Optimisation of a range of nutritionally targeted smoothies for young children aged between 18-48 months based on Recommended Nutrient Intakes ( RNI)

According to the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) almost 25% of reception aged children are overweight to include obese (9.6%) (National Statistics and Digital, 2018). This implies that most excess weight gained in childhood can occur before starting school.

Currently, there is a noticeable gap in the UK market in relation to the commercially available genuinely healthy and nutritionally balanced snacks for young children and toddlers, who are transitioning from the weaning period to preschool age.

Children should have about 5 meals per day - breakfast, lunch, dinner and two 'snacks'. Unfortunately, the children snack market is overcrowded with unhealthy choices low in nutritional value. Most of the recipes are also not very satisfying (e.g. rice puffs or dried veggie sticks). Pure fruit purees are full of sugar, which gives children an insulin peak and makes them hungry after a short while. Most brands sell this to parents as 'low-calorie' snacks, trying to imply that this is a healthy choice, when they are really not.

A truly healthy snack should be satisfying (it has to keep a child active until their next meal) and be nutritious at the same time. This is why LT aims to develop in-between meals to fill the gap in the market, where every 'snack' has a purpose.

With the undisputed impact of early life's diet on the long term health and development of dietary habits, LT aims to fulfil this gap by providing a range of low in free sugar smoothies, designed and formulated specifically to meet the nutritional requirement of the target age group required for their development ( 18-48 months), whilst maintaining the right balance of nutrient such as sugar, fat and protein, in order to prevent unhealthy snacking. The recipes will subsequently be minimally processed, using enabling technologies such as High Pressure- Homogenisation (HPH) and High-Pressure Pasteurisation (HPP), in order to retain the essential nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, prevent liberation of reducing sugars and at the same time avoiding the growth of microorganism. These processes are key innovations in delivering step change improvements over currently available products.

The packaging will be designed in a playful way, to make our healthy meals fun for children. It will also include collectible items, to make children stick with the meals for longer and incentivise their healthy choices.