Kids food trends in 2018

Here’s 5 trends that might be influencing your children’s food and the way they eat in 2018…

1. Importance of nutrition from an early age

Providing good nutrition to your little ones is on most parent’s minds, long gone are the days of looking to packaged snacks simply to provide a sweet treat. Ever more research is highlighting the importance of nutrition in the early stages of life (conception to 2 years), on the risk of developing long-term chronic diseases, such as obesity, dental caries and type 2 diabetes.

Parents are looking for innovative ways to incorporate vegetables, multi-grains and healthy fats into their children’s diets whilst keeping the overall intake of sugar low. As we all lead increasingly busy lifestyles, sometimes we need to reach for a prepared food option, and this is ok. As such, it is important that packaged food options offer these benefits too. This will continue into 2018 as parents become more informed about both the short-term and long-term health effects of their kid’s eating choices.

2. Mindful choices

Consumers want to know more about what is in their food and where it was produced. This is never truer than when parents are shopping for their little ones. The perceived healthiness of food products are being scrutinised and those performing poorly are being called out. The ethical attributes of a product are also important. There is a trend to go Full Circle with growing interest in environmentally friendly products and biodegradable packaging.

Whole Kids is a firm believer in Going Full Circle; it was the first food business in Australia to become certified as a B Corporation. We couldn’t be happier about this growing interest.

3. Organic continues to gain ground

Hand in hand with mindful choices, interest in organic food for young children shows no sign of slowing. Parents are also buying into and realising the benefits of switching to organic produce themselves. By their very nature, certified organic products (in our case the ACO) contain fewer pesticides and additives. With concern over the effect of accumulating these chemicals in our body, particularly at a young, vulnerable age, parents are looking for minimally processed products from natural ingredients, which they can trust. Being certified organic goes a long way to ensuring this.

4. Importance of the family

Use of social media is rising across all ages – Facebook has just launched a site for children under 13 – leaving kids few opportunities to escape from their devices. As a result, families are trying to make the most of the precious moments they manage to spend together having face-to-face social interactions: sharing a meal; going for a walk in the outdoors; a swim at the beach; camping under the stars. Getting out and having real life experiences are where memories are created and this will remain important in 2018.

5. Eating around the world from home

As it becomes easier to travel both locally and overseas, we are exposed to different cuisines. We often want to bring home some of the flavours and tastes we’ve experienced, especially if our kids have enjoyed them on holiday. This leads us to experimenting in the kitchen, particularly as when we have kids we spend more time at home and eat out less. Ingredients, such as native Aussie flavours, Asian herbs, spices and sauces, tropical fruits and American flavours, are increasingly becoming widely available across Australia. Expect more of the same in 2018 as our love of travel shows no sign of slowing.

[ultimate_heading main_heading=”About the Author” main_heading_color=”#85c343″ heading_tag=”h4″ alignment=”left” main_heading_font_size=”desktop:22px;”][/ultimate_heading]

Diana Austen works for Whole Kids as a Nutrition Advisor. With a Master’s degree in nutrition, she has spent over six years’ experience working with a range of companies on innovation, strategic insight and regulatory and scientific affairs. Fascinated by the nutritional requirements of infants and young children she focuses specifically on products for this age group.

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