adds Annabel Karmel, a heavyweight in the kids’ food sector. It matters to them. And it should matter to the NHS and government, with a pressing need to halt our obesity crisis, and in turn preventable disease. This is against a backdrop, though, Annabel says, of parents “juggling work, school, appointments, after school clubs, and the endless piles of laundry” which “doesn’t leave much time in the day for making healthy, homecooked family meals”. Why should speciality retailers consider stocking premium kids’ meals? “There’s a huge demand in the retail space for healthier children’s meals,” says Cherelle. frozen for the week ahead.” When she lost her eyesight and was later diagnosed with a brain tumour, Eva knew something had to give. “This was the lightbulb moment that made me decide to set my sights on creating a product for children that would offer natural convenience feeding without the nasties.” Through her research, and using protein and powdered nutrition supplements herself, she wondered why this approach couldn’t work for children too – and Eden’s Bloom was born. Why does kids’ food matter? It’s all about health - educating children in healthy eating and making healthy choices. And that starts at an early age. “There’s so much in the media at the moment about unethical packaging and ultra-processed foods aimed at children,” agrees Cherrelle. “I think it’s about time it was highlighted and addressed. I know first-hand how busy parents can be, and we need to be able to fall back on convenient food sometimes. We want parents to be able to do so without being misled by packaging or compromising on their children’s health.” Cherrelle thinks the industry faces many challenges in this respect, but also holds significant opportunities for innovation and improvement in delivering more sustainable, better food options for children. Though “healthier foods are not enough on their own. We need the bigger brands to take accountability and be more transparent with their food labelling. This also comes with a greater need for stricter regulations, advertising and marketing when it comes to @specialityfood his wife while he was away. Surely there could be a better solution? “Looking at the toddler food market, it’s broadly split into two areas,” Edward continues. “One side is fresh options, with a lot coming up that’s good quality, but not necessarily very convenient as you have to take it out of the freezer and put it in the microwave. You can’t take it with you. “The other side is pouches and sachets, which are super convenient, but they aren’t all high quality.” Edward developed a series of freeze- dried meals for children. Crafted with the guidance of a nutritionist, weighing only 40g, low in salt, but high in plants and protein, all parents have to do is “add water, and they’re ready to go. They’re designed to alleviate those pain points for parents.” He sees the products as being part of an exciting newmovement, amongst a number of challenger brands who are “appreciating the value of feedings kids actual food, rather than rusks, or something out of a jar.” Freeze drying to retain nutrient value is exactly what Eva and Darren Joseph have done while bringing to market their own kids’ food brand – Eden’s Bloom– a range of powdered plant-based baby purees, made from whole fruits, vegetables and grains from sustainable sources. Eva resonates with her fellow founders. “As a newmum starting to weanmy six-month-old, I wanted to feed my daughter natural meals without compromising on quality,” she says. “I didn’t want to resort to shop-bought pouches and jars, so I spent hours in the kitchen batch cooking food in the evenings, which would then be mashed or pureed and A quiet revolution has been bubbling under the surface of the British food and drink scene. One propelled by mission- driven investors, businesspeople and parents, as they seek to enact change in a sector that has been stagnating for quite some time – kids’ meals. As a speciality retailer, passionately advocating for artisan cheeses, preserves, spirits and the like, you might not have givenmuch thought to younger consumers. The ones who trundle into store wrapped warmly in a blanket in their buggy, or twisting and fidgeting alongside a parent or grandparent. But noticing these youthful palates, engaging with them, and catering to their needs, could unlock a whole new stream of revenue for your business, say the new generation of children’s meal producers coming along the line. This is especially true of farm shops and garden centres, which have become more than the sum of their parts – experiences to be enjoyed by the entire family (children included) at weekends. According to Statista, revenue within the baby and children’s food sector in the UK is due to grow from £1.4 billion in 2020, to £1.7 billion by 2025. While Mintel points to the trend amongst parents to be pickier in this category, searching for organic, natural, and nutritious options for their offspring. What’s behind the new kids’ food scene in the UK? The enduring story from founders of new brands is that they’ve carved out their own place in the market due to necessity, and their own experience. They’ve recognised the sparsity in the sector... but also the desire (for people like themselves) for higher quality products. Cherrelle Beckitt, for example, set up The Family Food Co and is CEO of Pots for Tots. Her mission began with her own feeding journey while weaning her first child, and noticing a gap for guilt-free, nutritious options for her baby. “I found the choice of convenience food for children pretty disappointing,” Cherelle says. “Hidden nasties, mush-like consistency – it just didn’t ever feel like real food.” Cherelle was also keenly aware of the omnipresence of childhood obesity in the UK, which has become a significant public health concern, leading to heightened scrutiny of the nutritional content of what they eat. “This has led to an increasing emphasis on providing balanced, nutrient-dense options for children in the last few years.” More Toddler Meals founder Edward Van Der Lande’s story will chime withmany working parents. Being placed overseas with the Army, he spent a great deal of time away fromhis pregnant wife and young son. “I think 2022, while I was in Somalia, was one of my most formative experiences,” Edward explains. “My wife was working full time, but we were conscious about doing weaning properly, introducing textures and tastes as per the guidance, batch cooking what we ate and freezing it.” There was so much to it, he says, and he felt guilty about the strain weaning was putting on If you can prettymuch guarantee your child is going to enjoy ameal with minimumwastage, you’ll invest in that product and brand 30 STOCK CHECK JESS COOKS FAMILY-SIZE BEEF BOLOGNESE Packed with extra vegetables and less salt than conventional ready meals so can be enjoyed by the whole family. jesscooks.co.uk WILDLY TASTY APRICOT & CHICKPEA TAGINE A gently spiced blend of dried apricots, red peppers, chickpeas and sweet potato. wildlytasty.com Premium children’s food options are on the up, with a number of new players entering the market. Speciality Food finds out what’s driving this family-friendly trend THEGROWTHOF KIDS’ FOOD