I was in Waitrose over the summer doing a mega BBQ shop with the family and about ready to climb into one of the trollies (yes we ended up with two!) and give up when a mum and her daughter who I would say was around 4 caught my attention.
They were in search of yogurts and the little girl was delighted when she saw some Peppa Pig branded ones. They were just with in tiptoe and grab distance but her mum, who looked about as happy as I was to be in the cold alise was explaining to her that they could get some much nicer ones that that.
“Look at these, and these. No, they don’t taste very nice Gracie, how about these lovely yogurts”
It was no good, the feet stomped and the voice was on its was to a shrill / only dogs can now hear you now level.
Half of me was glad mum gave in a ended up with the little bight pink pots full of sugar and the other half was really, really annoyed for her. Should big brands be allowed to advertise all over children food?! I don’t think so.
I did a little Google to see what’s in both the Peepa and the yogurts I like. On first inspection Peppa yogurts claim to be free from all the stuff you would associate with rubbish fast food but when I compared the two you can see quite a difference.
Peppa Pig:
Fromage Frais, Sugar, Water, Strawberry Puree from Concentrate: 5%, Modified Maize Starch, Colour: Cochineal, Flavourings, Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid, Stabilisers: Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Calcium Phosphate, Vitamin D
Rachel’s Strawberry:
Yogurt (from milk), sugar, strawberries (7.5%), cream (4.4%)(from milk), natural flavouring
Now I’m not saying mums should not be feeding their children food like this as I know it’s actually pretty hard to buy stuff these days not filled with random ingredients. I don’t think parents should be forced into a position of buying them to stop a full scale child melt down between the aisles though.
Have you ever had an issue with your kids desperate for a food item just because it’s covered in a branded wrapper?