THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 26, 1996 TAG: 9606260430
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: 45 lines
Gerber Products Co., the dominant maker of baby foods in America, will stop adding starch and sugar to most of its main products in an effort to grab a bigger chunk of the health-conscious parents market.
Gerber said the move, to be formally announced Wednesday, is unrelated to criticisms by a consumer advocacy group that the company diluted its baby foods with water, sugar and chemically modified starch, and deceived the public about the nutritional value.
The company was ``responding strictly to what their consumers want,'' Gerber spokesman Van Hindes said Tuesday. He said research indicated a growing number of parents want products without the additives.
The change, which will take place over the next six months, primarily affects foods made for older infants and toddlers, the company said. Gerber foods for the youngest babies have never contained starch or sugar.
The company developed recipes that not only cut out the unwanted ingredients but ``met our high taste and nutrition standards,'' said Tracy Baker, director of product development.
With the change, 121 of Gerber's 190 baby food products won't contain starch or sugar, giving it the widest variety of offerings produced without the additives. Some foods for older children will retain starch and sugar.
Gerber is one of the oldest baby-food processors in the nation. It was founded in 1901 and introduced baby food in 1928, building business with the familiar ``Babies are Our Business . . . Our Only Business'' slogan.
The company has dominated the baby food section at grocery stores for years. But it has lost ground in the past few years to competitors with ``healthy'' baby food lines, including Beech-Nut, a unit of Ralcorp Holdings, Inc.; H.J. Heinz Co.; and Earth's Best, a line of organically grown baby foods purchased earlier this year by Heinz.
Despite demand for all kinds of ``healthy'' foods, including pet food, baby-food makers have stumbled entering the market.
Beech-Nut dropped its Special Harvest line of organic baby foods in 1993. And Growing Healthy Inc. has never challenged Gerber's dominance.
Part of the problem is price. Organically grown foods and foods without fillers are more expensive to produce. Hindes said that while some healthy formulations of their lines will be more expensive to produce, the company will not pass along the price increases to consumers. by CNB