Gone are the days when busy mothers struggled to find healthy food for their little ones in supermarkets or gadgets that would make parenting simpler. A new wave of companies have come to the rescue with a range of meals and baby-friendly kits. Look out for these brands at Spinneys
SPROUT
This home-grown brand, which was founded in 2019, is the UAE’s first 100 percent plant-based kids’ food business aimed at toddlers (1-4 years) and children (5-10 years). Biochemist Oz Erbas Soydaner (founder and CEO) and marketing technologist Katerina Papatryfon (co-founder) are on a mission to provide nutritious food based on scientific research to children across the UAE. Sprout offers freshly made, ready-to-(h)eat meals that are free of preservatives, additives, antibiotics and hormones. The meals are prepared in collaboration with nutrition experts and pediatric dietitians. At present, the company offers over 15 meals, which are packaged in vacuum-sealed glass jars. Four of these are now available at Spinneys.
LIL TOTS
The first of its kind in the UAE, this home-grown brand prepares fresh, preservative-free food for babies and toddlers. Founder Rihab Saab realised there was a lack of healthy baby food in the market when her brother visited Dubai with his baby son in 2016. That experience drove her to work with a nutritionist and chef to create a menu that catered to children aged 8 months to 3 years. The meals are either steamed or baked and are salt- and sugar-free. “We developed three meal plans for parents to choose from – there is the balanced plan that has food from all five food groups, including protein from chicken and salmon; the full-veggie meal plan; and most recently the bites menu, which is basically healthy protein snack options,” explains Rihab.
FRIDA BABY
A brand that’s sure to catch your eye with its in-your-face product names, Frida Baby is all about making life easy for parents – one of the reasons why it created the ‘mom’s everyday tool kit’. The company was initially founded in 2004 by a Swedish pediatrician who created a snot-sucking tool called Nosefrida. In 2008, he took Nosefrida to the US where he met his neighbour, Chelsea Hirschhorn. She believed in the product so much that she began distributing it and eventually bought the parent company in Sweden. Today Frida Baby has a collection of innovative products such as the gaspasser, accu-dose pacifier and finger toothbrush to make it easier for mums to deal with fussy or sick babies. The brand’s packaging also has a fun, yet premium look and feel.
FOR AISHA
After working in the UK’s F&B industry for 24 years, it struck Mark Salter that parents had very limited choices when it came to buying baby food. Most products were bland and cheaply made with cheese, pasta and boiled apple purée. “I had the idea of making exotic, healthy food that would delight little ones. So I set about creating the first baby-friendly curries, tagines, dhal and jerk-style recipes, using mild spices, herbs, vegetables and pulses. They were incredibly well received by parents,” says Mark. For Aisha is now an international brand of Halal-certified baby food that’s also dairy-, egg- and soya-free. The range currently has 10 meals with chicken, lamb and fish that are prepared without preservatives, artificial additives, salt and sugar.
