At a glance:
A huge selling point of Piccolo is the creative flavours on offer to expand your baby’s taste buds – don’t be surprised to find the likes of beetroot, kale and cherry in these pouches. The pouches went down really well with our panel of mum testers, although they wished there were smaller sizes on offer for smaller babies.
Related: Baby weaning product
What they say:
“Founder of Piccolo Organic Baby Food, Cat, enjoyed a varied diet from a young age, including plenty of fruit and veg, pasta, pulses and a little meat. Lovingly-prepared food is part of her DNA. It is the way she was brought up, and the way she feeds her family and daughter, Juliet. She continues to spend her time tracking down the best and the freshest,
locally-sourced ingredients, experimenting with recipes, and sharing her culinary creations with the most people that she can squeeze around her kitchen table. Her range of delicious organic purées provide a practical way to introduce babies to new and exciting flavours. And 10% of her profits go towards food education charities.”
Tested by mum Joanne Harding for the Mother & Baby awards 2018:
Would you recommend this to other mums?
I would recommend this product to mums, mainly for its ease of use. The pouches are user friendly – you can quite easily squeeze some straight on to a spoon, useful particularly when away from home. The pouches are also really lightweight and portable. This was my first experience of weaning and my little one seemed to enjoy the different tastes. As a first time mum it was lovely to see my child enjoying different flavours for the first time. I found the variety of foods packed into each pouch and the fact that no other artificial ingredients were added very reassuring. It feels as though you are giving your child the best start by feeding them vegetable and fruit varieties, in combinations that you wouldn’t necessarily put together yourself. It feels as though you will most certainly be expanding your babies taste buds. Perhaps they should make adult versions!
How did this product make your life easier?
This product is ready to use straight away, and once opened each pouch can be stored in the fridge for 24 hrs. This gives you a chance to use up the food, as very often your little one won't finish it all. The variety of fruit and veg packed into these little pouches is fantastic. As a busy mum, I wouldn't have time to put together purees with all these healthy ingredients, so this makes the whole weaning process a lot easier in my opinion.
Would you choose this product to win?
I would use this product above others – it has unique mixes of healthy ingredients and my little boy enjoyed them. The thing that made them stand out from others I have seen is the wide mix of flavours, usually containing at least three key ingredients. They also add extra little ingredients like herbs or vanilla. It all feels very healthy and make life easier as a working mum.
What changes would you make to this product?
I'd perhaps make the liquid in the pouches a little thicker (if that's possible) as it was quite viscous, sometimes I'd squirt too much on to the spoon. This was possible even with a tiny squeeze of the pouch. This then usually ended up on my baby’s face or bib! Also smaller pouches as an alternative may be useful.
Tested by mum Natalie Webster for the Mother & Baby awards 2018:
Would you recommend this to other mums?
There is a good range of ingredients in the product including some that I haven’t seen in other baby foods, such as beetroot and kale, so it introduces a good range of flavours. I loved that the cherry yoghurt contained oats and this was a real hit with my daughter, which surprised me, because it maintains the hint of sourness that comes with cherries. They were perfectly smooth which is great for first tastes and the colours were interesting and captured my daughter’s attention. They taste exactly like the ingredients.
How did this product make your life easier?
The products are all ready to go which saved me hours of steaming, blending, pureeing and washing up! The pouches can be placed in hot water to heat up which they did very quickly. This was handy, especially at teatime when my daughter is getting tired and wants my attention meaning I can hold her, sing Incy Wincy Spider and prepare it at the same time. They are also handy for when I’m out and about because they are compact.
Would you choose this product to win?
It takes away my mummy guilt for not preparing her meals myself because they are made with high quality organic ingredients, with no additives and the sugar is all natural. The range of ingredients are excellent and have a lot of variations in flavour, particularly with the fruit pouches. The mixed fruit pouches were great for dessert, adding to Greek yoghurt or mixing into porridge for breakfast.
What changes would you make to this product?
All of the products I received contained fruit and I would like to see some without fruit in. As our daughter seems to have inherited both of our sweet tooths, I make the extra effort to give her savoury tastes as well as some sweet tastes and there isn’t the option to do this with these products.
Tested by mum Jane McGrath for the Mother & Baby awards 2018:
Would you recommend this to other mums?
Yes I would recommend these, my daughter particular loves the spring greens pack. They are really handy when travelling as you don't need to keep them cold until they are opened. The screw cap means you can save some for later and my daughter seems to love all the flavours. I also squirt it straight onto the spoon, so no need for bowls and washing up.
How did this product make your life easier?
These products made my life easier when travelling as it is really easy to take some pouches with me, particularly for overnight stays as you don't need to defrost or refridgerate them. When I haven't had time to puree food its a real life saver, especially knowing all the products are organic and fresh. I will definitely be taking some of these with us on holiday.
Would you choose this product to win?
I would say it is similar to some other brands on the market, for example Ella’s Kitchen. I prefer the packaging over other brands though, as I think it stands out on the supermarket shelf and looks very premium. All the ingredients are organic and so I think the price is pretty good. Ideally the pouches would also be available in a smaller size, as my daughter does not get through an entire pouch per meal.
What changes would you make to this product?
It would be really handy if the pouches were also available in half the size. It would also be really great if the pouches were freezable.
Tested by mum Emma Burton for the Mother & Baby awards 2018:
Would you recommend this to other mums?
I found the variety of ingredients used in the first tastes range was very refreshing in terms of the organic fruit and vegetable combinations used. It was lovely to see my son visibly enjoying and exploring the different flavours. When the taste was a little tangy, it was amazing to see him using new facial expressions. The foods came in compact pouches that were great to use on our short break to France, or just when out and about shopping. I liked the fact that the foods could be served straight from the pouch or warmed up without needing to use a separate bowl. The portion sizes were perfect for my hungry boy. I also loved the design and appearance of the packaging, it was refreshingly not garish!
How did this product make your life easier?
We took the products with us on holiday to France and they were really convenient to use and did not require chilling, which was great as we had a four hour car journey followed by a six hour ferry crossing! I was able to take breakfast, lunch and dinner pouches for my son which provided him with a variety of flavours. I warmed up his dinner easily by using just a jug of water and didn't need to worry about taking bulky cooler bags and extra bowls.
I always thought that this type of baby food was a lazy option but I have been converted! From now on I will be keeping a stock in my cupboard for the days when I need something quick and easy, or for when we are out and about or travelling. It has also been a great way of introducing my son to new and exciting flavours. When trying to home cook, I have found that there is a lot of waste due to the sheer volume of food produced from using the smallest of vegetables, so it is difficult to introduce such a wide variety. Piccolo has enabled me to do this.
Would you choose this product to win?
The quality, variety and combinations of ingredients used in the Piccolo products really make the product stand out. The use of herbs is fantastic and is something that I have noticed is lacking in similar products on the market. I found that the ingredients used are more akin to those that I would use for my own cooking. Other products on the market seem to use more traditional English flavours such as ‘bubble and squeak’ and ‘cauliflower cheese’. These are not dishes that I would cook for myself so would not cook them for my son. My son has thoroughly enjoyed trying all of the different first tastes and it has been a fantastic way of introducing him to such a wide range of products so early on. The price point is excellent and it is in line with other similar products on the market, but I feel provides better value for money due to the exciting range of flavours and ingredients.
What changes would you make to this product?
I really cannot suggest any improvements to this product as I cannot find any area to fault it on. Perhaps multi-variety packs could be introduced at a slightly discounted price? I hope that Piccolo continue to introduce new flavour combinations as I have been so impressed with all of those that we tried.
Tested by mum Lucy Whittington for the Mother & Baby awards 2018:
Would you recommend this to other mums?
I already have recommended this product to friends and fellow mums for many reasons. In particular, the product is delicious, I love the way the Piccolo brand uses organic ingredients and a variety of herbs and spices to subtly enhance the flavours of the pouches. As a mum, I want to expose my son to as many different flavours as I can so that he can begin to acknowledge and make his own preferences with different tastes. Piccolo has created a product which is versatile. I use the pouches to add flavour to porridge, as a sauce for a pasta dish, to make pinwheels, as a dessert and as a quick meal or snack when travelling or out and about. The Piccolo pouches are so well made that I don’t feel guilty for using them to save myself time when cooking as they still provide my son with the vitamins, taste and goodness he requires to grow.
How did this product make your life easier?
When considering how much effort would go into making these individual purees at home for my baby, I would say that they not only save time but energy and space in the freezer. I will continue to buy these to add to my own cooking to sneak in that extra veg portion and make my cooking extra tasty. They are also perfect when travelling on public transport and they provide a great tasting, mess free snack/meal.
Would you choose this product to win?
The Piccolo pouches provide my son with a variety of different tastes and vitamins whilst also using good quality, organic ingredients. I feel that Piccolo is a really caring brand, it donates 10% of its profits to charity. I also love that the pouches feature a symbol telling the parent if the pouch is vegetarian. As a mum who is bringing her son up vegetarian, I am always looking for confirmation that the food is ok to use and Piccolo is the only brand I've found which shares this explicitly. For all these reasons, I do think this product should win.
What changes would you make to this product?
My son loves the cherry and yogurt flavour and I love to give this for dessert. I would love to have more yogurt flavours available so that I can mix this up a bit, perhaps some more exotic fruit such as pineapple, kiwi or papaya would be great with the summer months approaching.