Hundreds of parents have applied after Heinz announced it was giving away £1,000 of free baby food. Heinz is looking for children to join its new “Picky Panel” as official baby food testers.
The job ad on Heinz Baby UK’s pages has racked up more than 100,000 views on TikTok. “I can’t believe Jannah being a picky eater might have advantages” said one commenter, “My twins would be so good for this” said another. “Just sent my email showing my funny little boy and his favourite avocado encounter” said another parent.
Heinz has received more than 350 applications already with the closing date approaching; keen picky eaters are encouraged to apply before February 14.
Heinz is offering six months’ supply of their baby food as compensation for their critiques.According to Heinz’s research, 65% of parents describe their little ones as “fussy” when it comes to food, with babies turning up their noses at meals five times a week on average.Nearly 40% of little ones refuse food at least once a day.
Heinz is seeking babies aged 6-15 months to serve as official Heinz food critics. Almudena Rein, Head of First Foods, Heinz, said; “At Heinz, we understand that every baby has their own unique tastes and preferences, which is why we want the real experts – babies themselves – to have a say in our product development process, and that’s why we’re launching the search for ‘The Heinz Picky Panel’.”
Angharad Rudkin, Clinical Psychologist, who is working with Heinz to develop the methodology to assess the Picky Panel’s responses to a particular food, said: “Weaning is an important developmental phase and is also one of the most challenging. Parents can feel stressed about it as they try to make sure their baby gets all the right food into them, while babies are more focused on exploring, playing and having fun.
“It is possible to combine these two needs, with weaning becoming a fascinating journey for both parents and children. Finding out what your baby does and doesn’t like is an important part of this journey, so watching and noticing what they’re communicating is the first step. Taking the pressure off to get it all right and instead seeing it as a learning process can also help parents to enjoy it more.
“The Heinz Picky Panel will help us understand even more about the weaning process, making it something to be enjoyed rather than something to endure.”
For more details visit The Heinz for Baby UK Instagram page.Applications are still open until February 14 with the selected panelists to be notified shortly afterwards.