by Brad Avery
IN
an era of hyperconsciousness surrounding health and wellness, be it the need to boost immune systems or the dangers of sugar, it should come as no surprise that parents are taking more caution over their children’s nutrition. And as kids head back to school in person without vaccine approval for the under 12 set, while the pandemic has proven to be far from over, that concern is sure to be at the front of many shoppers’ minds. Take these numbers as examples: In August, Whole Foods Market released the results of an online survey conducted by The Harris Poll fi nding that parents of children under 18 spent an average of 27.2 minutes per week reading food labels and considering the ingredients in the food and drinks they give to their kids. That’s about one day per year. Beyond that measure, an 87% majority of the 626 parents polled said they were concerned about the ingredients in their children’s food and, certainly to Whole Foods’ delight, 69% said they worry less about these ingredients when shopping at retailers they know prioritize healthy and clean label products. This is, of course, not just the result of a global health crisis, but the culmination of a years-long CPG trend. As kids beverage makers have continuously worked to move the category towards better-foryou options, innovative brands are now being presented with new opportunities to gain a foothold in a notoriously challenging category, because major retailers are seeking out kids products with clean label ingredients and low sugar content. But it’s that last step, from the retailer to the lunchbox, that entrepreneurs are fi nding as the part of the path that is anything but smooth.
62 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021
