Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches Feedback Thread - £250 Mothercare voucher to be won for feedback NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the 250 MNers who have been trying out the new Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches with their babies aged 6 months+.

Below are the questions we'd like testers to answer but please feel free to add your own comments too.

• What was your overall impression of the savoury pouches which Cow & Gate sent to you?
• Did your child enjoy the Cow & Gate Friends savoury pouches? If so, which one did they enjoy the most?
• Would you buy the Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches again? If so, why? If not, why not?
• Would you recommend Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches to friends or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

All testers who give their feedback will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £250 Mothercare voucher.

Thanks,
MNHQ

• What was your overall impression of the savoury pouches which Cow & Gate sent to you?

Very good. Unusual to have just veggie flavoured ones. I puree a lot of veg up for my DS (7 months) so it was nice to introduce him to some new flavours.

• Did your child enjoy the Cow & Gate Friends savoury pouches? If so, which one did they enjoy the most?

He really did, he ate every scrap of all of them. Least favourite was probably the cauliflower one. The beef one went down a treat. The pea one was just like mushy peas, I tasted them all to check they weren't too hot.

• Would you buy the Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches again? If so, why? If not, why not?

I would, particularly if they were on offer. I'm still on maternity leave so have time to puree/batch cook for him plus he eats the same meals as us but I like to have some jars / pouches in the cupboards.

• Would you recommend Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches to friends or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

I would if that friend had a particularly hungry baby like mine who isn't fussy about flavours. Not sure my DD would have eaten then when she was his age but he hoovered them up. Nice to have just veg flavours not sweetened with fruits.

Impression -
Looked cute and handy to have in bag on day out etc.

Child enjoy?
Only the Cauliflower, potato and cheese. The others: 1 or 2 mouthfuls and then rejected.

Buy again?
Probably only the Cauliflower, potato and cheese as this is something I make at home and it would be good to have a back up for if I was feeling lazy or out. I would probably serve it with sliced up chicken so my 9 month old could pick bits up with fingers and I could spoon feed the pouch.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't consider buying a pouch with meat or poultry in it. Just because the thought of processed meat/chicken with a long life and not requiring fridge storage is off putting.

Recommend? Probably the veggie and potato based ones but not the meat.

Other comments?
I like cow and gate fruits and cereal boxes. Good value.

• What was your overall impression of the savoury pouches which Cow & Gate sent to you?

they were great, smelt better than some pouches/jars we have had.

• Did your child enjoy the Cow & Gate Friends savoury pouches? If so, which one did they enjoy the most?

she loved all of them, we even got lip smacking and 'mmmmm' noises a couple of times!

• Would you buy the Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches again? If so, why? If not, why not?

yeah, we dont buy many ready made pouches/jars but they are great to keep for days out or emergency dinners if lo is suddenly hungry.

• Would you recommend Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches to friends or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

they were a hit with lo so yes.

• What was your overall impression of the savoury pouches which Cow & Gate sent to you?

They were clearly labelled with the meal content. Sometimes this is hard to see on other brands.

• Did your child enjoy the Cow & Gate Friends savoury pouches? If so, which one did they enjoy the most?

I'm sorry but she spat them out! I couldn't get her to eat any.

• Would you buy the Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches again? If so, why? If not, why not?

I wouldn't, as we have always just given our weaners whatever we are having and unpureed. It says for 6+ months so I would be expecting some lumps I think? These were still pretty smooth. I did like that they weren't all mixed up with fruit. As adults we don't tend to eat our savoury food with apple or apricot added, unless it's Moroccan or pork and apple or something. So it was a better representation of a normal meal which they will have to eat at some point.

• Would you recommend Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches to friends or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

I tried them myself and I didn't find that they tasted of very much so I would think in terms of introducing your baby to new tastes they wouldn't blow their socks off. However, if you had a super fussy baby, or one who wouldn't try very much, perhaps they would like these as they wouldnt be very strong.

The packaging was ok but not particularly distinctive. It is quite practical to use when out and about. I LOVE that they are savoury. I am finding it hard to find alternative ready made food that doesn't have unnecessary artificial ingredients or that "cheat" by including sweet ingredients.

1. He liked them all. No particular favourite.
2. Yes for the ingredients but the pouches I had I think would be the wrong texture past 7 months. He now likes to have different textures and these were v smooth. As others have said though, they would be good to add to pasta or bread.

1. I already have recommended due to the pouches only having real ingredients and being savoury. I have not ever seen these on the shelves of any shops though so not sure how easy they are to buy?

Oh one other thing, I found getting the lids off very hard. Might just be me though!

I liked the packaging and the concept. Baby (8m) not keen on any of the flavours. The size is kind of awkward - you'd waste a lot doing the suggested offer this flavour x amounts of times, whereas with homemade ice cubes etc this is easy, but they are a bit small to be a 'meal' by themselves. It wasn't clear whether freezing them was an option. Texture f all the ones we tried was very smooth so only suitable for young babies ( as the labelling suggested)
I wouldn't be enthusiastic in recommending them but no strong negative feelings either.

I must admit when the pouches first arrived I was a little concerned that my little boy wouldn't like the flavours, the combinations didn't sound too appealing, I did like the friendly vegetable design on the pouches.

My little boy liked all the flavours but seemed to especially like the Peas, Sweetcorn & Potatoes pouch.

I would definitely buy them again because my little boy enjoyed them, we are looking forward to trying the other flavours too.

I would recommend the pouches because I think the combinations of food in the pouches are a great way to introduce babies to different flavours & textures, I would like the puches to be slightly bigger to provide a better value product.

Thank you for letting us try these out!

• What was your overall impression of the savoury pouches which Cow & Gate sent to you?

We thought they were really good, they smelt lovely just like home cooked food not like other baby foods on the market, and the consistency was good

• Did your child enjoy the Cow & Gate Friends savoury pouches? If so, which one did they enjoy the most?

My Daughter enjoyed all of the flavors of the savoury pouches and didnt seem to favor on over the other, but in general my little un loves all food :)

• Would you buy the Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches again? If so, why? If not, why not?

I would definitely buy them again, but as a convenience dinner for when im out and about or dont have time to prepare anything.

• Would you recommend Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches to friends or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes i would recommend them to friends and family, i have already asked my mum to get some in for when we go and visit her.

Thank you

• What was your overall impression of the savoury pouches which Cow & Gate sent to you?

I like the packaging, its not as bright as other brands

• Did your child enjoy the Cow & Gate Friends savoury pouches? If so, which one did they enjoy the most?

My daughter totally disliked peas, sweetcorn and potato one, even though she is 7 months I think its a little bit too early to start giving her beef therefore we didnt try those ones yet

• Would you buy the Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches again? If so, why? If not, why not?

Possibly not, it seems she didnt enjoy flavours

• Would you recommend Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches to friends or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

I would as each baby is different and maybe different baby would love it, plus the price is not so expensive

I thought the pouches were ok, the ingredients & flavours I received were a good mix but up until now my ds had only had Ella's kitchen pouches & seems to have taken a liking to the sweetness of those & he wouldn't eat these much at all. They were a slightly thicker consistency too so this could also have been the issue. For that reason I wouldn't buy them again but I think that's more to do with my ds than the product.

• What was your overall impression of the savoury pouches which Cow & Gate sent to you?

I liked the idea, the flavours worked well together and the packaging was attractive. Unfortunately, the pouches were quite watery and my child wasn't too keen on them.

• Did your child enjoy the Cow & Gate Friends savoury pouches? If so, which one did they enjoy the most?

He didn't appear to enjoy them as much as I thought he would. I believe that he liked the pea one best.

• Would you buy the Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches again? If so, why? If not, why not?

No they were too watery.

• Would you recommend Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches to friends or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

No they were too watery.

• What was your overall impression of the savoury pouches which Cow & Gate sent to you?

Excellent. Great texture and loved the different flavours.

• Did your child enjoy the Cow & Gate Friends savoury pouches? If so, which one did they enjoy the most?

Enjoyed them a lot, beef and carrot was the favourite.

• Would you buy the Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches again? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes!

• Would you recommend Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches to friends or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes!

What was your overall impression of the savoury pouches which Cow & Gate sent to you?
I liked the bright colours and designs on the packaging. The combo of flavours sounded appealing.
Did your child enjoy the Cow & Gate Friends savoury pouches? If so, which one did they enjoy the most?
Not really, although the first 3 were so bland I gave the 4th one to the dog!
He is used to more spices/flavours than these though so were probably quite bland in comparison
Would you buy the Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches again? If so, why? If not, why not?
They were so bland and other than the one with broccoli (which you could smell as soon as you opened the pouch) they all had the same bland watery taste/texture which I can only describe as starchy water!
Would you recommend Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches to friends or family? If so, why? If not, why not?
Afraid not, they all just tasted like starch to me!

Meant to add...the other thing that disappointed/concerned me was that the ingredients listing was not very clear?
Eg. Carrot (50%),Water (for cooking), Potato (20%), Beef (8%)
Why do these figures only add up to 78% & what is the remainder made up of?

I liked the look and the concept of the pouches was a bit put out that there were no heating instructions but I suppose that's just common sense.
My DD did not enjoy the taste.
In all honestly in not sure if I would recommend.
I might buy again to attempt to get dd used to the taste of veg because she's not a fan.

My son enjoyed the cauliflower one loved it in fact so will be buying more. He was less impressed by the others however. Packaging was good clear ingredients list. Would be a good standby when going out as easy to carry and does not need warming

Packaging and concept are great, but sadly miniToads was not very keen; this was a surprise as he is usually very excited by any food in a pouch as as out-and-about treat. The cheese one was the most popular by a long way. What a shame.

• What was your overall impression of the savoury pouches which Cow & Gate sent to you?

Looked fun and colourful

• Did your child enjoy the Cow & Gate Friends savoury pouches? If so, which one did they enjoy the most?

Yes, mainly on the 2nd go as lasted over two meals - liked beef the one best.

• Would you buy the Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches again? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes as baby did like them over jars we tried. Liked the naturalness of it.

• Would you recommend Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches to friends or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes. Easy to use. Natural products - very much like that it was free range chicken in one of the pouches.

• What was your overall impression of the savoury pouches which Cow & Gate sent to you? very bright, child friendly attractive packaging. I also prefer the pouches as opposed to the jars so win win

• Did your child enjoy the Cow & Gate Friends savoury pouches? If so, which one did they enjoy the most? She enjoyed 3 out of the 4 pouches sent, her favourite was the cheese one. She loathed the beef and carrot one and spit it out into my face. I did not like it either

• Would you buy the Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches again? If so, why? If not, why not? I would definitely buy them again, she enjoyed most of them, they are easy to use and additive free which is always a bonus.

• Would you recommend Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches to friends or family? If so, why? If not, why not? I think I would recommend them yes, they are a nice alternative to making it yourself. Good if you're on the run or as a side dish to finger food

• What was your overall impression of the savoury pouches which Cow & Gate sent to you?

Pouches are very eye catching and easy to use. No mess no fuss.

• Did your child enjoy the Cow & Gate Friends savoury pouches? If so, which one did they enjoy the most?

Unfortunately my baby wasn't very keen on them and he is NOT a fussy eater. His favourite was Cauliflower cheese potato.

• Would you buy the Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches again? If so, why? If not, why not?

I wouldn't buy them because my baby didn't like it much. He ate only 1/3 of his favourite one and only tasted the others but spit it out.

• Would you recommend Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches to friends or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

I still would recommend it because I like ingredients in pouches, variety of flavours and packaging.

What was your overall impression of the savoury pouches which Cow & Gate sent to you?

Excellent - colourful, bright, good detail on ingredients

• Did your child enjoy the Cow & Gate Friends savoury pouches? If so, which one did they enjoy the most?

She really liked them! Sweetcorn, Pea and Potato especially.

• Would you buy the Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches again? If so, why? If not, why not?

We would - we liked the simplicity of them and she liked the taste!

• Would you recommend Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches to friends or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

We would - and we shall be buying them again

What was your overall impression of the savoury pouches which Cow & Gate sent to you? That they seemed like a mainly vegetable and water version of the Ellas kitchen range.

• Did your child enjoy the Cow & Gate Friends savoury pouches? If so, which one did they enjoy the most? He ate it but was not impressed until I mixed the packet with some of the beef stew the rest of the faily was eating, however on occassions when I needed to be away from my baby the pouches proved a hit because he had less liquid on those days (still breastfeeding, still refusing bottle/cup/beaker) and would happily eat them when fed by granny.

• Would you buy the Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches again? If so, why? If not, why not? I would in order to leave my son with grannny for the day and to convince him that there is more to the world than breastmilk at source however as a geneal rule the food that he is eating is less mushy/watery.

• Would you recommend Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches to friends or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

If they are beginning to ween, for the sake of convienience when out and about, yes, but not as the only food source.

ments too.

• What was your overall impression of the savoury pouches which Cow & Gate sent to you?

I liked the packaging, very clean and easy to use. Liked the different combinations.

• Did your child enjoy the Cow & Gate Friends savoury pouches? If so, which one did they enjoy the most?

Just started weaning so baby needs some persuasion currently! She liked the pea and sweet corn one though.

• Would you buy the Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches again? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes I would. Good to go on the go and liked there were no hidden nasties.

• Would you recommend Cow & Gate Friends Savoury Pouches to friends or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes I would. Easy to use and smelled fresh and palatable