See what the 300 Mumsnetters and their DCs thought of BEAR Paws - £300 voucher to be won for providing feedback! NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

This is the thread for the 300 Mumsnetters who were testing BEAR Paws with their DCs.

Here’s what BEAR say: "Hello we’re BEAR and we make healthy snack for kids, with absolutely no nonsense whatsoever. Our Paws are made from pure fruit that is gently baked and pressed into tasty paw shapes with no added sugar or concentrates and every bag contains 1 of your 5 a day. Grrr. Available in four tasty recipes, they’re great for little and big paws alike, perfect for grumbly tummies when you’re out and about or as a tasty, healthy snack at home. We’d love to know what you and your DCs think of BEAR Paws as a handy, healthy snack."

BEAR would love to know:

1. How old are the DCs who took part in this test?
2. Do you find it a challenge to get your DCs to eat fruit and veg/get their five a day?
3. What did your DCs think of BEAR Paws (taste, packaging, concept)? What did they like or dislike about them?
4. Do you think this snack was a suitable size for your child/ren? If so why, if not, why not?
5. Would you buy BEAR Paws again?
6. Would you recommend BEAR Paws to friends and family?

All testers who post their feedback on this feedback thread will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky Mumsnetter will win a £300 John Lewis voucher.

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

My 2year old tested these.

I don't find it a challenge to get him to eat fruit and veg though there are some things he'll never touch (like avocado). But he happily eats e.g broccoli, carrots.

He loved everything about these. The packaging, the pictures of paws on the back and the fruit itself. He liked lining them up before eating. He ate all flavours and they were a good bribe to get him to do things.

It was a suitable size for a two year old.

Yes I'd buy them again, but rarely, as as treat.

Yes, I'd recommend them for when you need snacks stashed away.

1. How old are the DCs who took part in this test? DS7, ds3, dd1
2. Do you find it a challenge to get your DCs to eat fruit and veg/get their five a day? No.
3. What did your DCs think of BEAR Paws (taste, packaging, concept)? What did they like or dislike about them? DS7 taste good, packaging nice, didn't seem particularly enthralled with them. Ds3 and dd1 like them and wanted more. Personnally, dh and I weren't keen. I expected them to be thicker like jelly sweets and was surprised they were flat. I thought the texture was odd as well, there wasn't really anything to chew iyswim.
4. Do you think this snack was a suitable size for your child/ren? If so why, if not, why not? Yes, dd1 was able to pick them up and eat them easily. A pack would last her a while.
5. Would you buy BEAR Paws again? Maybe, I'd already seen them in the shop when looking for snack things to give dd1 when we're out of the house. I think I didn't buy them due to the price. I think there was an offer on like 3 for £2 but only maybe 1 or 2 flavours available and I didn't want to buy several packs if she didn't like them.
6. Would you recommend BEAR Paws to friends and family? Possibly, they''re worth trying.

1. How old are the DCs who took part in this test?

3 and 22 months.

2. Do you find it a challenge to get your DCs to eat fruit and veg/get their five a day?

Vegetables are easy but fruit can be more of a challenge.

3. What did your DCs think of BEAR Paws (taste, packaging, concept)? What did they like or dislike about them?

She loved the packaging, especially the animals on the front of them. She also liked the bright colours.

4. Do you think this snack was a suitable size for your child/ren? If so why, if not, why not?

I think it was a good size.

5. Would you buy BEAR Paws again?

Yes we will, as long as the price was reasonable.

6. Would you recommend BEAR Paws to friends and family?

I would. I particularly like that they are also vegan and gluten free. My 22 month old also really enjoyed these!

1. 3 and a half
2. Fruit no problem, some types of veg no problem but things like peppers are a no.
3. He liked them well enough but didn't seem particularly blown away. We've only tried one pack as they only arrived on Friday. He liked the packaging. I thought they were tasty enough but the texture was unpleasant - dry but claggy. Much prefer something more gummy, so does DS. Even the Yoyos have a better, more moist texture.
4. Yes, although he still needed to eat a satsuma afterwards, but we had been for a long walk.
5. Unlikely to buy in the supermarket over something a bit more interesting, but would probably buy in a cafe.
6. Not really, but wouldn't advise against either.

1. How old are the DCs who took part in this test?

2 and 3 years old as well as older children aged 10 and 12

2. Do you find it a challenge to get your DCs to eat fruit and veg/get their five a day?

Not so much a challenge with fruit but veg can sometimes be difficult especially if just on own with food rather than incorporated within the dish.

3. What did your DCs think of BEAR Paws (taste, packaging, concept)? What did they like or dislike about them?

2 year old thought they were sweets at first but then didn't like them at all. They got very very slimy on being spat out by her which was a little off putting. 3yo really enjoyed all the flavours, managed to open a packet by himself. The older children loved the look of the packets and also enjoyed all the flavours. We thought that the texture was odd compared to what we were expecting and I found that feeling never went away no matter how many times I tried one. We liked that there were lots in each packet and different shapes. Having the separate favours was nice - if you liked both flavours - but before opening the first one I was expecting it to be both flavours mixed together in each paw. My nieces and nephew and sister also tried them - verdict generally liked but all thought texture strange and not what they expected. Children least liked the orange but my sister and I both liked that best.

4. Do you think this snack was a suitable size for your child/ren? If so why, if not, why not?

Yes as is easily carried around for a snack in the go and plenty - more than I thought there would be - in each packet.

5. Would you buy BEAR Paws again?

Not sure. In some ways it's a great product. A snack I can give without worrying about but look too much like a pack of sweets. And even though it's healthy and fruit they still resemble sweets to a small child. Well, my 2yo at least! I'm not sure that's a good thing really! Would be dependent on price also as to whether I'd consider buying them.

6. Would you recommend BEAR Paws to friends and family?

Possibly. If they had a fruit/veg resistant child, or as a way to help distract or keep a child busy when you need them to be. My sister said if she had younger children again it would definitely something she'd have bought.

1. How old are the DCs who took part in this test? 4 (nearly 5), 3 and 11 months (who didn't give any feedback but did eat lots which is feedback in itself!)

2. Do you find it a challenge to get your DCs to eat fruit and veg/get their five a day?

They all really like fruit, vegetables can be more of an issue, but not a particular issue - they have always been quite unfussy eaters.

3. What did your DCs think of BEAR Paws (taste, packaging, concept)? What did they like or dislike about them?

Speaking for the older 2, they really like the packaging. I think the packaging makes them think they are sweets rather than fruit snacks. They liked the bear paw shapes although I think, from a fun point of view, they prefer the fruit rolls which we have had in the past which they can unroll etc.

The strawberry ones were the favourite in terms of taste.

They quite like the cards/stickers etc which come with them but are most interest in the snacks.

4. Do you think this snack was a suitable size for your child/ren? If so why, if not, why not?

The 3 kiddos shared the packets but I think it would be appropriate as a size for one child under five.

5. Would you buy BEAR Paws again?

I would, although I think I would use them as an alternative to sweets on a day out/picnic/treat at the supermarket rather than instead of raw fruit.

6. Would you recommend BEAR Paws to friends and family?

Yes, although again probably as an alternative to sweets rather than instead of fruit.

DS is 3.

I can get him to eat his 5 a day if I really plan for it, but it doesn't always happen, especially if we are out and about.

DS LOVED the Bearpaws. He recognised them from other snack he has had and he couldn't wait to try them. In fact as soon as he'd finished one packet, he wanted another. He couldn't get enough of them. I do think individual Bearpaws are quite small and he was eating several in one go, but this could have been him!! Packaging was good and he loved the different names for the snacks, as well as the sticker chart which we down a treat.

As I said, the individual pieces were quite small and DS could have eaten two packs in one go.

We would definitely buy Bearpaws again and would recommend.

1. 7, 3 , and 21 months.

2. My 7 year old and 21 month old love fruit & and are quite good with veg. The 3 year old is more fussy, and needs a bit more persuasion.

3. The older two liked the packaging, the 3 year old loved the pictures of the animals and the both enjoyed looking for the different paw prints. The 7 year old thought the strawberry was delicious, he liked all flavours apart from the orange. However he said he preferred the Yo Yo rolls. 3 year old didn't like the taste of the blueberry & raspberry packet but enjoyed all the other flavours. 22 month old was happy to eat all flavours.

4. Yes I thought it was a good size, and the pack is a handy size to pop into a bag for a snack on the go.

5. Yes I'd buy them again, they'd make a good treat to put in a lunchbox or an alternative to sweets. I'd only buy them as a treat and not as a replacement for fruit.

6. Yes I'd recommend these.

1. How old are the DCs who took part in this test?
   3&5

2. Do you find it a challenge to get your DCs to eat fruit and veg/get their five a day?
   Occasionally, especially if we are out and about for the day

3. What did your DCs think of BEAR Paws (taste, packaging, concept)? What did they like or dislike about them?
   They loved the idea of the paws and my 5 yo loved the sticker chart, however they found some of the flavours a little bitter - the the 5yo didn't like any of them, and the 3yo only liked the dino pack flavours.

4. Do you think this snack was a suitable size for your child/ren? If so why, if not, why not?
   Yes, the size was perfect.

5. Would you buy BEAR Paws again?
   I might try getting the dino paws again, but would I think I would find it easier to get them to eat fresh fruit as it tends to be sweeter.

6. Would you recommend BEAR Paws to friends and family?
   yes, they are a lovely idea.

1) How old are the DCs who took part in this test? Four (nearly five) and two.

2) Do you find it a challenge to get your DCs to eat fruit and veg/get their five a day? Yes. They eat bananas but will generally ignore other fruit. They are happy enough with veg. DS2 apparently lives on air .

3) What did your DCs think of BEAR Paws (taste, packaging, concept)? What did they like or dislike about them? DS1 said they were lovely. He found the packet easy enough to rip open when shown how and liked the paw shape. DS2 couldn’t get them open, he wasn’t impressed, tried one and spat it out. I put most of them in a tub to try again later.

*later - DS2 (2.8) takes one, licks it, just says “no” and pushes them away. He really doesn’t like them at all.

4) Do you think this snack was a suitable size for your child/ren? If so why, if not, why not? It seems a good size. Easy to hold, easy to pack in a lunch box.

5) Would you buy BEAR Paws again? Depending on the price I would probably consider them for a day out or trip away, not for everyday. Having checked on supermarket websites I would buy them on offer only, not full price.

6) Would you recommend BEAR Paws to friends and family? Yes I would.

1. How old are the DCs who took part in this test? 5 and 3
2. Do you find it a challenge to get your DCs to eat fruit and veg/get their five a day? Yes
3. What did your DCs think of BEAR Paws (taste, packaging, concept)? What did they like or dislike about them? They loved the packaging and all the paraphernalia that came in the box. I like the concept and it makes a great alternative to having to carry round fruit that might get squashed/go off/half eaten. However, neither of my two finished a packet, they didn't really like them. I tried them and to be honest, I found them rubbery and a bit synthetic. There were a lot in the packet, and I think they would struggle to finish the packet even if they did like them.
4. Do you think this snack was a suitable size for your child/ren? If so why, if not, why not? Too big, it was a god size to share between 2 though
5. Would you buy BEAR Paws again? No
6. Would you recommend BEAR Paws to friends and family? Not really, sorry!

Thanks for the chance to try though, and it appears my results are not the norm.

1. How old are the DCs who took part in this test?
   My Dd is 2 years old, and she shared with my niece who is 3.

2. Do you find it a challenge to get your DCs to eat fruit and veg/get their five a day?
   TBH i find it a challenge to get any food at all into my 2 year old however my neice will eat anything put infront of her.

3. What did your DCs think of BEAR Paws (taste, packaging, concept)? What did they like or dislike about them?
   They loved the bright coloured packaging. They loved the different paw shapes in the pack. They liked the flavour and for once shared well together.

4. Do you think this snack was a suitable size for your child/ren? If so why, if not, why not?
   Yes it was a suitable snack, i was able to put a bag in a bowl and they could eat it whilst chilling out watching Peppa

5. Would you buy BEAR Paws again?
   Yes i will be buying Bear Paws again

6. Would you recommend BEAR Paws to friends and family?
   Yes i will recommend Bear Paws to friends and family, particularily friends with DC whom are the same age as Dd and DN

Thanks for letting us try the Bear Paws!

1. How old are the DCs who took part in this test?
   Mine are 4 and 6

2. Do you find it a challenge to get your DCs to eat fruit and veg/get their five a day?
   With DD (4) not at all. She's fruit and (raw) veg crazy. DS (6) is not so easy - he's a proper fussy eater.

3. What did your DCs think of BEAR Paws (taste, packaging, concept)? What did they like or dislike about them?
   They loved them! Really excited by the packaging and choosing which to have. They really enjoyed eating them, and I'm slightly surprised that DS did as he turns his nose up at fruit bars and the like.

4. Do you think this snack was a suitable size for your child/ren? If so why, if not, why not?
   Yes, although ours shared them - partly as they had them after dinner and partly because they were both excited to try each. But as a snack for one, I'd say perfect size.

5. Would you buy BEAR Paws again?
   Absolutely!

6. Would you recommend BEAR Paws to friends and family?
   I think I would - they went down a treat with mine!

dcs were 3 and 4 who took part . 2 I don't normally find it a challenge to get them to eat their 5 a day they love most fruit and veg 3 they loved the size for small hands loved taste and texture we were surprised how mant were in a pack.4very suitable size for a child easy to hold and eat great idea
5would buy the bear paws again great healthy snack . 6 I would and have recommend to friends and family . great snack thank you for letting US try them

Firstly, thanks for choosing us to test these little snack bags. DDs were thrilled to receive them!

BEAR would love to know:
1) How old are the DCs who took part in this test?
DDs 5 and 3

2) Do you find it a challenge to get your DCs to eat fruit and veg/get their five a day?
It depends on the day and the mood of DDs. DDs are generally good eaters, and will eat most fruit and veg. This is particularly so when we are at home. It's more difficult to get their 5-a-day into them when we are out and about, especially vegetables (plus restaurant children menus don't seem to that well catered for young children).

3) What did your DCs think of BEAR Paws (taste, packaging, concept)? What did they like or dislike about them?
They LOVE the packaging! They liked the difficult colours for each different dried fruit snack, and they love the different characters associated with each packet. They enjoyed eating the BEAR Paws, but did say it was a bit dry, and wish it was softer.

4) Do you think this snack was a suitable size for your child/ren? If so why, if not, why not?
It's lovely to slip in a bag for a day out, especially if you don't want to carry heavy apples/bananas/oranges out with you. And this makes it different to the usual raisins we buy for days out. The packet size is perfect for small children, and good for the car too.

5) Would you buy BEAR Paws again?
I definitely would buy again as DDs enjoyed eating them, and is a nice alternative to raisins. I wouldn't replace it for small packs of biscuits/crisps though.

6) Would you recommend BEAR Paws to friends and family?
Yes, I would recommend BEAR Paws to friends and family.

1. How old are the DCs who took part in this test?
   DD aged 5 and DS aged 2.5

2. Do you find it a challenge to get your DCs to eat fruit and veg/get their five a day?
   I really struggle to get DS to eat any fruit or veg at all. He is a very fussy eater and hardly touches any fruit and next to no veg.

3. What did your DCs think of BEAR Paws (taste, packaging, concept)? What did they like or dislike about them?
   DC both really liked them! They both enjoyed all 4 flavours. They packaging was attractive and also very easy for both DC to open all by themselves.

4. Do you think this snack was a suitable size for your child/ren? If so why, if not, why not?
   I would say they were slightly on the small side for my 5yo particularly, but she is a big eater.

5. Would you buy BEAR Paws again?
   Yes I would buy them again.

6. Would you recommend BEAR Paws to friends and family?
   Yes I would

1. How old are the DCs who took part in this test?

5 with help from his 8 yr old sister and 10 year old brother.

2. Do you find it a challenge to get your DCs to eat fruit and veg/get their five a day?

My five year old will happily eat apples, bananas, satsumas, strawberries, grapes and raisins. He will not eat any veg other than sweetcorn !
3) What did your DCs think of BEAR Paws (taste, packaging, concept)? What did they like or dislike about them?

The packaging was very appealing as it's bright and simple. He couldn't wait to open them! He loved the shape of them and the stickers were a massive hit, I liked the paw prints on the packet as it turned into a game of find the different prints!

Unfortunately, none of my kids liked eating them. This really surprised me as they love fresh fruit and they love raisins and yogurt coated dried fruit so I assumed they'd like these too!

However
....

Although he won't eat them my 5 year old still wants to keep them and play with them? !?!?!

4. Do you think this snack was a suitable size for your child/ren? If so why, if not, why not?

Yes. Also good size for keeping in handbag for an on the go snack when you're out and they're hungry.

5. Would you buy BEAR Paws again?

Unfortunately no as my kids don't like them.
6) Would you recommend BEAR Paws to friends and family? Absolutely. I love the concept and can see the product being popular with mums and kids alike.

We tested Bear Paws with children aged 3, 7 and 10.

The children eat fresh fruit happily and some veg but won't usually eat dried , cooked or frozen fruits which means it can be expensive to give them a wide variety.

The children loved the packaging and were excited to try them. However it went down hill from there. Ds 3 refused to even try them. They were very flat and dull coloured and didn't look to appealing.
Dd and dsd both 7 had a try of each flavour and although they said they like most of them they said they had enough after 2 or 3 of each. They usually finish off sweet snacks. The orange safari paws were too tart for both girls.
Ds 10 really enjoyed them and finished off all of the packs and asked me to buy them for his lunchbox. He was pleased to enjoy a healthy snack.
They are a good size and if the children liked then they would be a decent portion.

Yes I would but then again but for ds 10 who I don't think is the target audience.

Yes I would recommend them. I live how they are guilt free snacks. I wish the children enjoyed them more.

Thanks for choosing us to be involved with the Bear product test.

1. How old are the DCs who took part in this test?
   Two of my children took part in the test , they are 3 and 7.

2. Do you find it a challenge to get your DCs to eat fruit and veg/get their five a day?
   My 7 year old son is never an issue but my 3 year old daughter is another story- some days she will happily munch fruit and veg all day and others refuses to touch anything.

3. What did your DCs think of BEAR Paws (taste, packaging, concept)? What did they like or dislike about them?
   Both liked the packaging and liked the concept- my 7 year old didn't seem to feel they were too young for him so no issues there. My son enjoyed all flavours and my daughter quite liked the strawberry flavour. She desperately wanted to like them but really wasn't very keen- I think it was a texture thing but my son was very happy with them all.

4. Do you think this snack was a suitable size for your child/ren? If so why, if not, why not?
   Yes but really only as a treat substitute- I am not sure it would fill them up for as long as a piece of actual fruit but the convenience is good.

5. Would you buy BEAR Paws again?
   Yes but would probably deter my daughter from choosing them and just get them with my son or guests in mind or she would do her normal trick of eating two and discarding the rest of the packet.

6. Would you recommend BEAR Paws to friends and family?
   Yes based on my son's reaction.

Thanks again for choosing us

mine still haven't arrived :(

1. DSD, age 7, and DS aged 1
2. Yes - my partner minds the kids on the weekend while I work and I know unless I specifically prep fruit/veg for snacks he won't feed them any (usually biscuits, salted nuts or crisps for DSD).
3. DSD immediately recognised the packaging and said she likes it, it has nice colours and pictures. DS was very interested in the animal faces and kept pointing at them and "ooh"ing.
4. For DSD one pack was the right size. For DS I would let him have a few paws and then save the rest for next day. Am sure he would have ate the whole lot, though, if I let him!
5. Yes, if there was an offer or multipack deal, they are a bit expensive for me to buy on a weekly basis as snacks.
6. Yes, definitely.

The samples came in such lovely packaging, we were very excited to open it!

1. Tested by dd age 3

2. dd eats plenty of fruit and a reasonable variety of veg so usually gets her 5 a day. She isn't keen on green leafy veg though.

3. dd was excited to try bear paws, she loved the packaging and thought that the paw shape of the product was great. She has eaten similar products before (fruit flakes etc) but liked these better. She enjoyed the taste too and liked the blueberry and raspberry flavour best. I also tasted them myself and thought thought they were horrible and like sweetened cardboard but I guess they are not designed to appeal to adult tastes!

4. yes I think they were a suitable size - a nice little treat. I wouldn't want a bigger pack.

5. I might - they are handy to keep in my handbag for when we are out and about. For at home I'd rather just give my dd fresh fruit though.

6. yes I'd recommend - they are good for fooling children into thinking they are getting sweets! Although they are sugary I'm sure they are a better option than sweets full of artificial flavours etc.

1. 4
2. He does well at vegetables but has never eaten fruit (not even as a baby) and it is incredibly difficult to get him to eat any.
3. He loves the Paws! He apparently loves the taste (I think it's the texture of fruit he has a problem with) and as a huge nature fan, the idea of animal paws really appealed to him. The whole time he was eating a packet it was: "oh look, Mum - a toucan!" "This one's a stegosaurus" "I like the tree frog's feet best" etc etc. (His 1yr old, fruit-loving sister enjoyed them too!)
4. Yes, they're a good size for a 4 year old, especially as they equate to 1 of his 5 a day.
5. yes, definitely. A fab way to get fruit into DS.
6. yep, I think they're fab. Better than the yo-yos

1.my son is three years old

1. He loves fruit and salads but I struggle to get him to eat many other types of vegetables
2. My son really liked the look of products and was keen to start trying them
3. This is suitable size for a small snack
4. I would buy dependent on price though
5. I recommend them as an alternative to raisins or crisps

How old are the DCs who took part in this test? Aged 2
2) Do you find it a challenge to get your DCs to eat fruit and veg/get their five a day? Did is quite fussy- I can get her to eat a reasonable amount of fruit but not so many veg
3) What did your DCs think of BEAR Paws (taste, packaging, concept)? What did they like or dislike about them? Did was obviously attracted to the packaging as she can't read! She discovered where they were stored and kept bringing them to me to ask me to open them- she had one packet then immediately went back for a second. She didn't pay any attention to the design, colour, shape of the contents but seemed to enjoy the taste a lot.
4) Do you think this snack was a suitable size for your child/ren? If so why, if not, why not? Yes- too much for my two year old but ideal for the average child.
5) Would you buy BEAR Paws again? Yes but as a treat not a replacement for fresh fruit.
6) Would you recommend BEAR Paws to friends and family? Yes