Tuesday 27 November 2012

My rant on Bebi Juice for Infants

There have been two things being marketed recently and the technique to snag consumers has been driving me crazy. When I look at these items and their advertisements  I get this little red ball in my belly which usually travels up and explodes out of my mouth in one big rant about how ridiculous and appalling these marketing techniques are. My husband nods his head, and continues reading the paper when this happens...

Today I give you...
Bebi Juice for Infants: One morning I was sipping my cuppa and half tuning into Sunrise as per usual, and that doctor, Gina-somebody was talking about the amount of sugar in juices and soft drinks and how harmful they can be for children. Then she said, and I QUOTE: "In fact, water and milk is the only thing children need". Fantastic. Good information. Very true. Then along came The Morning Show and lo and behold, what are they advertising? This monstrosity of a product....


I watched in shock as they sold it as 'convenient' 'sterile' and 'healthy'. And don't forget that word that suddenly makes everything good for you, 'organic'. What is going on here!? It's juice with a TEAT on the end! I couldn't believe it. It's aimed at children 6 months and over. I popped onto their Facebook page where many people were attacking the company and the product, but there were others defending it. They were saying it's so diluted that there's hardly any juice in it, and that their baby just loves the flavour.

Here's an idea: A baby doesn't know sugar until you give them sugar. They have no idea that this thing exists until you give it to them, and if you're going to start that young, you will be in for a treat in a few years time.

I have taken away children's water bottles from their desk because they are filled with Coke. Yes, I'm talking about 5 and 6 year olds, working at their tables, building up their knowledge and expanding that beautiful mind of theirs, all while sucking on something that's packed with sugar and a ridiculous amount of invisible chemicals. It's a disturbing fact. There are people out there that think this is OK. That a product like this was even allowed to be on the market, is a real concern.

Juice for children, sure. Juice for infants? Are you kidding me.

I'm a believer in giving children an education on food. I don't believe in completely banning 'junk food'. They have to live in the world. But it's all about teaching them what's good for you, and what's a treat. So as an adult they have an understanding of what they are eating and can live within a balanced diet. A child at a mere 6 months can't understand this. And their beautiful, fresh, erupting teeth aren't going to understand either I'm afraid, as they are blasted with a wash of sugar. Oh, but wait, it's organic.

PS. They've now removed their Facebook Page. I wonder why.

Rant over - stay tuned for product 2. Have you seen this on the shelves? What's your take on it?

13 comments:

  1. COULD NOT AGREE WITH YOU MORE. This is one if those truly unneccesary products I was talking about recently regards to marketing and babies/children. Allowing these things on our shelves makes parents think they are good for their baby. Health professionals don't even encourage children to have juice, let alone babies. This is totally one of my buf bears too. My children only have water or milk, and they are happy with these options. They too, will be informed about healthy choices so they can make informed decisions about what they put in their bodies. But I don't want to give my children a sugaf addiction by the time they hit school. Carla

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  2. I didn't give my daughter anything flavored till she had a bad bout of gastro around her 1st birthday. She wasn't drinking anything at all, so we were offering her juice, cordial, anything to keep her fluids up. After that she won't go back to water. So the longer you stay away from flavored drinks- the better. Once you've given them juice- why would they go back to water?

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    1. So true. It can be hard when they are unwell. I tried to give my little guy pear juice (from a can) a few times when he used to get severe constipation. But he wasn't interested. He preferred to just eat a pear! So I was lucky.

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  3. What a horrible thing to give to children. My daughter is almost 2 and beside the very occasional sip of a milkshake when we go out for lunch (which isn't often) she only gets water and milk. She doesn't know any different so doesn't ask for anything else.
    I saw another mother give her child of 7 months old cordial in a bottle....I wanted to jump down her throat, but thought better of it being in a public place.
    I as an adult even drink mostly water and milk. There are so many hidden calories and fats and sugara in drinks that we just don't need in our diet.

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    1. So many good points there Melissa! My husband saw someone poor Fanta into a bottle and give it to their bubs at KFC once. I don't think I'll forget him telling me that story. I think the majority of mums are making good, informed choices though.

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  4. I agree!
    My kids get milk or water- and very rarely juice. I figure if they want fruit they can eat it.
    I guess it's a sign of the times but recently I forgot my youngest's (15 months) drink bottle when we were out so I bought her a bottle of water- and I was told that it was lucky that she drank water! Lucky?? No, not lucky- if you don't give your children drinks that are bad for them they never know any different and will happily drink water and milk.

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    1. Wow! My little guy loves water too. My mum said to me once "Don't you give him juice?" And my reply was "No. Why? He doesn't need juice" and that was the end of that conversation :-)

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  5. I laughed when I saw these in the shops. It is just like the myriad overpriced biscuits/crackers etc in the baby section which are 'organic' and 'just right for tiny hands'. The properties of most of them are no different from products found elsewhere in the store which are similar health value (or not) and much cheaper but don't have a cute baby picture on the front.

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  6. Oh I love your rant! We dont give our boys anything that has colours, preservatives or added ingredients cause it gives them such a reaction! And to give a baby juice...no way!
    Coke is such a big no-no in our house - hubby is the only one that drinks it. I reckon that he is addicted to the stuff!

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  7. AMEN!! What a ridiculous product!! I did notice however on Sunrise the advertised Bebi pure water (now available at Woolies)... Hopefully the manufacturers got the message!! Stop making rubbish for our children!!!

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    1. The water came before they decided marketing the juice but FYI it's been pulled off Woolies shelves now! So that's great news!

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    2. Woolies in Bendigo is still stocking by them, I saw them today. 2 for $3 - and a mum beside me in the aisle said "can you believe they are getting rid of these!?" as she put a whole slab of the white grape flavour in her trolley. I didn't know how to respond, so just smiled politely :(

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