Have you recently had a baby or are you just planning to become a mom? Of course, you know that the best thing for any baby is breastfeeding. From the age of about 6 months, the baby will need complementary foods, which are introduced into the food carefully, first in parallel with the main food, which is still milk or, in its absence or in insufficient quantities, milk formulas and cereals. A variety of brands of baby food can complicate the task.
One of the largest, most famous and most popular manufacturers of products for the smallest is Gerber from Nestle. A huge assortment, a variety of flavors, 100% natural products, beautiful packaging and almost a century of history make Gerber products for children one of the most popular in the world. Loving mothers from different countries give preference to her. And now in detail about what is “Gerber”.
Brand history
Almost a hundred years ago, in 1927, the daughter of Sally was born into the family of Frank Daniel Gerber (pictured below, with children), the son of the owner of a company producing canned vegetables. The girl was weak, so at seven months the pediatrician prescribed her a diet consisting of fruits and vegetables. Her mother, Dorothy, daily rubbed her various mashed potatoes and cooked soups, which took a lot of time and energy, which, as you know, a young mother did not have much. And somehow she wondered why her husband’s company, being a major producer of canned foods for adults, cannot create them for children as well? Dorothy’s proposal interested her husband, and he and his father decided to try creating a Gerber baby puree. A serious study of the direction was carried out. At that time, the idea of producing baby food in jars was new. It was difficult to determine whether the consistency of mashed potatoes would become popular - babies were fed milk for up to a year.
Growing popularity
Already in 1928, the company began producing five types of products:
- pea puree
- prune puree
- carrot puree
- spinach puree
- beef soup with vegetables
A few months later, it became clear that producing Gerber baby puree is a very promising and profitable idea. "Gerber" has become the most popular brand of baby food, which first captured the US market, and then the whole world. This happened only a few years later - already in 1930, pureed vegetables, fruits, meat puree for children and other tasty products from Gerber were appreciated by children and their parents. Which is not surprising, because in addition to good nutrition and pleasure, baby purees save the time of parents and provide an opportunity to communicate with the baby, greatly simplifying and speeding up the feeding process.
Over time, Gerber stopped producing canned foods for adults. The production of baby food has become the main focus of its activities. Sally Gerber grew up and led the company after the death of her father.
Gerber quality
Over the years of its existence, Gerber has not changed the principles of quality. After all, a full and healthy diet is primarily a source of health and proper development of children. Regardless of whether you choose: apple, prune, peach or some other Gerber puree, you can rest assured that the baby will receive quality products: tasty, healthy, fresh, cooked correctly, taking into account all his needs and features of the child's body.
Security
Choosing "Gerber", there is no doubt that the baby is protected from harmful bacteria and microorganisms, which is extremely important in the first year of a child’s life, because he has not yet matured. This is achieved due to the fact that the Gerber jars are made of tempered glass, which allows them to be especially carefully processed using various technologies.
Baby food in jars is fresh thanks to hermetic packaging. It is checked using a specially designed cap with a characteristic protrusion. Experienced mothers know that if a familiar cotton is heard when opening a jar, then everything is in order with freshness and tightness.
Gerber face
I wonder what kind of a wonderful kid is depicted on jars? The history of the image originates as long ago. A contest was held for the best logo idea, and artist Dorothy Hope Smith presented a simple charcoal painted picture of a cute baby with disheveled hair. The drawing won the competition and became the emblem of Gerber Products Company since 1931, when the trademark was registered.
For more than forty years, the name of the child's logo was not known. In 1978, a national survey was conducted in the United States to identify the owner of such a pretty and famous appearance. She turned out to be Ann Turner Cook, a former teacher at a school in Florida, and after a novelist, author of several well-known detective novels. As it turned out, in 1928 her family lived next door to Dorothy Smith, a portrait painter.
A little more about packaging
As noted above, the packaging of Gerber products is distinguished by its thoughtfulness in terms of safety and quality preservation. In addition, it is convenient in any of its forms. Glass jars for the little ones allow you to see beautiful multi-colored mashed potatoes and cheer you up. A wide neck allows you to put a spoon in a jar to gain the right amount. Such a trifle, but terribly important when using, agree!
How large is the Gerber jar? The most optimal! For small eaters, mashed potatoes are offered, packaged in 80 grams, which is very convenient for starting feeding - after all, it is still unknown how much the baby will be able to master an unfamiliar product. Further volumes grow, for older children full-size portions are offered. In addition, small jars allow you to create a mixture of various products (meat, vegetable, fruit) yourself.
For older kids, there is another form of packaging. The soft packaging "spider" allows you to take mashed potatoes for a walk and eat it right through the neck, squeezing a useful treat as from a tube. Gerber cookies and bar made from natural cereals and fruits are also hermetically packaged in a beautiful multi-colored package.
Gerber Products
Due to constant development, the Gerber assortment, which, as mentioned earlier, began with just five items, is about five hundred positions. Gerber products are distributed in more than 30 countries around the world. In Russia, you can buy eighty items. Among them are various mashed potatoes (fruit, vegetable, meat, mixed and with the addition of cereals - a source of fiber), as well as juices and children's desserts.
Gerber products are manufactured in Europe at the production facilities of the concern under the full control of the company’s specialists from the moment the products are grown until the goods are completely ready.
Now, having learned what “Gerber” is, we’ll figure out how to give it to the baby correctly.
From 6 months
For beginning gourmets, Gerber offers a wide range of vegetable and fruit purees, consisting of one component. This form is ideal for starting feeding. Just one new product in the composition of baby food allows you to timely identify the source of diathesis of the baby, which is often not an easy task, but quite often happens when eating mixed dishes. In addition, introducing one product into the baby’s nutrition, you can determine the taste preferences of the child and teach him to take all the products without exception, because each of them is necessary for development, each contains benefits. For example, in a Gerber jar, beautiful green broccoli purees are often not perceived by children the first time, and then become one of their favorite foods. And broccoli, as you know, is the source of a huge amount of vitamins and minerals.
From 6 months, Gerber recommends meat puree for children, which also consists of one product. The meat delicacies, possessing the most delicate texture, will undoubtedly please the baby and will teach him to eat more thick food than mom’s milk. Gerber offers five types of meat: rabbit, beef, veal, turkey and chicken.
For more experienced
For those who coped with the first lure perfectly and mastered the first products, Gerber offers to expand the diet with:
- fruit and vegetable purees, consisting of a mixture of natural ingredients;
- ready meals, for example, such as "Vegetables stewed with veal" or "Tender vegetables with a rabbit";
- milk-fruit desserts, in which fruits are appetizingly combined with cottage cheese;
- juices squeezed from apple, pear, as well as consisting of a mixture of apple with carrots and apples, grapes and rose hips.
Thanks to such a replenishment of the diet, the baby will receive even more pleasure and benefit from eating. That's what Gerber is - pleasure and benefit!
Learning to chew
For children from 8-9 months, whole ready meals are offered in larger jars. Although they are still mashed and are a mixture of various products, their consistency will allow you to learn to chew food thoroughly. Fragrant, tasty and beautiful - the baby will not be able to refuse the useful pleasure that Gerber offers. Zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes and other vegetables, rice, meat products, and now fish is added! All food is natural, without the added addition of salt, sugar and spices. The taste buds of the baby are still so sensitive, so for him the sensations of new products are so unusual and sharp, he does not need flavor enhancers.
How can I refuse a dish called "Little Fisherman's Treat", which consists of vegetables and pieces of fish? Or maybe you don’t like the dish called “Italian delicacy”, which is produced for children from ten months of age, and in its composition is very similar to a real adult Italian pasta, but without additives harmful to the baby?
There is something to eat
What is a Gerber without healthy snacks? In all its diversity, baby food is not only full dinners, but also delicious desserts and sweets:
- Is it possible to imagine a child 6 months old and a little older without a piece of cookies in a small soft palm? It’s so nice to calm the cutting teeth with something tasty! For this purpose, "Gerber" produces cookies "5 vitamins." From the name it is clear that it contains the necessary vitamins. By the way, it has calcium.
- The Gerber bar is not just a familiar sweet treat. He, like all Gerber products, has his own secret for the benefit of the baby. It contains favorite fruits and cereals, which contribute to the coordinated work of digestion.
- Cereal stars are not only useful and tasty - you can play a little with them, laying out in front of you on the table and developing fine motor skills of small fingers.
- Soft mashed fruit purees are the usual mashed potatoes: tasty, fragrant, healthy, but also in packaging, which allows you to take your favorite treat with you for a walk or for a visit.
Gerber Telephone Line - Care Line
You can buy Gerber products at baby food stores. There you will find out how much Gerber costs, specify the composition of the product you are interested in and get answers to any questions regarding the product.
In addition, there is the opportunity to speak with a specialist by calling the Care Line. Gerber actively interacts with customers and advises on product issues. An interesting fact: since 1936, Dorothy Gerber personally responded to letters coming to the company, not ignoring a single one. Since 1968, the Care Lines have been established, where experienced consultants answer phone calls.
Residents of Russia, along with mothers of other countries, can get advice on issues related to Gerber products. According to statistics, Russian Gerber consultants answer an average of 1300 calls annually, and in the United States about 800,000 calls per year are received by the Care Line.