“What SNACK did you bring Mum?’’MARIEKE SYED FOUNDER OF SNACKZILLA TALKS TO MUMFORCE
Does anyone else get greeted at pick up every day with that line? My kids are constantly demanding snacks, but it seems they aren’t alone as the vast majority of kids in the UK aged 7-15 snack at least once a day.
Three years ago I became fed up of the daily frustration in my household, just what snacks do you put in the lunchboxes or give after school to two hungry kids who have grown out of the healthy baby and toddler brands and just want junk. There was nothing out there that appealed to my kids aged 9 and 7, but that also appealed to me in my quest to reduce their sugar consumption. With an obvious gap in the market I decided to do something about it and SNACKZILLA was born.
Most kids love biscuits and cookies, in fact many adults do too. The problem with our love of sweet treats though is that it is linked to the rising childhood obesity crisis in the UK, with a staggering 1 in 3 kids now leaving primary school being overweight or obese. I decided to take my Great Grandmothers Oat Cookie recipe and reformulate it to meet the healthy school food guidelines. Our soft bake cookies have 40% less sugar than the average sweet biscuit, contain a source of fibre and have no dairy, palm oil or artificial sweeteners, colours, flavours or preservatives.
Launching just before the COVID pandemic wasn’t great timing! But I have been blown away by the support of other mums and the feedback we are getting from kids. Exciting plans are afoot, as we were recently selected for The Good Food Fund, a new £1.8m venture backed fund backing ambitious food brands who are helping to tackle childhood obesity. The initiative is backed by Guy’s and St Thomas’s Charity, and we are beyond excited to be part of this scheme delivering solutions to one of the biggest health challenges facing the nation.
As a mum I know how hard it is to juggle the pester power from our kids with the need for convenience and the guilt of wondering if we are giving them the right things to eat. With SNACKZILLA’s we aim to make snacking a little bit easier, giving kids a healthier version of something they love.
I would love to offer Mumforce readers a 15% discount on our web shop using code BITEMEBABY so you can give them a try!
Marieke x
SNACKZILLA cookies are currently available to buy from www.snackzilla.co.uk or Amazon, with plans for supermarket launches later this year.
@snackzilla_UK
