Kid Cuisine

Last updated
Kid Cuisine
Industry Frozen dinner
Founded1989;35 years ago (1989)
Area served
United States
Parent ConAgra
Website kidcuisine.com

Kid Cuisine is a brand of packaged frozen meals first sold in April 1989 [1] and marketed by Conagra Foods. [2] Described as a "frozen food version of a Happy Meal", [3] the product is marketed towards children, while assuring parents of nutritional benefits. The mascot of the brand is a penguin named K.C. (short for "Kid Cuisine"), [4] while the former was a different penguin named B.J. and a polar bear named "The Chef". [5]

Contents

Nutrition and marketing techniques

Kid Cuisine is what its own marketing agency in the 1990s and 2000s described as a "kid-driven request item", that is, children would ask their parents to buy these items. [6] Advertisements for Kid Cuisine were consciously aimed at the child, which was urged to request their mothers or parental guardians to buy these items, especially in the upper range of the 3-10 year old range the brand aimed at. [7]

Kid Cuisine relies on advertising with TV and movie characters, including The Avengers , Frozen , and SpongeBob SquarePants ; the company also had a "Hello Kitty" chicken nugget dinner. [3]

Most Kid Cuisine meals have been attested historically to be composed of three or four foods, including some with desserts like cakes, smoothies, cookies, brownies, and pudding, which has color-changing sprinkles. The other foods included are burgers, french fries, tacos, quesadillas, hot dogs, corn dogs, chicken nuggets and drumsticks, macaroni and cheese, fish sticks, pizza, vegetables such as corn, fruit snacks, spaghetti, and occasionally breakfast foods like pancakes, sausages, berry toppings and tater tots as well as fruit cups.

Between April 26, 2022 and June 11, 2022, Kid Cuisine changed their logo and mascot to a simpler logo, and K.C. is now a more realistic penguin rather than the cartoon. [4]

Criticism

The foods sold under the brand often have what Bettina Elias Siegel, author of Kid Food, called "nutritionally questionable combos", including "cheeseburgers or mac and cheese served with corn and gummy candy,[ sic ] chicken nuggets served with French fries and pudding", inter alia . By 2010, such foods were increasingly questioned as the obesity epidemic took center stage, and Conagra developed a new marketing technique to keep convincing mothers to buy these products for their children. With the slogan "The more you know, the less you 'no'", they attempted to convince mothers that Kid Cuisine did actually provide nutritional foods that mothers would not have to say "no" to. But "good reasons" to say "yes" were, according to Siegel, very weak, and included assurances about some of the meals containing minerals and vitamins, and "minor nutritional tweaks" like using whole grain flour for the breading of chicken nuggets. In addition, the brand changed its mascots, ran an ad campaign aimed directly at children, which included games where children could sign up and win prizes. 20,000 children signed up online in 17 days, and many came back again and again to play branded games. The dual strategy that, according to Siegel, is at work here, targets parents and children: parents' "nutritional vigilance" is eroded, while children are encouraged to demand "unhealthy" products. [6]

Meals

Kid Cuisine meals that are still known to be produced, as of 2024:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of the Midwestern United States</span> Regional cuisine of the United States

The cuisine of the American Midwest draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Indigenous cuisine of the Americas, and is influenced by regionally and locally grown foodstuffs and cultural diversity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicken nugget</span> Small pieces of deboned, breaded, and battered chicken meat

A chicken nugget is a food product consisting of a small piece of deboned chicken meat that is breaded or battered, then deep-fried or baked. Developed in the 1950s by finding a way to make a coating adhere, chicken nuggets have become a very popular fast food restaurant item, and are widely sold frozen for home use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Happy Meal</span> Childrens meal sold by McDonalds

A Happy Meal is a kids' meal usually sold at the American fast food restaurant chain McDonald's since June 1979. A small toy or book is included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a red cardboard box with a yellow smiley face and the McDonald's logo. The packaging and toy are frequently part of a marketing tie-in to an existing television series, film or toyline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corn dog</span> Deep-fried, corn-battered hot dog on a stick

A corn dog is a wiener on a stick that has been coated in a thick layer of cornmeal batter and deep fried. It originated in the United States and is commonly found in American cuisine.

Lunchables is an American brand of food and snacks manufactured by Kraft Heinz in Chicago, Illinois, and marketed under the Oscar Mayer brand. They were initially introduced in Seattle in 1988 before being released nationally in 1989. Many Lunchables products are produced in a Garland, Texas, facility, and are then distributed across the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swanson</span> American food brand

Swanson is a brand of TV dinners, broths, and canned poultry made for the North American and Hong Kong markets. The former Swanson Company was founded in Omaha, Nebraska, where it developed improvements of the frozen dinner. The TV dinner business is currently owned by Conagra Brands, while the broth business is currently owned by the Campbell Soup Company. TV dinner products currently sold under the brand include Swanson's Classics TV dinners and pot pies, and the current broth lineup includes chicken broth and beef broth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salvadoran cuisine</span> Culinary traditions of El Salvador

Salvadoran cuisine is a style of cooking derived from the nation of El Salvador. The indigenous foods consist of a mix of Amerindian cuisine from groups such as the Lenca, Pipil, Maya Poqomam, Maya Chʼortiʼ, Alaguilac and Cacaopera peoples and some African influences. Many of the dishes are made with maize (corn). There is also heavy use of pork and seafood. European ingredients were incorporated after the Spanish conquest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corn chowder</span> Creamy corn soup from the United States

Corn chowder is a chowder soup prepared using corn as a primary ingredient. Basic corn chowder is commonly made of corn, onion, celery, milk or cream, and butter. Additional ingredients sometimes used include potatoes or squash, salt pork, fish, seafood and chicken. In the United States, recipes for corn chowder date to at least as early as 1884. Corn chowder is mass-produced as a canned food in the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old El Paso</span> American brand of Tex-Mex food

Old El Paso is a brand of Tex-Mex-style foods from American food producer General Mills. These include dinner kits, tacos and tortillas, taco seasoning, sauces, condiments, rice, and refried beans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lean Cuisine</span> Brand of frozen entrées

Lean Cuisine is a brand of frozen entrées and dinners sold in the United States by Nestlé, and in Australia by Vesco. The brand began as low-fat, low-calorie versions of Stouffer's products. Today, Lean Cuisine includes traditional dinners, ethnic dishes, pizzas, whole-grain Spa Cuisine entreés, and panini. The headquarters of Lean Cuisine in the United States is located in Solon, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antojito</span> Mexican street food called "antojitos" in Spanish

Mexican street food, called antojitos, is prepared by street vendors and at small traditional markets in Mexico. Street foods include tacos, tamales, gorditas, quesadillas, empalmes, tostadas, chalupa, elote, tlayudas, cemita, pambazo, empanada, nachos, chilaquiles, fajitas, tortas, even hamburgers and hot dogs, as well as fresh fruits, vegetables, beverages and soups such as menudo, pozole and pancita. Most are available in the morning and the evening, as mid-afternoon is the time for the main formal meal of the day. Mexico has one of the most extensive street food cultures in Latin America, and Forbes named Mexico City as one of the foremost cities in the world in which to eat on the street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fijian cuisine</span> Culinary tradition

Fijian cuisine has long consisted of primarily foraged and farm-grown food. Although rice, wheat, and tea all became staples during Fiji's colonial era, native Fijians still eat primarily tubers and coconuts. The cuisine of Fiji is known for its seafood and various green vegetables, including ''ota'', a young forest fern, and ''bele'', a plant that resembles spinach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of Wisconsin</span> Food and drinks from Wisconsin

The cuisine of Wisconsin is a type of Midwestern cuisine found throughout the state of Wisconsin in the United States of America. Known as "America's Dairyland", Wisconsin is famous for its cheese as well as other dairy products, such as cheese curds and frozen custard. Other notable foods common to the region include bratwursts, beer, brandy Old Fashioned cocktails, butter burgers, fish fries and fish boils, cranberries, and booyah stew.

Looney Tunes Meals were a line of frozen dinners released by Tyson Foods in 1990. They were based on the characters from the eponymous Warner Bros. cartoons and targeted primarily at children. The meals were discontinued in late 1993 because of declining sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kidfresh</span> Brand of meals for children

Kidfresh is a brand that offers processed food specifically designed for children. It is available at various retailers, including Whole Foods, Kroger, Safeway, Target, and ShopRite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libby's</span> Canned food brand

Libby's was an American company that produced canned food and beverages. The firm was established in 1869 in Chicago, Illinois. The Libby's trademark is currently owned by Libby's Brand Holding based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is licensed to several companies around the world.

References

  1. "Buehler's Food Markets print ad". The Herald. April 17, 1989. p. 35 via Newspapers.com.
  2. Kraak, Vivica I.; Gootman, Jennifer Appleton; McGinnis, J. Michael, eds. (2006). Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?. National Academies Press. p. 183. ISBN   9780309097130.
  3. 1 2 Farthing, Jessica (December 29, 2020). "15 Frozen Food Facts You Never Knew". Eat This, Not That. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Our Story | Kid Cuisine". www.kidcuisine.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  5. Gallup, Kate Hagan (2020-09-22). "The Real Reason Kid Cuisine Changed Mascots". Mashed. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  6. 1 2 Siegel, Bettina Elias (2019). Kid Food: The Challenge of Feeding Children in a Highly Processed World. Oxford University Press. pp. 67–68. ISBN   9780190862121.
  7. Coffey, Timothy J.; Siegel, David L.; Livingston, Gregory (2006). Marketing to the New Super Consumer: Mom & Kid. Paramount Market Publishing. pp. 56–58, 162–163. ISBN   9780976697329.