Happy Family Organics® Makes Organic Accessible To More Babies In The U.S. By Introducing New Options Available For WIC-Eligible Families

NEW YORK, July 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Happy Family® Organics, the largest organic baby food brand in America, is furthering its mission to change the trajectory of children's health through nutrition by expanding its premium, transparency-focused Happy Baby® Clearly Crafted™ line to WIC-eligible families with the addition of a jars offering.

"Our mission is, and always has been, deeply ingrained in everything we do, including our business objectives and priorities. We pride ourselves on developing products and solutions that center around the evolving needs of today's families with organic nutrition at the core," said Shazi Visram, Founder and ChairMom of Happy Family Organics. "From day one, we've supported under-served communities through donations and partnerships with non-profits, but it has always been a dream of mine to provide all families with more seamless access to organic products they need and want."

Every year, almost two million babies are born into families that are eligible to participate in The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). This program provides grants to individual states to support low-income households (under $46k in annual income for a family of 4) who are nutritionally at-risk.² These families receive funds for a defined set of foods to help subsidize the cost of feeding their children. However, currently very few organic options are authorized for purchase with WIC funds. In fact, today only 12 of the 50 states approve organic products for infants at all.

Jars are one of the few organic baby food formats authorized for purchase through WIC, but only under strict retail price and sizing requirements. With this in mind, Happy Family Organics is proud to introduce Happy Baby® Clearly Crafted™ Jars, creating an option from their premium, organic line that is accessible for all families.

The initial launch of the Clearly Crafted line in 2016 was a response to parents' interest in more openness and honesty from companies. Happy Family Organics decided to make a bold commitment to transparency; the line features the first fully-transparent baby food pouch made with premium, organic ingredients, and includes the actual and complete recipes directly on packaging. Additionally, they launched HappyFarms.com – a website where parents can learn more about the exact farms from which ingredients are sourced. The success of this pouch-based line has transformed the category, but the company knew it could do more to serve the needs of all families starting on their feeding journey; 45% of parents use glass jars to introduce their baby to solid foods. By extending the Clearly Crafted line into glass jars, they are providing a premium solution to this more intimate spoon-feeding occasion.

"Clearly Crafted is our most premium line and one that I'm extremely proud to feed my own children. We believe all babies deserve access to wholesome foods with easy-to-read ingredients and we know from speaking to WIC-eligible moms that 48% feel that there are not enough organic brands available to them.³ This didn't seem right to us," said Anne Laraway CEO of Happy Family Organics. "Clearly Crafted jars are truly meant for all babies in the US and this is the first moment that we are able to say that. We're really proud to provide a premium, organic option for more families – one they can feel confident feeding their children."

Happy Family Organics is proud to be working with the various state WIC organizations toward state authorization of its Happy Baby Clearly Crafted Jars, knowing that the first 1,000 days of a baby's life is a vital window that defines a child's wellness blueprint. And, since Happy Family Organics' portfolio is 100% organic, parents can be sure that they are free from pesticides that are harmful to human health. The jars are already WIC-authorized in Florida, Minnesota, Texas, West Virginia and Vermont (approximately 20% of the organic WIC market) and are in the process of receiving certification in additional states.

Further, their goal is to support the growth of total organic foods in the WIC program and are committed to navigating the state-by-state acceptance process. The brand advocates for the expansion of organic options in the WIC program in every individual state through discussions with state leaders around the benefits of organic. In some cases, these conversations have led to a state's first-ever acceptance of organic infant fruits and vegetable purees.

"Our goal is to support as many families as possible and we always put babies before business," said Laraway. In addition to the work the brand does to advocate for the expansion of organic options in the WIC program, they launched a free, live chat service on their website in 2017, providing parents individualized support from Happy Mama Mentors, a team of experts who are all lactation specialists and registered dietitians certified in infant and maternal nutrition (and all moms!).

Through this service, Happy Family Organics has provided free advice to more than 15,000 parents and is continually finding ways to expand this service so that more parents have access to quality nutritional information. "The feedback we receive from parents who chat with us is so inspiring. Providing this free service has been extremely rewarding for the team, knowing we are positively effecting the health of more children," said Laraway.

Happy Baby Clearly Crafted Jars are available nationwide in mass retailers and grocery stores. For more information about Happy Family Organics and the entire Happy Baby Clearly Crafted line, including cereal, meals and snacks, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and visit www.happyfamilyorganics.com and happyfarms.com.

About Happy Family Organics
Launched on Mother's Day 2006, Happy Family Organics is the largest and fastest growing organic food brand to offer an extensive line of nutritious foods for babies, toddlers, kids and their mothers. Beginning with baby's first few years of life, Happy Family Organics provides an enlightened assortment of organic meals and snacks to help support a lifetime of wellness. Constantly innovating, Happy Family Organics strives to offer families the right nutrition for every stage of development.

From five SKUs in five stores in 2006 to over 100 SKUs in national distribution, Happy Family Organics continues to earn its place as one of the fastest growing baby food companies in the baby food aisle, as awarded by Fast Company in 2012 and 2013. Happy Family Organics' founder Shazi Visram is a mom on a mission and was honored as one of Babble's 100 Moms who are changing the world and lauded by President Obama as "a rockstar of the new economy and a leader we can all emulate." Happy to Help, the brand's social initiative, most recently partnered with The Small Things, an organization that helps orphans in Tanzania live a happy, healthy life, to build the Happy Family Children's Village. For additional information, please contact [email protected] or visit www.happyfamilyorganics.com.

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¹ Based on $ Sales from IRI Infoscan Custom Database – YTD 2018 through 06.17.18
² https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic 
³ Happy Family Custom Survata Concept Testing, May 2017. N = 300.

SOURCE Happy Family Organics

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