Innovative Start-up Develops Sustainable Nutritious Infant Food

Start-up infant food company, Little Origins, are developing new products which offer busy families a nutrient-dense, sustainable, and convenient option for their children.

Little Origins are working with the University of Lincoln, UK, at the National Centre for Food Manufacturing (NCFM) to research and design new ready-made, nutrient-dense and sustainable baby food. The project will also draw on the expertise of leading research institutions, farmers pioneering new agricultural practices, dietitians, and food system experts.

The business-led collaboration has already secured national funding with Innovate UK awarding the project £360,000 as part of their Better Food For All: Innovation for Improved Nutrition campaign.

Little Origins aims to provide access to safe, healthy, and fresh food for children across the UK by improving the nutritional profile of food products for children, and addressing concerns around obesity (which has reached 14.4% amongst 4-5 year olds in the UK) and the rise in processed foods.

The project will look at the nutrition potential of regenerative agriculture – an important focus for Little Origins work – as well as designing new product development processes that place nutrient-density at their core and providing customers with transparency around the nutritional quality and freshness of baby food products.

Reusable packaging systems are also being trialled to help to reduce the significant amounts of food and packaging waste in the food sector.

The project ultimately aims to be a part of the growing market for regenerative agriculture and circular economy solutions within the food sector, which will be crucially important in the UK’s transition to sustainable agriculture, circular economy, net-zero, and a healthy and thriving society.

Founder and CEO of Little Origins, Francesca Brkic, said: “This is a very exciting space to be in at the moment – there is a lot of interest in the nutrition potential of regenerative agriculture, and it’s exciting to look at our food supply chain holistically from farm to fork to see how to best maximise quality and nutrition for those who need it most.”

Janet Bellamy, Associate Professor in Food Robotics and Process Automation at the NCFM, added: “We are very excited to be working with Francesca and her team to research the nutrition potential of regenerative agriculture and see it applied to her infant food range.

“Very little exists in terms of linking the agricultural practices of Regenerative Agriculture with the level of nutrition in food so this study will provide quantifiable data and a greater understanding of what is possible.”

As well as the NCFM, the project will be supported by leading experts from Leeds University, the food laboratory Campden BRI, food specialists Food Sync, and paediatric dietitian Paula Hallam.