NOW CLOSED Add your chocolate porridge feedback and win a £250 Amazon voucher

[TheOtherHelenMumsnet]

This thread is for all the Mumsnetters that having been trying out Quaker Oat So Simple Kids chocolate flavour porridge with their DCs. Below are some questions for you to answer but please feel free to add any other comments you may have too.

Everyone who adds their feedback will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win £250 of Amazon vouchers.

Questions

1. Overall, what did your DC(s) think of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids Porridge? Did they make any comments about the texture, smell, taste or appearance?

1. What would you say are the main benefits of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids porridge, for you and/or for your DCs? What would be the key reason for you to buy the product?

1. What did you and your DC(s) like/dislike about the packaging (including the box and the individual sachets)? Why?

1. Do you have any ideas about how Quaker could make the Oat So Simple Kids Porridge more interesting for your DC(s)?

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw,
MNHQ

This is what I posted on the other thread:

"Oh dear. I so wanted to like the chocolate porridge. I avoid sugary cereals and have never offered them anything with chocolate at breakfast but given the comparatively lower sugar content I might have been persuaded to buy this.

I like the packaging. I would say there does not seem quite enough in each sachet. I am always somewhat suspicious of vague descriptors so "natural flavouring" rings alarm bells. I don't assume that natural always mean safe and healthy which is no doubt the intended purpose.

The smell upon opening the sachet strongly suggested I wasn't going to like this product. To me it had a weird synthetic cherry smell.
I am not sure what I expected, perhaps chocolate rolled oats, but was surprised to see it was merely oats and a few spoonfuls of some pale powder. I wonder why I would bother to pay a premium for this when I could simply add some high quality cocoa powder to plain porridge.

I prepared the porridge as the instructions suggested although I used a little more milk. It was given to DD1 (4yrs 10mths) and DD2 (2yrs 10mths). DD2 sniffed it, nibbled a little, and asked for Weetabix instead. DD1 was far more enthusiastic and declared it "delicious". She began to eat with gusto which surprises me not given that this child would eat a sewer rat if it were dipped in chocolate. However, despite always finishing her breakfast, she gave up half way through (which wasn't much considering the portion size) and asked for toast.

I then tried it myself and it was pretty bad. It's admirable that they have tried to keep the sugar content low but the result is a product that just doesn't taste very nice. I am disappointed to say that in it's present form I will not be buying this porridge.

But many thanks to Quaker and Mumsnet for the trial opportunity."

Re making porridge more interesting I think plain is fine but perhaps dried fruit pieces. As for the chocolate variety I would suggest using chocolate, the synthetic substitute just doesn't work.

I would add that I don't like individual sachets. I would just prefer to pour from a box as I do with my regular Quaker oats. I see no benefit to the fiddly sachet method of measuring the milk. To me it seemed a ruse to hide the fact if it were all in one large box the "chocolate" powder would all fall to the bottom and we would just have a box of porridge with some weird smelling dust at the bottom.

Mine hasn't arrived yet!

mine neither!

Nor mine

Thank you for letting us test this. Unfortunately we won't be buying it again, and indeed have only used one sachet and have no use for the rest. On opening it looked a bit pale and smelt odd, definitely not of chocolate. Once made up I tried and spoonful and, lo, it doesn't taste of chocolate either. DD was utterly unimpressed, and two small spoons and refused the rest. Asked why she didn't like it she said, "it doesn't taste of chocolate". I asked what it did taste like and she said, "vitamins"!

Personally I found the portion size too big for a child, but I see I am in a minority.

The packaging was fine, except the box didn't open at the flap and I ended up hacking at the box to get in. I quite liked the sachet-measures-the-milk thing.

Easy to see why it has less chocolate than other cereals, it simply doesn't have any in it. Big fail in this house I'm afraid.

1. Overall, what did your DC(s) think of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids Porridge? Did they make any comments about the texture, smell, taste or appearance?

DS1 (age 3) really enjoyed his - which was a surprise as he's generally funny about texture and appearance of food, and it didn't look very appealing. He didn't think it was very chocolatey, but he enjoyed it and has asked for more. We did find that it was far, far too hot for him (even after standing for 20 minutes and developing a porridge skin of doom) so in the future I put in half the amount of milk in the microwave and then topped up with cold milk. He keeps asking for more, whereas he's not that fussed about ready brek similar breakfast products - though this could be down to the novelty of it being "his to test"

1. What would you say are the main benefits of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids porridge, for you and/or for your DCs? What would be the key reason for you to buy the product?

I wanted to try as I want to up my porridge intake - I am breastfeeding so it seemed a good opportunity to try. I also prefer traditional porridge to Ready Brek (which DH buys), and wanted to try to convince DH that it was superior in taste and satisfaction (leaving us fuller for longer). DS1 isn't very adventurous with breakfast cereal (shreddies!) and I wanted something to give him a bit of warmth for the walk to nursery.

1. What did you and your DC(s) like/dislike about the packaging (including the box and the individual sachets)? Why?

Both DS1 and I loved the box design. It's easy to spot on the shelves (he already nags when he sees it!) and it's small and convenient to store. Whilst the "pour milk into bag" style of measuring is a good idea in theory, we use the huge 6 pint bottles of milk, and it became an accident waiting to happen, so the jug was hastily reintroduced. It was easy and convenient to make, though, and didn't result in the mess that Ready Brek makes of the kitchen worktops.

1. Do you have any ideas about how Quaker could make the Oat So Simple Kids Porridge more interesting for your DC(s)?

Increase the chocolate taste and work on the appearance! It really wasn't chocolatey enough - just very sweet (and tasted really artificial). I'd also hope that the texture could be adapted to that of more traditional porridge rather than the milky clag that I ended up with each time - as I said, I worried that the appearance would have put DS1 off even trying the porridge. I think there is more opportunity for child-centred flavours too - they seem to have developed a niche market with fudge, blueberry, etc. Packets of mixed flavours would give children the opportunity to try without parents worrying about a big box going unused if the children didn't like the flavours.

Thanks for letting us try, Quaker - on the back of this opportunity I will be buying PLAIN Quaker oats in the future once again for breakfast.

1. Overall, what did your DC(s) think of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids Porridge? Did they make any comments about the texture, smell, taste or appearance?

They both liked it the first time when I made a bowl and gave them half each. The second time DD (6) did it herself and put in too much milk and didn't want to finish it. DS (2) didn't want to eat what she left either. I tried some before they ate it and it was a bit gluey in texture and DD agreed, she said it was floppy and sticky in her mouth, which I think means the same thing. They liked the way it looked and the fact you could see the chocolate powder amongst the oats but DD commented it didn't smell very chocolatey. Its not something I would eat myself even though I love oat cereals because it was too gluey made to the instructions.

1. What would you say are the main benefits of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids porridge, for you and/or for your DCs? What would be the key reason for you to buy the product?

Both DC love Ready Brek for breakfast so i thought this would be a great way of letting DD make it herself and to have as a nice change. Porridge makes a nice warm breakfast in the morning, filling and full of oats to release energy slowly.

1. What did you and your DC(s) like/dislike about the packaging (including the box and the individual sachets)? Why?

DD couldn't fill the sachet herself and this made her quite despondent and cross. I found it tricky to hold it still while it was filling without squeezing too hard, especially with cold hands. I liked the box, the DCs liked the bear on it, but I thought it looked like too much packaging with the individual sachets.

1. Do you have any ideas about how Quaker could make the Oat So Simple Kids Porridge more interesting for your DC(s)?

DD says lumps of chocolate which melt in. Perhaps a little object in the box or a collectable card or something.

What I wrote on the other thread:
Packaging - loved it, as did DS1 (3yo). It's easily recognisable on the shelves, which makes it easy for him to natter for it.

First impressions - it looks like porridge oats with some cocoa powder dusting. I'm not sure what I expected, but my first thought was that I could make it myself more cheaply than the RRP in shops. It smelt nice though.

The idea of pouring milk into the packet is a good idea and gives one less item to wash in the morning - but with a 6 pint milk bottle it was a recipe for disaster. Used the jug instead.

When it came out of the microwave it did not look appealing. I was expecting a rich, chocolatey colour, and nice thick porridge. Instead I got lumpy creamy brown stuff in thick milky liquid. It looked better after it had stood for a while, but then it got the dreaded PORRIDGE SKIN. Used less milk the next time and was happier.

Given the texture, I was amazed that DS1 was still enthusing about eating it. Must have been the magical "chocolate" word. He's usually a bit funny about textures - even from the look of them, but he was still hovering and wanting to try.

From the first try, he loved it. He said it "wasn't really chocolatey", but still noshed it down happily. Note: we had it for supper the first time. It was SO hot that, had it been for breakfast, we would have been horrendously late for preschool when it had cooled to a child-friendly temperature. I plan to make his half and half next time.

One of my reasons for wanting to try was that I'm breastfeeding, and feel that I should be eating porridge for my supply. Ready Brek doesn't "feel" like it does the job properly, but this looked like traditional porridge, and so psychologically it feels like it'd work.

My thoughts, however, were not as positive about taste. It was way too artificially sweet, and really did not taste of chocolate. It wasn't inedible, but I don't think I could stomach it for breakfast.

Overall, I wouldn't say it was the biggest hit. If DS1 nags for more, I will make my own, as aforementioned. It has, however, made me want to change back from Ready Brek to porridge oats in the morning (but with golden syrup). As Quaker Oats are what I think of when I'm imagining porridge (not that regularly...) I will probably buy Quaker plain oats in the next shop, so it's achieved something for them.

Thanks MN and Quaker. Looking forward to the official feedback thread!

Copied from the other thread:

Well DH made it yesterday for ds's. He used a jug to measure out the milk. They all thought that it looked great but nobody liked the flavour at all. "Too sweet" and, "it's not really like chocolate" were the initial complaints.

Thinking they were being over fussy I made myself a bowl this morning. I used the sachet to measure the milk. After following the instructions carefully I ended up with an extremely runny bowl of brown lumpy stuff. I ended up having to use a fair bit of Ready Brek our usual "porridge" to thicken it up. So after my initial misgivings I went into the taste test with an open mind, unfortunately I was disappointed again. The flavour was indeed sweet, and not really chocolatey. It tasted more like maple syrup than chocolate. The best bits were the colour (looked like it would be nice and chocolatey) and the fact that it wasn't completely smooth like Ready Brek.

I do like the packaging, tasteful but still eyecatching. Can I ask why the chocolate version weighs more than any of the other flavours?

I'm surprised to be saying this as usually anything chocolatey goes down very well in this house but sorry, we won't be buying this again. Thanks for the chance to try it out though MN and Quakers!

1. Overall, what did your DC(s) think of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids Porridge? Did they make any comments about the texture, smell, taste or appearance?

they rated it 6 out of 10 and werent that keen, they said it was 'ok' and coments on the appearance were that it looked ok, but was a bit runny. no comment re the smell.

1. What would you say are the main benefits of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids porridge, for you and/or for your DCs? What would be the key reason for you to buy the product?

i guess the fact that it comes in individual sachets and i dont have to bother measuring out the right amount etc and can be done easily in the microwave, but i dont think i would buy it tbh.

1. What did you and your DC(s) like/dislike about the packaging (including the box and the individual sachets)? Why?

they liked the look of the box and the bear on the box, they have seen the adverts so knew what it was. the packaging is fine.

1. Do you have any ideas about how Quaker could make the Oat So Simple Kids Porridge more interesting for your DC(s)?

they are keen to try the blueberry? flavour, they like fruity flavoured bfasts, porridge is porridge what can you do to make it more interesting? i guess freebies with bfast cereals always work well?

only 2 of my boys have tried the porridge so i will do another review once my other 3 children have tried and see what they all think but first impressions arent great.

Taste- dp is a chocoholic- not sweet/ chocolatey enough for him. Dd and I loved it.
Smell- fine

Benefits- hot, pre measured cereal, lower sugar and uses less milk than we usually do

Dislike- could be sweeter, cooking 3 lots in microwave is a pita- plus buying for the week would mean 3 boxes- maybe a family box with double portions- not so bad to divide as you have to transfer it anyway to a plastic bowl from microwave dish
Packaging clear and appealing to dd (who is 2)

Maybe a suggested cool down time?

1. Overall, what did your DC(s) think of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids Porridge? Did they make any comments about the texture, smell, taste or appearance?

Dd enjoyed the porridge and ate it all, she is one years old so will eat anything sugary.
Ds was not to bothered by it, he is 3 years old and obsessed with chocolate anything.

1. What would you say are the main benefits of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids porridge, for you and/or for your DCs? What would be the key reason for you to buy the product?

The ease of making the porridge would be a buying factor for me, but in a different flavour.

1. What did you and your DC(s) like/dislike about the packaging (including the box and the individual sachets)? Why?

Outside packaging was nice and caught my ds's eye. Nothing much to say about the sachets apart from when I poured to the line it was too much milk and made the porridge sloppy.

1. Do you have any ideas about how Quaker could make the Oat So Simple Kids Porridge more interesting for your DC(s)?

I find this a strange question tbh, it is porridge so really shouldn't be 'interesting' as such.

My DD tried it and loved it, she said it tasted nice but it didn't taste chocolaty enough for her but it was still good!

To be perfectly honest I Wouldn't by this as I'd rather just add coco powder or just put a little chocolate spread to her porridge, its expensive compared to the usual brands I buy and as much as my DD liked it, she wouldn't know the difference!!

As it is me preparing this (so glad it was me and not my DD or OH or I would have had milk everwhewre!) I'm not so keen, its very fiddly with the milk in the sachet and I'm very much unimpressed, especially with this product being from such a well known company as quakers!!

I'm very grateful for you giving me this chance but I will not be buying this!!

Questions

1. Overall, what did your DC(s) think of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids Porridge? Did they make any comments about the texture, smell, taste or appearance?

Ds (7) thought it was ok but not amazing. He did finish the bowl though and asked to try the fudge flavoured one.

Dd (10) didn't like it and didn't finish it.

I felt the texture was smoother than the porridge that we make ourselves and that it didn't smell or taste natural. If we have porridge we usually have it with honey or banana and nuts.

1. What would you say are the main benefits of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids porridge, for you and/or for your DCs? What would be the key reason for you to buy the product?

I can see that if only one member of your family wanted porridge it would be an easier way of providing it in the morning as it only required the bowl it would be eaten from and was quick and easy to make for one without too much mess.

1. What did you and your DC(s) like/dislike about the packaging (including the box and the individual sachets)? Why?

I liked the fact that I didn't have to dirty a jug measuring out milk to make each portion as the sachet had a marker on it.

Ds found the bear appealing and certainly looked to see the other flavours.

1. Do you have any ideas about how Quaker could make the Oat So Simple Kids Porridge more interesting for your DC(s)?

Typically Ds did ask if there was a toy in it. It could be made interesting/appealing to parents by adding sachets of nuts or seeds or dried fruit to add to the porridge. My dc loves collecting so if the box had cut out cards or cards inside then he would have loved something like that.

Other comments:

I found it really time consuming making it for everyone in the morning. It is fine for one but for a whole family bigger sachets would be less annoying so I could make a batch for everyone.

The packaging also didn't mention 1000W microwaves. The timing went up to 800W only. My microwave jumps from 600 to 1000 so it wasn't really easy to see how long to cook it for.

My first bowl overflowed the bowl, despite it being a large bowl for the portion. I learned to put a plate over the bowl while it cooked to prevent this and to stop it and stir it midway. By this time I would have been quicker just doing a small saucepan of porridge for everyone with no sugar in it at all.

1. Overall, what did your DC(s) think of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids Porridge? Did they make any comments about the texture, smell, taste or appearance?

Ds (4) didn't like the texture said it was slimy, he liked the smell but said it wasn't chocolatey, he liked the colour but tried a couple of spoonfuls then wouldn't eat any more. Dd (2) looked at it and said "no". I didn't like the texture and it was too sweet for me with insufficient chocolate taste.

1. What would you say are the main benefits of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids porridge, for you and/or for your DCs? What would be the key reason for you to buy the product?

I wanted my children to like it as porridge fills them up, however it is still relatively high in sugar if we had porridge I wouldn't add this much syrup.

1. What did you and your DC(s) like/dislike about the packaging (including the box and the individual sachets)? Why?

We liked the packaging and the milk measure was really handy.

1. Do you have any ideas about how Quaker could make the Oat So Simple Kids Porridge more interesting for your DC(s)?

More cocoa to increase the chocolate, more texture so it is not like ready brek and more like porridge. My children like cinnamon, raisins and would probably love a porridge with apple, cinnammon and raisins or rasberries and blueberries (freeze dried).

and yes pouring milk from a big 6 pint container into the sachet is a nightmare! btw my dp made it for them this morning so i havent actually seen the porridge once made up! so i shall add my feedback next time when i make it.

"Too runny" was the first comment, when I followed the packet instructions. Slightly more successful on the second attempt, even then their main comment was "It doesn't taste of anything".

I like the portion size, and the individual packets make it ideal for children that like different breakfasts.

Can't say that I dislike anything about the packaging, although the ingredients seem vague.

I would say the only way to improve it for my children would be to make it taste better! They are really not bothered about the packaging, neither am I.

I'd add that my DD2 has soya milk, this really made it taste dreadful and masked even the slightest taste of chocolate. So all in all not a raging success, we'll stick with plain porridge and add extras like banana and syrup.

Questions

1. Overall, what did your DC(s) think of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids Porridge? Did they make any comments about the texture, smell, taste or appearance?

ds1 wouldn't contemplate porridge in any shape or form but ds2 was attracted by the idea of the chocolate flavour. He liked the box and noticed the fudge flavour on the flyer which caught his attention. He liked the idea of making the porridge with me but really didn't like the appearance of the porridge once cooked and wouldn't taste it.

1. What would you say are the main benefits of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids porridge, for you and/or for your DCs? What would be the key reason for you to buy the product?

Porridge is easy to make, very nutritious, is filling and provides a slow release of energy. I eat porridge myself and it helps me to eat healthily. I'm far less likely to snack on sugary food after I've eaten porridge. If I want to lose some weight I would always make sure that I had porridge for breakfast.

1. What did you and your DC(s) like/dislike about the packaging (including the box and the individual sachets)? Why?

We really liked the packaging. The individual sachets make it easy to make the right amount and avoids waste. I don't like the idea of measuring milk in the sachet though - far too messy!

1. Do you have any ideas about how Quaker could make the Oat So Simple Kids Porridge more interesting for your DC(s)?

I don't think there's anything that would encourage my ds to eat porridge at the moment - it's the texture that he struggles with. Do quaker do porridge breakfast bars at all? My ds loves flapjacks so perhaps something like that (without as much sugar as flapjacks) could be an alternative.

My kids love chocolate cereals, but also eat readybrek with squeezy honey on fairly regularly. I was excited about this as I was sure they would love it. I liked the individual sachets, and the milk measury thing. We don't have a microwave but it was no hassle to make on the hob (although it took longer to make than readybrek so would only ever be a weekend breakfast - I can't be faffing around like that on work days)
The problem with boiling it for 2 mins is it was absolutely red hot so my stanving children had to wait for it to cool down before eating. My dd (nearly 8) took one mouthful and declared it gloopy, slimy and yukky - and she really does eat everything. I haven't been able to persuade her to try it again. DS (nearly 5) got cross with waiting for it to cool down but ate it all, and has asked for it every morning since.
We will finish the box we have, but I am not sure we will buy it again. Ready brek with choc stirred in is quicker, cooler, and just as much of a success. I might see if DS wants to try the other flavours.
Thanks for letting us try.

Now to answer Quakers questions!

1. Overall, what did your DC(s) think of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids Porridge? Did they make any comments about the texture, smell, taste or appearance? When made up with the milk measuring sachet the porridge was far to runny for either of our ds's. It smelt very sweet and tasted it too but didn't taste of chocolate. Neither of them like the taste, ds2 said it was too sweet and ds1 was extremely disappointed at the lack of chocolatey-ness! I thought it tasted of maple syrup rather than chocolate!

2. What would you say are the main benefits of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids porridge, for you and/or for your DCs? What would be the key reason for you to buy the product? If we liked it, the sachet style servings would be extremely handy for taking camping or for weekends away. We may try the other flavours to see if they're liked any more so that we could use them for this purpose

3. What did you and your DC(s) like/dislike about the packaging (including the box and the individual sachets)? Why? We all liked the packaging, the bear is a friendly looking chap! It stands out from other cereal boxes without resorting to the usual primary colours. I like the idea of individual sachets. I think if our ds's liked the product the serving sizes would have been ok for them, but tbh I don't think one sachet would last me through to lunchtime

4. Do you have any ideas about how Quaker could make the Oat So Simple Kids Porridge more interesting for your DC(s)? Make it taste of chocolate - it has to live up to expectations! DS2 would like lumps of chocolate (not sure how they'd fare in the microwave?!). DS1 likes things on the box that he can do - mazes, quizes, jokes etc.

1. Dd is 19 months and doesn't really say much. On the first try she only had one mouthful and the second try she ate about a quarter. I haven't tried again as I think it's the texture she doesn't like and I would rather she had a full breakfast.

1. The benefits are that it would keep them full for a long time, it's what I would call a nice, proper breakfast. I would buy it (if dd liked it) because it has no added salt (big bonus) and is low in sugar and crap.

1. The packaging is simple and appealing as the information is there and easy to locate. Th idea of filling the sachets with the milk is good, but not particularly easy.

1. Not really, but it was so hot! I had to add cold milk to it and leave it my the open window for over five minutes before it was at a suitable temperature, not great when you have a hungry grumpy child!

1. What did they think of it? They were very excited to try it especially because we don't normally allow them chocolate based breakfast cereals. My 7 yr old really liked it but my 5 yr old didn't like the texture of porridge. But she has never liked any kind of porridge

1. I really like the idea of them having something hot before school in the winter.

1. I really like the convenience of pouring the milk in the sachet, no measuring jug required. Kids weren't fussed by packaging.

1. I think it does appeal to children. I'm still not convinced it's a great idea to have chocolate cereals though in the current obesity epidemic .

We made the porridge by using the stove and DD who is 6 was our tester.
Here are the results:

1. The first thing I noticed when opening the sachet was the smell. i couldn't quite place it but it did not smell like chocolate, more like vanilla and something artificial. The smell did not improve when cooking, it definitively lacked the smell of porridge and chocolate. I also thought the colour was very pale. I used less milk than it said on the sachet but found it still a bit gloopy. The portion wasn't as much as DD has usually but not too bad for her. DS (10) would have needed 2 sachets.

DD's first impression was that it looked like poo and smelled funny. She had her first spoonful and said yummy, by the second spoonful she looked doubtful and after the third she said she didn't really like it. She said it did not taste like chocolate and porridge but didn't know what it tasted like, just that it had a funny taste. I then tried it and thought it was very sweet and more vanilla like, I couldn't really taste the chocolate either. The consistency was alright but smoother than I expected.

1. I can't really see any benefits of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids porridge. The children don't like the taste and the preparation takes the same time as any other ready oats. The sachet portions are too small for my children's age group so I would rather portion it myself .It is also quite pricey compared to similar products. I would not buy the product again.

1. We all like the box, the bear especially. The colour was right for promoting chocolate porridge and it was clearly aimed at children. The sachets are handy on holiday but not a big enough portion for us. The amount of milk as indicated on the sachet is too high in our opinion but the idea of using the sachet for measuring is good. I am not impressed with the ingredient listing, it does not mention the word cocoa or chocolate anywhere. Flavouring could be anything. I would not have bought this if any of my children were suffering from allergies as I would not have known if it was safe.

1. Quaker Oats should improve the taste. It should taste like chocolate not like very weak chocolate milk or cheap vanilla tasting chocolate. My daughter's idea was to just have normal porridge and add some chocolate sprinkles and stir it together.

We were really disappointed with this product and I will not buy it again or recommend it.

Thanks for letting us try it.

Oh yes I do like the sachets for portion control too. My 7 yr old fills a cereal bowl with a mountain of cheerios so this curbed that!