Little Dish, the award winning small-batch, nutritionally balanced children’s food brand, has reported an uplift of +39% in average weekly sales against November and December 2020, reflecting a trend in the way parents have been feeding their children throughout the third national lockdown.
Comforting recipes such as Salmon & Pollock Fish Pie, British Chicken & Veg Pie, British Beef & Veg Cottage Pie and British Beef & Pasta Bolognese were best-sellers during January – dishes which enable parents to feed their children a healthy meal, whilst earning themselves a much needed night off from the cooking and washing up.
Hillary Graves, Founder of Little Dish, comments: “Home-schooling children isn’t easy. Parents up and down the country are being pulled in every direction at the moment and we want to do everything we can to help them during these challenging times. Our fresh Little Dish meals are made from 100% natural ingredients and packed full of veggies, containing at least 1-2 portions of the recommended 5-a-day. We have always nutritionally tailored our recipes for 1-5 year olds, but since lockdown we have been hearing that many older kids are enjoying them as well. My boys are now aged 11 and 14, and Little Dish has become my go-to for a quick and nutritious home-school lunch.”
A major social study conducted by University College London (UCL) supports this trend, and suggests an entirely different collective mood between Lockdowns 1, 2 and 3. Compared with the first time that restrictions were imposed, people are now more likely to spend more time watching TV, streaming films and gaming than doing more to keep fit. This change in tempo is reflected in our cooking habits; the first lockdown saw a flurry of scratch cooking and home-baking, but now more people are looking for convenience, while still seeking to eat more healthily to build up their immunity. Happiness scores are down and pre-prepared meals that are nutritionally balanced are, for many, a helpful way to cope with the current circumstances, while protecting their health and that of their family.
With the ever-looming possibility of self-isolation and encouragement to make minimal trips to the supermarket, customer shopping habits are more geared towards bulk purchasing. Retailers are responding quickly to this increased appetite for healthy, convenient food purchased in bulk; Ocado is currently offering an unprecedented 6 for £10 promotion on Little Dish kids meals.
Hillary Graves continues: “We have partnered with Ocado to offer this promotion to families, so they can stock up on Little Dish meals for the week. It’s one less thing for parents to think about – and they know they have a quick, healthy lunch or dinner at hand while they are navigating home-schooling”
Notes to editors:
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ABOUT LITTLE DISH
A first to market; Little Dish launched in 2006, disrupting the children’s food category. Little Dish was founded by Hillary Graves, a dissatisfied Mother, frustrated by the lack of healthy fresh food products for toddlers in supermarkets. She had observed that given the two-year shelf life of the baby food found on the children’s ambient aisle, parents must be feeding their little ones food that was older than the child consuming it. Hillary established Little Dish from her kitchen table with the ambition of offering parents nutrient-packed meals cooked in small batches, free from additives and nasties, just as they would be at home. In 2015 Hillary’s husband, Dean Brown, joined the company to become her business partner and is now CEO of Little Dish.
Website: https://www.littledish.co.uk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littledish/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/littledish/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Little_Dish/
LITTLE DISH PRODUCTS
- British Beef Lasagne – £2.50
- British Chicken & Veg Risotto – £2.50
- Mild Tikka with Rice & British Chicken – £2.50
- Mild Korma with Rice & British Chicken – £2.50
- Salmon & Pollock Fish Pie – £2.50
- Spaghetti & Meatballs with British Beef – £2.50
- Veg Chilli & Rice – £2.50
- British Chicken & Veg Pie – £2.50
- British Beef + Veg Cottage Pie – £2.50
- British Beef & Pasta Bolognese – £2.50
- Mini Frittatas with Spinach & Ricotta – £2.75
- Mini Cod Fishcakes with Cheddar & peas – £2.75
- Mini Cod Goujons – £2.75
STOCKISTS
- Sainsbury’s
- Waitrose
- Tesco
- Asda
- Morrisons
- Ocado
- Amazon Fresh
- Booths