Parents struggle to get their children to eat healthy, going as far as sneaking veggies into their favorite foods, but wouldn't it be easier if children understood why they should eat healthy?
Alexandra Buckley Voris and Maggie Jones Patton believe you have to "be smart to eat smart" and worked together to create Bitsy's Brainfood, the first line of "smart" food targeted specifically toward children.
"Bitsy's is all about kids," Voris says. "We're on a mission to change the way kids think about food."
Voris and Patton began working together 10 years ago at a nonprofit organization with a mission to inspire and equip kids to change their world. There, they witnessed firsthand the absence of healthy food and snack options available for children. In 2006, the duo developed, launched and ran one of the first federally funded childhood obesity prevention initiatives in the after-school space, and that's when inspiration struck.
"Our success in changing children's eating habits was contingent on making it fun, and we knew that if we wanted to help fuel a movement, we'd have to meet families where it counts—in the grocery store aisle," Voris says.
On an interactive site featuring Bitsy, a mad scientist who has made her kitchen her lab, and her friends in the "Brainfoodie Gang," children learn through games and other activities. The aim: teaching kids that eating healthy can actually be fun.
"We believe all young people deserve to know what they're eating and should be empowered to make healthy choices," Voris says. "So kids love Bitsy because we're speaking straight to them and celebrating foods we want them to eat. We're not hiding any veggies around here."
Bitsy's Brainfood organic smart cereals and cookies are all made with real fruits and vegetables as well as omega 3 DHA+EPA, folic acid, calcium, whole grains, iron and vitamins A, B and D. The smart cereal comes in three flavors: Carrot Raisin Crunch, Banana Squash Square, and Fruit and Veggie 1, 2, 3. The cookies are created with unique flavors, such as Zucchini Gingerbread Carrot, Orange Chocolate Beet, Lemon Broccoli and Sweet Potato Oatmeal Raisin.
"We feel a responsibility, as well as a huge opportunity, to create products that taste great and nurture the whole child," Voris says. "And so we'll continue to innovate and try to create and shape this emerging category that's built around healthy products for kids."
Bitsy's Brainfood items range in price from $2.79 to $5.99 and can be found online or at stores such as H-E-B or Whole Foods. For a full list of locations, visit the Bitsy's Brainfood website.