When it comes to tackling the issues of childhood obesity and diet-related disease, there is always strength in numbers.
We wrote an article last week about the sugar content in children’s food. One of the companies we reviewed – Whole Kids – got in contact with us to discuss their ethos and products, including their expanding line of savoury snacks and how we can work more closely with them.
And we realised we had a lot more in common than we thought!
Monica Meldrum with her daughter Chloe.
While Whole Kids may not focus on solely low-fructose products, just like us they are battling against Big Food companies to educate and provide healthier choices to parents and kids.
Co-founder Monica Meldrum created Whole Kids 11 years ago after a stint volunteering in poverty-stricken Indonesia inspired her to make a difference.
“On returning to Australia, I could see that food-related illnesses were on the rise. There were all sorts of additives, many of which are actually banned elsewhere in the world. I started to think, ‘It’s our food that’s making kids sick.’ And I wanted to tackle that issue head-on.”
Big Food, big tactics.
One of the key issues Whole Kids are keen to tackle is the shocking marketing tactics that big businesses use.
“Big Food manufacturers have contracts at schools and other sites that lock out smaller suppliers,” Monica says. “The manufacturers offer to install fridges, but that means the sites can only sell specific drinks. The same with display counters. It makes it really hard for small businesses to get their voices heard and for kids to have healthy choices.”
(Something we’ve been talking about for yonks in our School Canteen Campaign.)
“Big Food manufacturers offer to install fridges, but that means the sites can only sell specific drinks.”
So why does Big Food take such expensive measures? Monica says they are threatened by consumer choice.
“Early on in our business I was quoted saying that the sulphites use to preserved dried fruit had been linked to respiratory issues in children. Which is true. No sooner was the article published than I received a call from one of Australia’s largest fruit growers threatening legal action. We were so small but they were threatened by us! At that point, we really felt that we could be an agent for change.”
The power of marketing.
With Big Food doing everything in its power to maintain a monopoly, small businesses like Whole Kids are focusing on transparent marketing. Clear packaging, clear labelling and no Disney branding.
“Parents already struggle with convenience and variety for children,” says Monica. “Big Food is making it harder, by creating confusion around what is healthy and using TV characters to market to kids. For time-poor parents, it’s really difficult to navigate.”
The key to changing this predicament, Monica says, is to fight it from the ground up – with education. Teaching kids and parents to read food labels and cook from scratch would make a world of difference.
“Education is so important,” says Monica. “It sets a pattern for the rest of kids’ lives.”
Whole Kids is also the first Australian food company to become a B corporation.
“It’s an international certification that recognises companies that are using their business to effect social and environmental change,” says Monica. “It’s all really about putting purpose over profit. I believe that, as businesses, we are all responsible for children’s health.
“We need to stand up and say, ‘We’re part of the problem in this industry. Let’s work together to fix it.’”
What small companies have you noticed making a difference?
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