New Prepared-Foods Concept Targets Kids

ROSEANNE HARPER

NEW YORK — Every day since opening earlier this month, KidFresh, a concept whose marketing strategy targets kids and of course, their parents with fresh, healthy food, has rung up sales above projections.

Chief Marketing Officer Gilles Deloux, one of the co-founders, told SN that parents are already asking when KidFresh is going to open locations in other parts of the city.

“Sales are strong. There are so many working moms and dads who need help” feeding their kids healthy food, Deloux said. “The need certainly exists, but it's more than that to us. We also think kids deserve the best, and that's what we want to give them.”

Deloux pointed out that adults have more choices than children do. Almost all prepared food that's geared toward children is fast food or other options that typically are unhealthy.

“We build our eating habits during the early years, so we see this as particularly useful,” Deloux said. “Parents can view it as a good investment in the future.”

Lunches, retailing for $6.75 and up, include a beverage and a dessert, as well as an entree and side dish, packed up together. Dinners, of $4.95 and $5.95, consist of a main dish and side, suitable for reheating at home. Prepared-food boxes are offered for breakfast and snack time as well as for lunch an dinner.

The menu is made up mostly of tried-and-true kid favorites, such as macaroni and cheese and chicken tenders, but it's all-natural fare. The dishes are made without preservatives, artificial ingredients, or trans fats, and most ingredients are organic, company officials said.

All cooking is done on-site in an open kitchen. Children are encouraged to watch chef Joe Brancaccio, formerly of New York specialty store Agata & Valentina, prepare their food. Ironically, the 1,200- to 1,400-square-foot outlet is located on the site of a former candy store.

Prior to opening the store, Deloux and Matt Cohen, the co-founder and chief executive officer, tested a lot of their menu items by distributing about 400 meals to 50 families with children. Nothing was rejected probably because Deloux and Cohen had a pretty good idea of what kids like to eat, but they did get some suggestions for improving the product selection, Deloux said.

The idea for the store came to Cohen one day when he was packing lunches for his kids to take to school.

“What really surprised us about the test is how happy the kids were to have meals made specifically for them. A lunch box just for them was exciting to them,” Deloux said.

Before launching the concept, Deloux worked as a marketing director at Dannon and Cohen was a public relations executive with Stromberg Consulting.