A bit of market research...

[emmabrown123]

Hi everyone. I was hoping you could help me with some honest views / opinions.

My friend, who lives in London, recently told me about a service she uses which delivers fresh homecooked baby food to her door. She prefers this to using pouches/jars (I have nothing against these - I actually use them occasionally when out with DS) as they haven't been heat treated / pasturised.

I'm wondering what the market it for this type of thing. I live in Nottingham and although ive found several places that do this, there is nothing in my local area.

So my questions are

1. Would you, or anyone you know, be interested in a service like this?
   
2. what would you expect to pay for a homecooked organic meal? Would it have to be cheaper than supermarket alternatives?
   
   Thanks in advance!!
   
   Emma

[wheresthelight]

I live near mansfield and yeah I probably would have used it as making my own was a faff in the early days so I did tend to use jars. however cost would be a big issue. dd would only take half a jar per meal so you would need to come in at 50-70p a meal. realistically could you do that?

[emmabrown123]

Possibly. Suppose it depends on the cost of packaging. Something I need to research a bit more.

Thanks!!

[wheresthelight]

I guess your biggest competitors would be ellas kitchen and hipp. the other thing to consider is that because supermarkets etc can't promote 0-6 month formula they do tend to go all out on offers on food. I used to buy hipp as I tried everything else and it was the only one that dd would eat. uo to 7 months they were 12 jars for a fiver and then 10 for £6 I think for the 10 month ones. however the ones that she absolutely loved and I find the best are the 1-3 year old ones. dd loves them and they are more like proper food. they are about £1.25-1.50 per pot and the offers aren't great to be honest.

[Littlef00t]

I'd be cautious, baby led weaning is becoming increasingly popular so no jars, purées required.

My dd has only had a couple of jars when too ill to eat 'normal' food

[ispyfispi]

In theory I'd prefer this to buying jars/pouches however making my own was so easy and cheap and the mush stage is so short I only ever made a couple of batches anyway. I think the people who use jars long term are probably not going to pay a premium for organic, delivered stuff unfortunately. I guess it could work as part of a venture into kids meals as a whole....

[Pointlessfan]

I wouldn't use it but I really like cooking and also do BLW.

[tostaky]

I dont think i would suscribe to such a service as i prefer to cook my own thing for my children and use only jars when travelling etc...
However, if the possibility was offered as part of my organic veg box delivery, i might order one or two servings "just in case".
It is just a short stage when they are eating puree food, you would need a very affluent area with a high birth rate.

[BackforGood]

Well, I no longer have a baby, but when I did, they ate what we ate, but pureed. Why would you have "baby food" specially delivered ?
Yes, I used jars sometimes too, for convenience, in the same way I sometimes eat a ready meal or a frozen pizza or something for myself - I'm not claiming to be a "nothing passes my dc's lips unless I have cooked it myself" person - I was quite happy to use jars alongside pureeing stuff we were eating, and of course yogs and custards etc that they could eat as they are.

[LittleLionMansMummy]

I wouldn't subscribe regularly but might use it as an occasional service - maybe before or during a holiday. It would depend on the cost - sounds like it would need to be fairly pricey to cover overheads and packaging. I'm sure there would be a demand in very affluent areas though.

[LittleLionMansMummy]

Oh and ds hated jars on the odd occasion we tried them and always seemed ready for the next stage so wasn't on purees for long at all. You could try a range of foods to suit all stages including those who prefer blw.

[emmabrown123]

Thanks for all your comments ladies! Definitely made me think a bit.

I agree at the 'mush' stage it is probably completely unnecessary to have a service such as this.

I'm thinking of focus my efforts more specifically and aiming at

• more complicated older baby / toddler meals
  
• possibly the 'free-from' market (gluten free, dairy free etc)
  
• children's parties
  

After posting on here, and a few other sites I feel there is a market, but need to pinpoint what it actually is!! Not looking at a huge business, just something small and manageable with My current job.
Any more comments / opinions would be fab.

Thanks xx

[tostaky]

childrens party - YES please! I live in an affluent area and at parties we invite all the class of course and we need to peel and cut all the carrots sticks, cucumber + wash cherry tomatoes. And then you have the mini sandwiches to make for 30 children.... and bake the cake. Definitely I would pay to have all this home-cooked food delivered on the day, all ready to be eaten. If you could do home-made lemonade that would be a bonus.
No-one in their right mind in my area would buy pizza for a big birthday party!!! (it is a shame)

[wheresthelight]

I think your winning formula will be the free from! my dd has a mild lactose intolerance and trying to make/buy stuff is a nightmare and I know other parents who would literally kill for ready made food that was dairy and lactose free!!

I also like the idea of kids party food! think places like nurseries and childminders would be a good place too try it out or poll for more research

good luck

[ThinkIveBeenHacked]

Definetly childrens party food! Inc plates napkins etc and maybe even balloons etc.

I wouldnt subscribe to a babyfood delivery service as we did BLW and gave the same as on our pplates. I had the odd jar but these just stayed in my changebag incase we were out and about somewhere and chose something Id not feed to a little one (spicy curry or salty gammon etc)

What about a baby suitable Graze Box? So snacks delivered once a week with interesting/organic/nutritious snacks that could be eaten througout the week?