When we think of feeding our little ones during their early years, some parents can be drawn to making their own purees and soft foods to avoid the hidden nasties that come with many store-bought brands.
This is where New Zealand’s fastest growing baby and kids food brand, Odi, is changing the way Aussie parents think of meal times.
Recently landing on Australian shores, the children’s food brand brings a different approach to convenient options for busy parents.
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Because we know that parents would much rather be spending quality time with their kids then spending it in the kitchen.
Delivered straight to your door. Credit: Odi
Shifting the focus toward a nutrient dense ingredient list, Odi is changing how our youngest are getting their daily food intake.
Many of Odi’s competitors are filled with sugar and focus primarily on masking nutrients with sweetness.
By creating a healthier alternative to convenient baby food, Odi isn’t telling parents to ditch the grab and go style food pouches entirely.
They are just asking those with busier lifestyles to stop and take a second to investigate what is actually inside the pouch.
It was founded by clinical nutritionist, nurse and mum-of-four Gina Urlich, after she began questioning whether foods marketed specifically for babies and children were delivering the nutrition parents assumed they were.“Parents should be able to pick up a product made for their baby or child and trust that it has been formulated around what growing bodies actually need,” Gina said.“But ‘healthy’ doesn’t necessarily mean nutritionally balanced. A product can be organic, natural or made predominantly from fruit and still not provide meaningful amounts of nutrients such as iron, protein, iodine or omega-3.”
Research conducted by the Australian government indicates that commercial infant food is a major contributor of children’s daily sugar intake and their diets.
The national infant-feeding guidelines recommend first foods be iron-rich and with some pouches and purees containing the equivalent of five teaspoons of sugar, I’m sure you can put the puzzle pieces together.
Founder, clinical nutritionist, nurse and mum-of-four, Gina Urlich. Credit: Odi
It all comes down to creating a healthy balance — something that isn’t too rich with fruit that make the taste of the baby food subsequently too sweet or something jam packed with hidden nasties like chemical contaminants or toxic heavy metal traces.
“When I started looking closely at the category, I kept coming back to the same question: where are the nutrients? Babies and children have enormous nutritional needs relative to the amount of food they can physically eat, so every mouthful is an opportunity,” Gina added.
“We wanted to create food that makes those mouthfuls count. That meant starting with nutrient density and building the product from there — rather than starting with sweetness, shelf life or what is cheapest to manufacture.”
And with many on the-go parents unable to keep up with handmaking their kids’ daily favourite foods, Aussies need a brand that they can reliably turn to and know that it is only goodness on the end of the spoon.
This is why a brand like Odi is so important in the Australian market, with 24 per cent of coupled families working full time with a child under the age of five.
“Parents don’t need another person telling them they should be cooking everything from scratch. I’m a mother of four. I understand the reality of feeding children when you’re busy, tired and trying to get everyone out the door,” Gina added.
“Our ambition is to make the convenient choice a genuinely nutritious choice – and ultimately help raise the standard of what parents should be able to expect from food made specifically for their children.”
With whole ingredients including organic vegetables, organ blends, bone broth and algal DHA omega-3, at heart of Odi’s formulation parents can trust that what you see is what you actually get.
And there is an alternative to spending hours in the kitchen making handmade breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The New Zealand children’s food brand that is changing the way Aussie parents think about daily food intake Credit: Odi
What started as a brand looking to ease babies onto solid foods has blossomed into broader children’s nutrition and is designed for kids from six months to 14 years old.
The Australian launch marks the next stage of growth for the New Zealand-founded business, which has become one of its home market’s fastest-growing baby and kids food brands.
At the heart of their mission is a focus to bring parents a simple solution to healthy everyday food intake for their little ones.
The Odi range extends beyond food pouches, into lunchbox snacks, booster and bone broths, baby purée powders and even bundles for those looking to try a mix of everything.
Available in Australian now, parents can get the highest quality of food for their kids delivered straight to the front door.