Plum Baby was a United Kingdom company producing

organic food Organic food, also known as ecological or biological food, refers to foods and beverages produced using methods that comply with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resou ...

for

babies In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to juveniles of ...

, based in

Taplow Taplow is a village and civil parish in the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England. It sits on the left bank of the River Thames, facing Maidenhead in the neighbouring county of Berkshire, with Cippenham and Burnham to the east. It is th ...

. In August 2014 the company announced that they were to cease trading. This announcement followed a number of product recalls in 2013 after the founder sold the business to Darwin Private Equity. There were no recalls whilst under control of the founder. Founded in 2004 by Susie Willis, the brand produced organic baby and toddler food. Products were sold in all the major UK supermarkets including

Ocado Ocado Group plc ( ) is a British business based in Hatfield, England, which licenses grocery technology. It also owns a 50% share in the UK grocery retail business Ocado.com (the other 50% is owned by UK retailer Marks & Spencer). The company ...

. Plum was positioned at the premium end of the baby food market and at one time had a 4% share of the baby food sector in the UK, worth £11m. Plum Baby was a member of Organic Farmers and Growers. It was one of the first 'challenger' brands in the ambient babyfood sector, positioned as a superfood, organic brand avoiding traditional rice bulkers and starches, replacing with quinoa protein.

History

The British-based Plum Baby was founded in 2004 by Susie Willis and launched in February 2006 after an initial exclusive launch with Sainsbury's. Within 12 months of launch, company products were available in 2,500 supermarket stores. The founders sold to Darwin Private Equity in May 2010 in a deal that valued the company at £10 million. In January 2013 Plum Baby Ltd was sold to US based Plum organics. Then, in June 2013 Plum organics was acquired by

Campbell Soup The Campbell's Company (doing business as Campbell's and formerly known as the Campbell Soup Company) is an American company, most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products. The classic red-and-white can design used by many Campb ...

. In 2013, the Campbell Soup Company bought out Plum Organics using available credit. In November 2013, Plum Organics recalled several baby food products for a spoilage defect. Plum Baby Ltd shut down in August 2014. In 2021, Plum Organics was sold to Sun-Maid Growers of California.

Products

Plum Baby had 38 products ranges including Stage 1 – 3 baby and toddler food, snack ranges and others. All Plum Baby products were described 100% organic. The wet food was sold in resealable pouches, which contained aluminium, sandwiched between two layers of plastic which eliminated the need for preservatives and meant that the food could be minimally processed. The aluminium never came in direct contact with the food to ensure it was safe for consumption. Many of the pouches were recalled as the seals on a some lines of baby food failed causing the contents to spoil. Plum Baby products contained no

added sugar Added sugars or free sugars are sugar carbohydrates (caloric sweeteners) added to food and beverages at some point before their consumption. These include added carbohydrates ( monosaccharides and disaccharides), and more broadly, sugars nat ...

, salt or water. No additives, E numbers or GM products. Plum Baby Organics prepared baby food was more nutritious when compared to other brands due to quinoa added for texture.

References

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External links

Plum Baby siteWeaning of LifeBusiness Article
Food manufacturers of the United Kingdom Organic farming organizations Companies based in Buckinghamshire Baby food manufacturers