MINI MUNCH – World’s first baby vending machine for healthy snacks on the go!

The world’s first vending machine for babies especially designed to dispense healthy snacks for tiny tots has been revealed today.  The vending machine has taken specialists over four months to develop and construct with bespoke features to make it easy for toddlers to operate.  Standing at only 115cm tall, it is perfectly sized for the average one year old to dispense their favourite snacks.

Thought to be the world’s tiniest, the vending machine has been created by baby and toddler food experts Ella’s Kitchen following new research revealing that up to 82 per cent of British parents struggle to find healthy foods for babies and toddlers whilst on the move.  The research also found that 58 per cent of parents have been forced to feed their children un-healthy foods such as sweets or crisps when they’re out of the house due to the lack of healthier options available.

The mini vending machine will be filled with Ella’s Kitchen’s healthy and handy snacks to show parents that foods for kids on the go don’t need to be restricted to sugary or salty snacks.  It will vend 12 varieties of snacks from Smoothie Fruits to Nibbly Fingers and Puffits.

The Ella’s Kitchen vending machine will be trialled at Lollibop, the largest children’s festival in the UK, in Regent’s Park, London from 17^th – 19^th August 2012 with all snacks being offered absolutely free for a trial period.  With over a quarter of parents (27 per cent) feeding their children at least twice a day whilst out of home, the vending machine aims to raise awareness of the difficulties parents have in finding healthy snacks on the move.

The top hotspots with a lack of toddler-friendly snacks on offer were revealed as:

• Beaches (43 per cent)
• Parks or playgrounds (38 per cent)
• Shopping centres (36 per cent)
• Theme parks (33 per cent)
• Zoos or farms (29 per cent)

Paul Lindley, Ella’s Dad and founder of Ella’s Kitchen, comments: “By creating the first tiny vending machine, we hope to stimulate little ones’ senses and encourage them to enjoy eating healthy foods from a young age.  Our snack products are designed to be healthy, handy and fun for both parents and their children allowing them to spend more time exploring the big outdoors without worrying about finding healthy foods.  We hope that little ones at Lollibop had as much fun using it as we did creating it.”