Credit the fact that there are lots of foodies raising kids, or that initiatives like the Let's Move campaign have turned focus to kids and healthy eating; whatever the cause, there's a growing trend in kid-targeted specialty foods. Wholesome, organic, and gluten-free are big buzzwords on the kids' food front. And as you'll see in the product round-up below, there are lots of small producers entering the market. Many are parents who discovered a market niche while searching out convenient, wholesome snacks for their own children.
1. Peque Oliva Olive Oil
© 2011 Miri Rotkovitz
Peque Oliva is a Spanish extra-virgin olive oil with a light, buttery flavor and a fruity finish developed specifically for kids. The company touts the oil's low acidity, and high oleic acid content — two attributes, it says, that make Peque Oliva especially well suited to kids' palates and nutritional needs. ($10/8.5 oz, at m5corporation.com).
2. MOO Kids Chocolate
Image Courtesy of Moo Chocolate
MOO Chocolate turns out preservative-free organic milk chocolate bars enhanced with whole grain add-ins, including brown rice crisps, corn flakes, graham crackers, and granola. The bars were modeled after the Swiss chocolates founder Nicole Eckholm favored while her kids were growing up, but couldn't find in the States. ($4.95, at Foodzie.com).
3. California Caviar
Image Courtesy of California Caviar Company
In an effort to turn little ones on to caviar, California Caviar offers Caviar Kids lunch packs. Fish & Chips ($62) is filled with sustainably harvested Hackleback Sturgeon caviar, crème fraiche, and whale tail-shaped organic corn chips for scooping. The Fish Bowl ($48) features trout caviar, crème fraiche, and puff pastry fish. Buy online at CaliforniaCaviar.com.
4. Happy Baby
© Lou Manna
HAPPYBABY forged the path for the now thriving gourmet baby food market with its organic baby food pouches, freeze-dried yogurt melts, cereals, snacks, and frozen foods. The extensive line treats tiny diners to inventive combos like Banana, Beet, & Blueberry puree or Amaranth Ratatouille. Older tots get easy-to-handle Veggie Tots and Salmon Stix. Buy online at HappyBabyFood.com and Amazon.com.
5. Cookies for Babies
Image by Aran Goyoaga for Cookies for Babies
Adapted from a recipe of the lauded Spanish gastronome, the Marquesa de Parabere, these little cookies are handmade with just four ingredients — organic flour, Kate's Homemde hormone-free butter, organic cane sugar, and organic vanilla. The cookies are low in sugar, and they dissolve quickly in the mouth for teething tots. The sweet heart and star shapes are ideally sized for little hands. Order online at CookiesForBabies.com. ($3.99/4 oz).
6. Chobani Champions Greek Yogurt
Yogurts geared to kids are nothing new, but Chobani is the first company to capitalize on the Greek yogurt trend by developing a Greek yogurt just for kids. Chobani Champions is made from all-natural ingredients, including rBST-free milk, which sets it apart from the sugar- and additive-laden kid-geared concoctions that are yogurt in name only. Kid-friendly flavors include Verry Berry and Honey-Nana. Chobani's artisan yogurt maker custom-blends the yogurt cultures for this strained yogurt, which is higher in protein and lower in fat and sugar than conventional yogurt.
7. Little Duck Organics Fruit Snacks
© Kimberly Peck Photography
Like many of the small producers on this list, Zak Normandin entered the specailty food fray thanks to a fruitless search for wholesome snacks for his own young daughters. He founded Little Duck Organics, which offers nibble-sized freeze dried organic fruit in three combos: Blueberry Apple, Strawberry Mango, and Apple Banana. The tiny fruits are ideally sized for babies learning to manipulate solid food in their hands and mouths, but older tots are just as likely to fall for the colorful, crunchy treats. Buy online at LittleDuckOrganics.com or Abe's Market. $3.99/1 oz.
8. Lunchbox Friendly Specialty Food Finds
Image Courtesy of Clif Bar
Since kids regularly tote lunch to school, they're pretty big consumers of nonperishable comestibles. So savvy snack producers will often make the effort to package products in lunchbox-ready fashion, even if they aren't specifically kids' foods. Other producers have expanded their lines to include kid-targeted snacks.