Mum’s Initiative To Fight Fatty Fast Foods

Media Release
September 18, 2003

Mum’s Initiative To Fight Fatty Fast Foods Gains Support of Expert

A concerned New Zealand mum’s initiative to create a nutritious and convenient styled home cooked meal for kids, as an alternative to fast foods has gained the support of one of New Zealand’s leading experts in obesity.

Professor Jim Mann from the University of Otago’s Departments of Human Nutrition and Medicine said it is important that young children receive a balanced and nutritious diet, and most current fast food meals do not supply this.

“New Zealand mums should be looking at alternatives to the takeaway chains, for the health of their children,” he said.

Professor Jim Mann says the Yummy Tummies range of meals, created by New Zealander Fran Hume contain an essential daily portion of vitamins and minerals, without added preservatives and fats found in so many other convenience foods young New Zealand children are eating today.

“With the current state of child obesity in New Zealand it is encouraging to see initiatives like Yummy Tummies offering a healthier alternative,” he said.

With two young children and a busy corporate lifestyle, Fran Hume of Yummy Tummies identified a lack of fast, convenient, yet well-balanced meal options available for today’s busy parent. What started out from her home kitchen twelve months ago has today grown to an innovative New Zealand business with nationwide distribution, and an export opportunity to the Pacific Islands.

Founder of Yummy Tummies, Fran Hume believes the business is now at the stage where she is only beginning to realise its full potential.

“Today we have nine different meals, each contains three different vegetables and makes up approximately 30% of a child’s recommended daily intake of energy.

All Yummy Tummies ingredients are sourced locally and are available in selected supermarkets nationwide from the end of September. Yummy Tummies also runs a Kids catering service, and a Kids Club with more than 4,000 members under the age of 14 through its website.

ENDS

Company Background
Two years ago while working in sales and marketing in the IT and telecommunications industry, Fran identified an opportunity to expand the Yummy Tummies business. At the time the business was catering for small children of family and friends from her home kitchen. As word-of-mouth started building and she began to receive more and more positive feedback, she decided there was an opportunity to take the business to the next level. Moving on up, Fran and her husband Dave, purchased a small restaurant to increase their production capacity.

Today, Yummy Tummies has appointed an external food manufacturer to produce their recipes and has a nationwide distribution channel through selected supermarkets. There are nine different meal options; each contains baby carrots, garden peas and corn.

Fran also proudly employs nine part time mothers in a variety of positions, which enables them to work flexible hours around childcare and school.

Fran places a lot of value on encouraging kids to learn the nutritional value of vegetables, through its ‘Kids Club’ which it runs through the Yummy Tummies website.

She has created three vegetable characters “Kip” the carrot, “Sweat Pea” and “Casey” the corn. Each has a special personality, which aims to teach kids about the nutritional value of each vegetable and their importance for growing young kids. The club has over 4,000 members, who all receive a special update through the mail, which has all the latest news at Yummy Tummies.

Yummy Tummy meals sell at a recommended retail price of $6.45

For further information about the meals and the business you can visit www.yumtums.com

ENDS

© Scoop Media