Well I seem to be way behind everyone else in commenting, but having had a quick skim through I think that we agree with quite a few of you...
I really wanted to like the product - I've never been very good at eating breakfast and I'm trying not to let DD slip into the same habits as me.
DD (10yo) was quite keen for the first couple of days, but the novelty wore off after about three days. She then went back to 'normal' porridge or Ready Brek. I also tried it on a couple of days but have to say that it wouldn't be the first thing that I reach for in the mornings. I've still got half the box and suspect that it may be there for some time.
DD's answers to the questions are in italics below (if I've managed to make it work) and I've tried to expand on them... she's usually very articulate so the fact that she has so little to say is perhaps telling?
- 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?
I liked the taste but I wouldnt always buy it
I don't think that she made any particular comments about the taste, other than it was 'OK'. From my point of view, it smelt very pleasant when I was making it but the taste was a bit disappointing. With regard to the texture, I'm not too sure what I managed to do to it, but we managed to end up with something very odd and resembling lumpy wallpaper paste on one of the days. I don't own a microwave so was making it in a saucepan on the hob so I'm not sure if that has any bearing on it. I was also disappointed with the colour it was just a bit 'grey' in my view - although it is clearly better if it is not loaded with artificial colourings.
- 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 don't know
DD obviously wouldn't be able to answer this one, but I think her responses suggest that I probably won't be subjected to 'pester power' on the other flavours.
I think that the benefits of the porridge would be more apparent if I had a microwave. DD is very capable and could then make her own porridge (whilst she can cook with minimal supervision, I'm not keen on letting her loose on a gas hob just yet). The only problem with this would be measuring the milk in the sachets - I suspect that I might end up with more milk across the kitchen than in the porridge. It might be helpful to print the number of mls of milk needed on the sachets - she could then use a measuring jug / cup.
If I'm making it myself, I can't see any real benefits over ordinary porridge - it's not really any quicker, it's a pain to measure the milk, having servings in individual sachets results in a lot of extra packaging and I would imagine that it works out at a much higher cost than a pack of porridge oats.
I don't think that I would be buying the chocolate flavour again - if the porridge was on offer and prominently displayed then we might try another flavour but I wouldn't seek it out.
- What did you and your DC(s) like/dislike about the packaging (including the box and the individual sachets)? Why?
I can't read the writing or text the font is not a good one
DD said that she liked the bear, but one of her first questions when she looked at the box is 'What's Glueberry?', so I think that is what she meant by this comment. She is a strong reader and doesn't generally have difficulties with reading information. I haven't looked for the product in store (I live a good half hour drive from a supermarket that is likely to stock it and I haven't had to go to that town over the last couple of weeks). I'm not too sure how well the product will stand out amongst the normal Oat So Simple, supermarket own brands and other porridge type breakfasts. The packaging is OK, but it didn't jump out at me.
With regard to the packaging, please see my comments above for my view on the individual sachets. When you think about it, the box is actually very large for the weight of the porridge inside of it.
- Do you have any ideas about how Quaker could make the Oat So Simple Kids Porridge more interesting for your DC(s)?
Better packaging and more chocolatey
DD couldn't give any particular example of how she would improve the packaging, but she is a sucker for a fact / joke / quiz so that might help. She would want to improve the taste - it's not something I have ever tried, but I am now wondering whether we could achieve a better taste by stirring a spoonful of chocolate spread into some normal porridge.
Quaker might want to consider a variety box with a mix of the different flavours in it - DD was bored of the chocolate flavour very quickly.
Hope that this helps - as I've said above, we wanted to like it, but were just a bit disappointed in it... it just wasn't as good as we had hoped it would be.