It wasn’t until the 21st century that organic baby food hit the commercial market. For starters, convincing parents to feed pre-packaged food to their young ones was a challenge alone. It took several years of expensive, scientifically backed marketing to establish that baby food from supermarket shelves contained familiar recipes that could benefit children’s development. Clapp’s, Gerber, and Beech Nut are a few of the original creators of canned baby food. In a sad turn of events, however, excessive starch, sugar, and MSG found their way into baby food; and organic baby food emerged as a necessity, as unregulated levels of ingredients were turning kids into picky eaters addicted to sugar.
By six months of age, kids are ready to have their first solid foods. They may be given soft fruits like banana, boiled vegetables, eggs etc to start with, gradually adding diverse flavours and textures to expand their palate. Therefore, solely relying on processed baby food was not a good idea, as there were not many healthy options available. Food historian Amy Bentley has also commented on it before, saying that research about canned baby food done in the 1960s showed that it was prepared the same way that all other canned foods, including the ones for adults, with salt, sugar, sometimes nitrites, MSG, preservatives, and thickener.
At present, sustainably created and packed food has been given the right amount of importance. With climate change being taken way more seriously than before, slow, ethical organic farming is practised all over the world, in tune with nature. The food grown without harming the environment is a great way to add the required amount of nutrition to everyone’s diet, and it must start early. Organic baby food also gives new parents more time to rest, free of worry about what their child is consuming, as it is time saving. Ready to eat puree of organic fruits and vegetables is a great example of such foods, and as it is mostly packaged in pouches, younger babies can slurp it with no difficulty while their parents may be hurrying home from work and need to provide the baby a quick snack. The brands in this business are pushing the right buttons by being transparent about their sources, introducing a wide variety of food for different age groups, and getting the certifications that make them trustworthy. Happy Baby, the organic baby food line by Happy Family, Little Spoon, Pristine Organics, Happa foods, First Bites et al are some of the key players in the industry at present.
The Present is Organic
Once Upon A Farm, a baby food brand, grows its organic fruits and vegetables in one of the co-founders, Jennifer Garner’s farm, and procured the Clean Label for its product line with no preservatives or added sugar. One can also get customisable boxes delivered to their homes containing food items like Dairy Free Smoothies, Immunity Blends, Plant-Based Meals, and Overnight Oats. Another brand with the option of hassle-free, home-deliverable meals, Little Spoon has created a long list of food products for various age groups. Their ‘Starting solids made easy’ claim is proven in the six stages of organic, non-GMO textured blends they provide for the age group of 6-9 months. It has been a common concern for parents and researchers that children would develop their oral and fine motor skills slower if they limit their diets to pouch purees, but quite a handful of brands have introduced deliverable and easy to access finger foods and meals as well, to tackle this challenge. Little Spoon’s Plates and Biteables range is a convenient option for slightly older kids ready to use cutlery and hands. Pristine 1st Bites offers staple Indian grains and millets curated for children from 8-24 months of age. Their two-ingredient and multi-ingredient organic meals are quite suitable for overall growth, along with the mother’s milk, which the brand strongly advocates for. Pristine also offers other ready-to-eat meals like Khichdi and Bisi Bele Bath made with organic ingredients, which are great options to time-saving meals for older children.
The lives of parents are far busier and more stressful at present, with both parents working in many families, and handling babies have become a tad bit easy with time-savers like organic baby food and more. In 2022 itself, its market size was valued at USD 10.5 billion. It is projected to grow from USD 11.6 billion in this year to USD 20.9 billion by 2030, parents’ growing concern for kids’ health and nutrition being the key driving factor.
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