Walmart Teaming Up With Gerber To Launch New Fresh Baby Food Line

Moms.com

By Joanna Mazewski

Published Oct 18, 2018

The line — called Freshful Start — has been developed to compete with startups and trends that are making it easier for parents.

Credit: iStock / alice-photo

If there is one company that understands just how important good quality baby food is, it’s Gerber. That’s why they are teaming up with Walmart to test out "a first-of-its-kind product to the baby section" -- and it sounds amazing.

A new survey has suggested that the number of parents who prepare homemade baby food has increased by 20 percent since 2015, but parents are struggling to find the time to make that happen. Doing so, parents opt for faster ways to get nutritious food to their children and many companies are competing to win over parents who simply don't have the time to make their own baby food from scratch every week at home.

And Gerber wants to tap into that market with their new baby food line, Freshful Start.

Walmart is already making things easier on parents with their convenient and fast online grocery pickup service, so this partnership with one of the most-trusted baby food brands sounds like the perfect match.

"Freshful Start takes the prep work out of homemade baby food, making it easier and faster to provide baby with nutritious and flavorful meals," a press release reads. "The colorful line of prepared organic veggies and fruits caters to babies and toddlers of 6 to 12+ months, and can be quickly blended to a variety of textures."

Gerber's Freshful Start line has a selection of 15 choices – including purees, bowls, and entrees – that are priced from $3.98 to $5.98 for two servings each. The product was launched in Dallas first and if it’s successful there, the line will then launch in 50 stores in Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Kansas this week.

"We're trying to provide an alternative to making homemade baby food. Having to peel, chop, puree and store baby food is not always practical in today's world," Gerber CEO Bill Partyka told Dallas News. "It's a test. We need to prove the concept with a major retailer."

If that weren’t enough, Gerber is also launching a new line of Gerber Essentials, a line of organic baby gear that will be sold at Walmart and Target. The company is targeting the millennial mom and parents who are “more conscious about creating a better environment for their children’s futures.”