Baby food grows up at Expo West

I’m a working mom to a 15-month-old who likes to exert her independence at mealtime. She wants to feed herself, and there is no telling if the meal she gobbled up last week, will end up on the floor this week. Because she’s so picky, deciding what to make for meals and snacks is a source of anxiety.

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It wasn’t so bad when she was smaller and her diet consisted of baby food and formula, which you could easily find in the baby aisle. But since her teeth have sprouted, she's graduated to table food, and shopping for a well-balanced and nutritious diet is even more of a challenge. Judging by the baby, toddler and kids' foods debuting on the show floor of this year’s Expo West, that could get a little easier.

Doctors recommend whole milk yogurt for toddlers, but organic whole fat versions continue to elude me, even at retailers like Trader Joe’s who merchandise endless yogurt SKUs. Happy Family is helping fill the dearth with a new line of refrigerated yogurt pouches co-branded with Stonyfield organic yogurt in YoBaby, YoTot and YoKids versions.

Read more: SN's coverage of Natural Products Expo West

When you’re a picky eater, like most toddlers tend to be, a variety of healthy snacks are essential to offering satiety and nutrition in between those barely touched meals. Plum Organics is offering a new solution in its Mighty 4 for Tots toddler snack line. Just when I thought my daughter had outgrown food pouches, the brand is offering blends representing each of the four food groups in pouch and bars that are especially designed for this age group.

Retailers who group nutritious, convenient and seemingly appetizing solutions like these in age-appropriate sections within the baby (and dairy) aisle will not just grow the loyalty of a lucrative customer base, but keep little ones in this high-margin category a little longer.