KIDS' FOOD GROWS UP
NEW YORK, NY/PR NEWSWIRE – NOVEMBER 6, 2008 – Adult tastes are influencing kids’ food like never before. Parents today want their children’s food to resemble their own in key ways, according to the Kids’ Food Culinary Trend Mapping Report from the Center for Culinary Development (CCD) and Packaged Facts. The report profiles “kid-adult fusion” trends that are driving product innovation in the growing kids’ food market.
“From manufacturers of exciting new foods for babies and toddlers to restaurant operators thinking outside the French fry box and beyond chicken tenders,” says Kimberly Egan, CEO of CCD, “this is a dynamic market with plenty of untapped potential.”
Better-for-you focus. Just as adults are adding more vegetables to their meals, children benefit from foods with Hidden Nutrition such as macaroni and cheese with butternut squash and sweet potatoes. Just like grown-ups, kids are profiting from many of the same New Functional food benefits in products brimming with omega-3s and probiotics to ensure optimal wellness from the get-go.
Mini global gourmets. Parents can now cultivate palates for global cuisines by introducing Asian Flavored foods to their little ones. Asian ingredients, like lentils, coconut and spices, are showing up in emerging kids’ foods, and committed parents are updating tired lunch boxes with colorful Bento Boxes. These homemade lunches include globally inspired mini-portions of nutritious foods in fun, appealing forms with a greater focus on grains and vegetables in re-usable plastic containers that cut down on waste.
Evolution of the kiddie menu. The lines are blurring between yesterday’s placemat kids’ menu and the variety-laden adult one. New choices in sides, entrées and beverages allow kids to influence family dining decisions and have a varied, and more nutritious, meal.
The Culinary Trend Mapping Report is co-published by the Center for Culinary Development and Packaged Facts. Individual issues and annual subscriptions are available at www.packagedfacts.com/landing/culinarytrends.asp.
About Packaged Facts – Packaged Facts publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer industries, including consumer goods and retailing, foods and beverages, demographics, pet and financial products. Packaged Facts also offers a full range of custom research services. For more information contact Jenn Tekin at 240.747.3015, or .
About The Center for Culinary Development – CCD, a full-service food and beverage development and research company that blends culinary creativity with strategic marketing expertise, celebrates 15 years of successful product innovation. Visit www.ccdsf.com, or contact Kara Nielsen at 415-693-8900 x 110 or .