My great-niece, Mackenzye Boaz, drinking her kool-aid jammer on their camping trip!
We all have seen the newest trend for feeding the little ones, meal pouches. The older generation will tilt their heads and ask, what? Yes, “food in a bag”, you just hand them the bag and voila, everything is good.
I was a working mother when my daughter was little, I am an ex-cop, so things were pretty hectic at times. When I was off duty I cooked her veggies etc. and the only time I used jar food was when we were on the road. Ok, I am old school, I agree and I get it. Now she is a mother and very busy herself, so I know things have changed but the basic principle has stayed the same, spending quality time with your child while eating. So where does the meal pouch fit in?
What am I talking about? Neil Grimmer, CEO of Plum Organic, founded this meal in a pouch and validates it as follows:
“I’d argue that even if we weren’t working full time, we’re all moving at the speed of light,” he said. Long work days, beckoning smartphones, and hyper-efficiency. “We want to make sure we’re able to move at the right speed, but also do the right thing for our kids.”
Still don’t understand it? Mr. Grimmer promotes free-parenting which on the other hand has stirred up some mommies on the internet. Lindsay Cross from Mommyish
And I have a problem with a company blatantly exploiting a real parenting technique and perverting it to fit their PR model.
We had to understand that advertising firms understand our fears and desires and what are good reasons to buy a product.
A good ad will give us a good reason to buy a product and also improve our lives. Then the ad also has to create the desire for us to purchase the product by word/image or by feeling. Their main object is for us to part with our money and buy their product. In the world of advertising there are a few things that are huge and those are babies and animals. You use those in a well productive manner and your product is sold. I think that the meal pouch fits into all of those criteria’s, what do you think?
To be fair to the pouch. I will agree that the meal pouches can come in handy when you on the road, or out camping, but not take over that quality time that you can spend with your child. Like my dad used to say, there is a time and place for everything.
The New York Times reported that Plum Organics conservatively estimates that its sales of pouches for babies, toddlers and children will be $53 million in 2012, up from around $4,800 when it put out its first pouches in 2008. That is trend-line that any CEO would love to see on their financial statement.
The financial benefits of the meal pouches became so astronomical that companies like Gerber and Earth’s Best all invested into the new line of meal pouches.
“Gerber said the sales of its new lines of pouches for babies and toddlers are growing at double-digit rates. And Earth’s Best said its pouch sales are growing at “triple-digit rates” (sales in grocery stores grew 372 percent in the last year, the company reported)”
Companies have been seeing a HUGE growth on the meal pouches. If you look at Plum’s figures from 2008 of $4,800 to an estimated $53,00 million for 2012, then there is no question that companies will keep on supplying the product. It is basic economics, as long as there is a demand there will be a supply, and the demand has been so great that more companies have joined the race.
Is this more demand? According to the the WallStreetJournal MarketWatch Mr. Grimmer stated that moms requested healthy snacks. The New Product Descriptions for Plum later this year is:
Greek Yogurt Mashups(TM) are a sweet n’ tangy addition to any breakfast, lunchbox or after-school snack. All Greek Yogurt Mashups are sold in boxes of four single-serving pouches for a suggested retail price of $4.99.
Morning Mashups(TM) offer a ready to eat, morning must-have for any kid on the run. All Morning Mashups are sold in boxes of four single-serving pouches for a suggested retail price of $4.99.
Crunch’ola(TM) are bite-sized clusters of crunchy nutrition made with four hearty whole grains including Millet, Quinoa, Brown Rice and Oats. All Crunch’ola snacks are sold in boxes of 5 single serving bags for a suggested retail price of $3.99.
Fruit & Veggie Shredz(TM) are real fruit & veggie snacks kids can twist, tie and twirl. Each pack offers a full serving of fruit, and is available in two fruit & veggie combinations (Rooty Blues and Super Apple) and two fruit-filled varieties (Berry’licious and Peach Peelz). All Shredz products are sold in boxes of five single serving packs for a suggested retail price of $3.99.
Little expensive for my taste.
As parents we have to understand that we have a responsibility towards our children and trying to hit the fast forward button is not going to work. Tomorrow you might sit at the psychologist’s office just to be told to spend more time with your child, talk to them, eat together, and then you wonder,….where did I go wrong. Be careful that the advertising companies don’t take control of your life.
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