A new baby food product has hit the supermarket shelves, Piccolo, which provides parents with a balanced range of smooth, organic fruit and vegetable purées, made only with natural ingredients, ensuring little tastebuds are introduced to exciting new flavours as well as a varied diet from as early as possible.
Drawing inspiration from the Mediterranean approach to health and wellbeing, Piccolo champions fresh ingredients, which are lovingly used to create nutritious food packed full of flavour to be be shared around the table with friends and family. In the hope this introduction will create a good solid relationship with food throughout their life
Now admittedly, Otto has conquered purees and has moved on to the chunky stuff and he’ll happily feed himself and occasionally the floor. However, there is definitely a time and a place for quick, convenient and most importantly tasty baby food in a tube, especially if you’re pressed for time or you’ve destroyed dinner. There also great when introducing those all important new tastes for the first time at around the six month mark.
What’s more this colourful new range offers some very exciting flavour combinations, which is unsurprising given founder Cat Gazzoli’s Mediterrean roots and her passion for good honest food.
Some of our favourites, having been introduced to the brand at last weeks Surrey Food Festival, would have to be peach and apple with a hint of basil, Spring greens with a hint of mint as well as cherry and yoghurt with whole grain oats, a sure fire winner if you’re rushing in the morning. The team are also currently busy in the kitchen stirring up new recipes as the range sets to expand.
Available from Waitrose, currently at a special introductory offer, as well as WholeFoods Market, Planet Organic, Ocado and other selected UK independent stores, there are definitely more competitively priced baby purées on the market. However, there is undoubtedly a huge amount of passion behind this new brand, which not only wants to introduce babies to new flavours but Piccolo also wants to encourage parents to consider the health and wellbeing of their children.
Their ethos could come across as being terribly middle class but it’s clear the team behind Piccolo, who are not only keen foodies but also parents themselves, are committed to sewing the seeds to create healthy eating habits in the very early years. This can only be a good thing given rising obesity levels and our unhealthy relationship with food in the UK.
Working in partnership with the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) the first baby food brand to do so, Piccolo gives 10% of its profits to food education charities and also works closely with the Food Education Foundation, a charity which provides nutrition classes and workshops to help disadvantaged families in London provide their children with a healthy start to life.
Founder Cat certainly has a good reputation when it comes to making people think more about what they eat. I first met Cat while she was CEO of Slow Food UK and before founding Piccolo earlier this year she also founded the Food Education Foundation.
She also practices what she preaches and Cat lovingly prepares food for her family as it was prepared for her as she was growing up. She spends alot of her time tracking down locally sourced ingredients and experimenting in the kitchen, creating new recipes. So given Cat’s drive and love for nutritious yet delicious food, Piccolo is set to grow in the right direction, introducing your little ones to some exciting new tastes along the way, which hopefully will ignite a healthy love affair with food to last a life time.
*I was kindly gifted a selection of Piccolo’s new products at the Surrey Food Festival but I only endorse products I would buy myself or would recommend to a friend.
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