TASTE TEST

Lucia Moses

Parents say they want their children to eat well, and the proof is in the aisles. "Consumers are more conscious of what they're putting in the kids' lunch boxes," said Darwin Metcalf, executive vice president at nine-store Western Supermarkets in Birmingham, Ala.

Western will put up back-to-school displays near school supplies as usual, but this year, it'll give more emphasis to healthful snacks like low-sugar items. "We used to pile that out with all the junk food we could come up with," Metcalf said. "But now the parents are looking for something more healthful."

Demand for something other than junk food might be stronger than ever. But, said Laurie Klein, vice president of Just Kid, a Stamford, Conn.-based consulting firm, "I'm not sure marketers have nailed it yet with their product offerings."

New-product and retailer activity oriented around youth nutrition is markedly up since a year ago.

A recent visit to Safeway.com's Wellness Center found an abundance of family health information about wholesome snacks, benefits of fiber, tips for combating obesity and the like. The content comes from Healthnotes, Portland, Ore.

"Childhood obesity is a fast-growing but avoidable problem. Start this school year off right by promoting healthy eating and lifestyle habits in your household," read the introduction to the online section.

In a recent e-mail newsletter and circular, Pathmark promoted groceries like Tropicana Healthy Kids Orange Juice and Mi-Del Gluten Free Cookies, in addition to apples and pears.

Wild Oats recently added a kid section to its online recipe department. The natural-food retailer is distributing a new, back-to-school magazine containing articles on such topics as managing stress, cooking with children and quick meals, plus coupons and games.

Wild Oats had bulked up its August child health- and nutrition-centered events, which include kid cooking classes and presentations on youth nutrition and vitamins. Shelf-talkers bearing the logos of vendors such as Back to Nature and Late July Organic Snacks were set to go in stores to identify those vendors' child-aimed products.

"We've always wanted to have a focus on kids," said Kristi Estes, communications manager for the Boulder, Colo.-based retailer. "We've just stepped it up this year, especially with all the attention to childhood obesity."

Natural-foods manufacturers are offering plenty of new kiddie products that meet Wild Oats' natural-products-only standard. One common parent complaint is that natural products can't compete with licensed conventional products. Earth's Best Organic's answer was to put Sesame Street characters on the packages of its new toddler cereals and snacks, while Cascadian Farms, a General Mills company, hopes to appeal to fans of the big red dog of storybook and TV fame with its Clifford Crunch organic cereal.

Most of the so-called "better-for-you" products come from conventional manufacturers, though. New items cross a range of categories and address eating occasions from breakfast to dinner to snacks. Their claims include less sugar, reduced fat, whole-grain, vitamin-fortified, artificial additive-free and low-calorie.

The stakes for these companies are higher than ever as they face mounting criticism over the nation's increasing child obesity rate and questions about their ability to regulate themselves. A proposed law would give the government power to regulate kid-food ads, while states have been moving to restrict sales of soft drinks and junk food in school vending machines.

Intent on preserving self-regulation, food companies have been variously curbing their marketing to children, reformulating products and promoting youth sports and health. A Grocery Manufacturers Association survey of 43 consumer packaged goods companies in 2004 and 2005 showed about half have created smaller-sized packages, and three-fourths have instituted internal policies governing advertising to the younger set. Most recently, the GMA proposed stricter voluntary limits on youth-aimed marketing.

CPGs know that their kid products must satisfy a dual audience. ACNielsen research has shown rising interest among families with children in nutritional snacks and beverages, especially those with "less sugar" claims. New studies show children, too, are at least looking for foods that are good for them.

Research tends to focus on preteens, or tweens, because they're at the age when youngsters start to make their own choices about what they eat. The International Food Information Council, a Washington-based food information resource that's funded by the food, beverage and agricultural industries, conducted focus groups and in-home studies of 9- to 12-year-olds in the past year. It found that while tweens understand what they need to do to be healthy, they lack the motivation and strong parental guidance to help them do so, said Richard Elder, senior director of IFIC.

"Kids and parents have a pretty good idea of what they're supposed to do. That doesn't mean they do it." Elder said. "There's been a change in parenting. Parents today seem to be not able or willing or interested in setting limits. Kids are growing up today in the absence of things."

Klein said Just Kid's new research of 8- to 12-year-olds showed they're paying more attention to health and nutrition than they were a year ago. About half consider their eating habits healthy, but they recognize there's a lot of room for improvement in their eating habits, according to the firm's research.

Tweens will eat things that are good for them, but that's not enough. The foods have to pass the taste test, Klein said.

Those dual demands suggest that in order to succeed, kid snacks and meals need to be fun and tasty as well as nutritious. Fun can take the form of a neat flavor, shape, package or popular cartoon character on the box, Klein said.

Report cards of these products are mixed. Whole-grain enhanced cereals and snacks repackaged in portion-control sizes have performed well, but reduced-sugar versions of popular children's cereals like those from Kellogg, General Mills and Post haven't made the grade, consultants said.

Sales of ready-to-eat cereal making less-sugar claims jumped 35.5% in the first quarter, then slowed to 7.7% in the second quarter, according to ACNielsen data.

Bob Cappalli, a vice president at the J. Brown Agency, a marketing/promotion company based in Stamford, Conn., said part of that falloff is seasonal as people lose interest in New Year's diet resolutions. Indeed, total ready-to-eat cereal sales growth was up 7.7%, then flat in the first and second quarters, respectively.

With the back-to-school season coming, these products still have an opportunity to catch up. But, Cappalli said, marketers erred by trying to remake their well-entrenched brands into something they weren't. "You're not going to change Froot Loops," he said.

Others were more grim about the outlook for these cereals, which also are hampered by factors undermining all cereal, such as the move to more convenient breakfast choices like granola bars and cheaper private-label versions. "I don't think the cereal category's going to revive until they stop the crazy high-low," Metcalf of Western Supermarkets said. A raft of press coverage of accusations that the cereals are no better nutritionally than their original versions also didn't help. "I'd be surprised if the products are around in five years," Klein of Just Kid said.

Retailers also report varying shopper interest in "better-for-you" kid products.

At single-store Green Hills in Syracuse, N.Y., sales of breakfast bars and Nestle Lean Pockets are brisk, and these types of products are getting more shelf space, said John Mahar, director of operations. "Overall, there's a little bit more attention paid to nutrition," he said.

At two-store Day's Market Place in Heber City, Utah, sales of low-sugar cereals are just "OK," co-owner Carl Day said, adding that they're not promoted. "I think the manufacturer needs to help a little bit more than just put an FSI in."

Like manufacturers, retailers need to take a fun approach to youth nutrition, Klein said. She suggested they run scavenger hunts, balanced-meal building contests and recipe contests for kids.

To appeal to parent consumers, others said, education is the key. Merchandising schemes should send a health message, by cross promoting healthful snacks and cereals with reduced-fat milk and fruit in the perimeter.

Supermarkets also would do well to show empathy for time-strapped parents by making good foods available and affordable, said Elder of the Food Information Council. "They can be a big part of the solution by what they offer and how they help parents solve their perceived problems."

What Kids Say About Health, Food

54% of kids say they care "a lot" about their health

39% say they care "a little"

31% say they are paying more attention to nutrition and health issues than a year ago

85% say they need companies to make foods or drinks that are healthy, taste great, and fun to eat

77% say they need companies to make foods or drinks that give them nutrition for long-term health

Source: 2005 Kid-Trition online survey by Just Kid of about 1,500 kids ages 8 to 12

Good Grains

Whole-grain, natural and low fat have been common claims of strong-selling "better-for-you" products for kids. A sampling:

Minute Maid Premium Kids refrigerated orange juice: contains vitamins A, B-1, C, D and E, plus calcium

Baked Cheetos Cheese Snacks: lower in fat

Annie's Pasta Dry Macaroni & Cheese Mixes: made with natural ingredients

Nature Valley Chewy Trail Mix Granola Bars: made with whole grains and natural ingredients

Kellogg's Tiger Power: whole grain, protein, calcium, iron, fiber

Oreo Thin Crisps in 100 Calorie Pack: 100 calories, 2 grams of fat, no cholesterol