Nature’s Finest is hoping to convince adults to eat from babyfood-style pouches with a new launch under the WeightWatchers brand.

The fruit snacks roll out in August in Tropical Crush with pineapple, mango & peach; and Berry Crush with raspberry, blackberry & redcurrant (rsp: 85p/90g).

Pouches had huge potential as a packaging format for adult foods, said Nature’s Finest marketing manager Georgina Edmonds. Partnering with a big brand would give the format greater credibility. “The UK consumer needs added reassurance from a lifestyle brand,” she said.

US pouch fruit and superfood brand Smooch, which postponed a UK launch last year but is now in talks with several UK retailers, admitted there were challenges in getting consumers to adopt the format, as well as in merchandising in-store. Adult products needed to offer clear differentiation from products for children, said Smooch co-founder Carlo Buckley.

UK business Fill n Squeeze, which sells a system enabling consumers to pouch their own homemade babyfood, plans to launch a range for sports enthusiasts, bodybuilders and office workers. Set to roll out later this year, the new pouches will be twice the size of its current babyfood products and will be branded for adults.

“It’s a market that can be further explored,” said founder Rifat Jan. Consumers were increasingly used to an array of products in pouches and did not necessarily associate pouches only with toddler or pet food, she added.

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