What Is the Baby Food Industry?

The baby food industry refers to companies which manufacture and sell food specifically formulated for babies. This industry became popular in the early 1900s, but it was a hard sell on consumers. In many cases, the food is regular vegetables, fruit, and meat that adults eat, but mashed or pureed for a parent’s convenience. The industry has hugely affected peoples’ way of living and eating.

Ready-made food for babies was not popular until the 1920s. At first, it was difficult to sell baby food to the parents, since people were used to mashing and straining their babies’ food themselves. Heavy marketing coupled with a fall in baby food prices hastened the adoption of the baby food industry, however. Using ready-made baby food was often touted as a modern way of feeding a child, a way that was superior to doing the work by one’s self.

Baby food is any food that is mashed or pureed and ready for a baby to eat. Sometimes the food is mixed with water or milk to give it a smoother texture. While baby food can be made at home, and often is, the baby food industry focuses on providing convenience to consumers. Their baby food is usually sold in small jars fit for one meal, dessert, or snack. In many cases, the baby food is ready to warm up and can be warmed in its original container, or is not designed to be warmed at all.

Citizens of some countries have little choice when it comes to purchasing baby food in a grocery store. This is because the baby food industry is competitive, but some companies become so large that it is difficult to compete with them. In the past, governments have forbid baby food companies from buying one another out because of competition issues. If one baby food company buys out the majority of its competition, it basically sets the market price. Many people believe that healthy competition is crucial to managing prices and quality of products.

The baby food industry brought convenience to parents. Once the industry became successful, people began feeding their babies whole foods earlier. In fact, some doctors in the past recommended feeding an infant baby food just days after birth. Experts now advise against feeding pureed and mashed foods to a baby younger than four months. An infant’s digestive system cannot handle canned baby food at that point in its life.