Chewy vitamins for 'tweens'
Yummi Bears Sourz and Yummi Gworms Sourz, multi-vitamins targeted
at "tweens" - or children aged eight to 13 years - Annette
Dickinson, president of the Council for Responsible Nutrition
(CRN), explained to Philippa Nuttall what she believes to be
the advantages of chewy supplements.
"Supplements are an excellent idea for children, especially multi-vitamins," she said. "Children, like adults, don't obtain the necessary levels of vitamins and minerals from their diet."
Drops for infants are commonly prescribed by physicians and therefore by the time a child is four or five they would be ready to use multi-vitamins."
As Dickinson noted, there is nothing new about chewy vitamins, which have been around for the last 50 years or more, and as far as she is concerned they have several advantages over pill-like supplements, especially for those children - and adults - who don't like, and have trouble, swallowing pills.
Despite the new generation of children's vitamins looking like sweets, Dickinson is concerned that they are not treated as such.
"I don't think there is a problem with these vitamins resembling sweets, but they must be taken under adult supervision at a regular time each day and not viewed as candy," she said.
According to Hero Nutritionals Yummi Bears Sourz and Yummi Gworms Sourz provide the vitamins and minerals essential for proper growth and development coupled with a sour flavor that appeals to children on the cusp of adolescence.
"Tweens are notoriously picky, and getting them to take a standard multi-vitamin can prove extremely difficult," said Jennifer Hodges, CEO of Hero Nutritionals. "Sourz offer the same gummy formula as other Yummi Bear products, but provide additional vitamins necessary for children entering their teens, as well as a flavor specifically formulated for them."
Yummi Bears Sourz and Yummi Gworms Sourz provide 100 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamins A, C, D, E, B-6 and B-12, as well as folic acid and zinc.
The market for children's supplements has been growing and industry analysts estimate annual sales of children's supplements reached $510 million as of July 2002, representing one of the top niche markets in the supplement industry. Yummi Bears command more than 24 percent of gross sales volume in the children's multi-vitamin category.
