Globally, the healthy snack category is expected to cross $150 billion by 2030. And the children’s healthy food and beverages category are among the fast-growing segments of the overall category. More so, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an increased focus on health and nutrition.

Over the last two years, people have begun to reprioritize their lives, with health and well-being, both physical and mental, being key priorities for people across the globe. Consumers are going to continue to look for products that enhance their health and wellbeing. During the COVID pandemic, millennial spending habits changed, and they were spending more on fitness, healthy food, wellness products, etc. There is also a shift observed amongst parents towards finding healthy and natural food options for their children which are nutritious and wholesome, while at the same time convenient for them to prepare in the midst of their busy schedules.

From restaurants opting for healthy menus to FMCG brands focusing on creating natural and organic snacks, healthy eating is definitely becoming an essential part of our dietary habits. Millennial parents are careful with their food choices for their children. In fact, awareness is not just limited to healthy eating, there is a leaning towards adopting a healthy lifestyle overall. From eating right to working out regularly, young families are inclined towards holistic health.

Ruling the Kids’ Healthy Snack Space

After observing a gap in high-quality and nutritious food options for the children, there are several brands that have been launched to offer moms healthy clean snacking for kids, including Slurrp Farm, Snack-A-Doodle, and Timios among others.

“Slurrp Farm was born when we became mums ourselves. We wanted high-quality and nutritious food options for our own children but were unfortunately unable to find anything. Around the same time, we also began talking to other friends who were new parents and found that they shared the same sentiment – there was a lack of options that they could trust with their eyes closed. It became fairly clear to us that there was a giant-sized gap in the market and we were determined to do something about it. Extensive market research, R&D, and some introspection showed us that the answers lay in our grandmothers’ kitchens. We dug into recipes our grandmothers favored, revisited ingredients like millets from our own childhoods, and found ways to make them tasty,” Shauravi Malik and Meghana Narayan, Co-Founders, Wholsum Foods Pvt Ltd, makers of millet-based children’s food brand Slurrp Farm said.

Slurrp Farm currently majorly retails in India through its website as well as through leading e-commerce and quick commerce platforms such as Amazon, Big Basket, First Cry, and Swiggy Instamart amongst others. Its products are also available across select leading modern trade stores in India and the UAE as well as online in the UAE, US, and the UK.

“Currently, Slurrp Farm is available in select modern trade stores in major metro and non-metro cities in India. While we will always be a digital-first business, our ambition is to scale up offline presence in modern trade stores across all major metro and non-metro cities in the country in the subsequent years,” the co-founders added.

Meanwhile, Snack-A-Doodle, launched in April 2021, started off with a digital presence but is now present offline as well. Currently, the brand is present on Swiggy in Mumbai as well as at the top premium stores in the city.

“Going forward, we are looking to expand to other platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, and Zepto. We are also planning to expand into the retail sector in metropolitan cities such as Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bangalore,” Simer Dhall, Co-Founder of Snack-A-Doodle stated.

Similarly, Timios, part of FirmRoots Pvt Ltd, founded in 2016, sells its products on its website as well as through BigBasket, Amazon, FirstCry, and other leading portals. The brand is also available in leading supermarkets offline in Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Healthy Product Mix

Slurrp Farm presently offers 50 SKUs across categories like toddler and kids’ cereals, pancakes, dosas, noodles, milk mixes, cakes, natural sweeteners, and superfoods. The brand recently came up with the fusilli pasta and macaroni pasta.

Slurrp Farm’s products are made using a diverse range of superfoods - a variety of nutrient-dense ingredients like ragi, jowar, foxtail millet, lentils, oats, amaranth, nuts, combined with good fats like real butter, real fruits, and vegetable, natural sweeteners like jaggery and honey go into making Slurrp Farm products.

Snack-A-Doodle’s portfolio includes 4 bites, 4 cookies, and a DIY. The brand will be introducing new flavors of cookies soon as well. All its products are free of processed sugar and are allergen-free as well. The brand is also transparent in terms of the nutritional value mentioned on the back of the pack.

Timios’ products are age-appropriate covering age ranges starting from 6 months to 12 years who are babies, toddlers, and schoolers. The brand’s finger food Melts has been the most promising product. Melts is puffed finger food for babies from nine months and above. The product is made with natural ingredients and whole grains. It is completely non-fried, easy to chew, and safe for babies. The product is available in four flavors - Banana & Strawberry, Blueberry, Apple & Cinnamon, and Carrot & Cumin.

A Bright Future

Healthy eating is an important way to support the child’s healthy growth and development. The future of the kids’ healthy snacking industry looks promising as people have now started treating health sacredly.

For the future ahead, Slurrp Farm aims to positively impact the eating habits of at least 10 million children and to become a house of millet-based brands made using zero junk ingredients in the next three years. It further aims to provide a platform for sustainable food ingredients to become easily adopted and be working directly with farmer co-operatives to establish millets as the future quinoa or rice equivalent.

“We currently clock in Rs 55 crore of revenue run rate and aim to reach Rs 150 crore annual revenue run rate in March 2023. We are committed to growth in India as well as deepening our presence internationally, with an aim to reach Rs 500 crore in revenue by 2025,” Malik and Narayan concluded.