WHAT MAKES SCRAPPLES DIFFERENT?

September 13, 2020

The covid lockdown forced us to reflect on many aspects of our lives, including our diets.

How, what and when we consume as individuals and families was laid bare as we spend more time eating together. It’s also shined a light on food waste at a time when people appreciate nature and our natural resources like never before (but that’s another blog).

One thing that surprised me was the frequency at which my kids snack. In trees, on trampolines, hiding under tables, upside down, watching CBeebies, in buggies, - before, during and after picnics, nursery and now school. Just keeping up is hard enough, let alone trying to achieve nutritional balance and variety at such regular intervals.

Lockdown also enabled me to review the work we’d done with families in developing Scrapples. I wanted to ensure we could still genuinely offer something different, true to our Waste Not, Want Lots ethos (i.e sustainable and delicious) but crucially nutritionally balanced. In doing so, I also wanted to make life easy for parents who like us, are likely to be juggling childcare, school runs and working, whilst fulfilling each and every snacking occasion in between. Not easy.

So we scrutinised the kids fruit snack market, delved into the Government's recent obesity strategy and calculated the real nutritional value of our products versus competitors using the Department for Healths (DfH) Nutrient Profiling Technical Guidance* to make sure we were creating something of real value for kids and parents alike.

So what makes us different?

Here are five points of difference that set our snacks apart from the majority of kids fruit snacks that are widely available in supermarkets:

No added sugar. Our apple crisps don’t contain added sugar, salt, saturated fat or oil like the majority of fruit snacks. Scrapples are also free from gluten, dairy, nuts, palm oil and 100% vegan friendly. Many kids fruit snacks are made from processed fruit (which is excluded when calculating nutritional values) or with small amounts of fruit juice - which has less nutritional value than whole fruit.*
One of your five a-day. With only 1 in 6 kids getting enough fruit and veg, our high fibre apple crisps will help contribute to a balanced diet. We also score points for providing protein, being low calorie (under 44 per bag) and being made with whole fruit. The majority of kids fruit snacks in supermarkets lack nutritional benefits i.e fibre and protein, to offset things like added sugar, salt and saturated fat.
Nothing artificial. Scrapples are 100% fruit, sliced whole and air-dried (never fried) providing all the nutritional goodness of fresh fruit without the preservatives or greasiness. The majority of processed fruit snacks have not only added sugar but are often made with palm oil, gelatine and preservatives.
School approved - our fruit crisps meet the School Food Trust and the Department for Health’s nutritional guidelines for healthier eating* - scoring under 4. The majority of processed soft fruit snacks qualify as less healthy, meaning they score above 4 points (often 2-4 times over!)* and therefore may face future restrictions as part of the Government's obesity strategy.
Sustainable - we use wonky raw and dried apples, often rejected for being oddly shaped, sized or coloured. Our packets are recyclable across the UK and our boxes and marketing materials are made from 100% recycled material. Our snacks are also 100% palm oil free.

In conclusion I’m pleased to say Scrapples is one of the most nutritionally balanced fruit snacks on the market and is officially classed as a healthier food by the DfH - with a score of 3. This is significant when you consider the majority of soft fruit snacks are well over the DfH threshold of <4 to be classed as a healthier snack. *Click here to read the Department for Health’s nutritional guidance.

Yes, we are relatively high in natural sugar (as fresh fruit is) but this more than balanced by the vital nutritional points we score for being made with whole fruit, being low calorie, high in fibre, a source of protein with no added salt, sugar, or saturated fat.

Hopefully we can make your life easier, and provide some balance wherever you find your kids snacking in the future.

Ben