We all know a good product will go unseen and unsold without good marketing. On the flip side good marketing can sell a relatively crappy undesirable product. Agree? So what does this have to do with mums and kids? From the time my kids were babies I was utterly determined to have them eat healthy food. No I’m not the mum who says no to cake at parties or the occasional McDonalds, I’m a firm believer in the 80/20 rule healthy/unhealthy. However I did want to instil good eating habits in my children and ensure they actually WANTED to eat healthy, I wasn’t going to force it onto them. Children are very susceptible to marketing so I thought why not market healthy food to them at every chance I get. Make food as attractive as possible and I’m not talking about those super cool bento boxes that take hours to make. Of course I’ve pinned them on my Pinterest page with every intention of doing it. Never happened! SO what did I do? Very simple “marketing” tricks. Here’s a few:
- GOOD DESIGN – Make a pretty design with your children’s food on the plate and tell a story about it, this could be as simple as a face shape or a rainbow
- TELL A STORY – Tell your kids stories about the healthy food they are eating, broccoli was always referred to by my kids as “little trees” what kid doesn’t want to eat a little tree?
- APPEAL TO YOUR TARGET MARKET – Cut up fruit and veggies whenever you can into bite size or thin slices. Kids are small and they like small bite size things that are easy to handle. Don’t overwhelm them with huge portions.
- GET CREATIVE! – Use interesting plates, cups and utensils, don’t stick with plastic kids designs. Use small glass jars for yoghurt, a cute tray with little condiment bowls to section out food and raid your local Asian grocer for small sized dishes, they have colourful designs kids will appreciate and enjoy
- DONT BE TOO PUSHY – No one likes a forceful sales person, push too hard and the kiddos will do anything to avoid whatever it is you put in front of them. If there is absolutely no interest despite your good marketing efforts, consider it good practice and try again another time.
Davina Jane 