Beech-Nut Launches New Baby Food Line and Approach to Feeding Baby Based on Significant Research, New Ingredients.

New products give infants the right nutrition at the right time of day; make choosing what baby eats easier for moms

ST. LOUIS -- Beech-Nut Nutrition Corporation announced today the launch of a new and innovative line of baby foods, Good Morning and Good Evening. The new offerings are based on significant research on the benefits of feeding infants based on the time of day and their nutritional needs. This new line of products makes choosing what to feed baby easier on moms, and more importantly, provides babies with the nutrition that they need to learn and grow at just the right times.

Beech-Nut Good Morning and Good Evening will be on shelf by mid-April and available where Beech-Nut Baby Food is sold, and are line priced with other Beech-Nut fruited cereals and jars. The new line will be supported with consumer advertising starting in May.

"Good Morning and Good Evening represent Beech-Nut's commitment to innovation and nutrition in baby food, and to stimulating the category through providing choices for parents," says Christoph Rudolf, President and CEO of Beech-Nut Nutrition Corporation. "In addition to bringing fresh approaches to the category, we are committed to communicating these fresh ideas by updating our package design to bring it more in line with our premium brand positioning."

Following its history of innovation based on nutritional benefits, Beech-Nut relied on solid and significant research to develop Good Morning and Good Evening. Dr. Richard Theuer is a pediatric nutritionist and nutritional consultant to Beech-Nut who is adjunct professor of food science at North Carolina State University and nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"Much like adults, infants can benefit from a healthy breakfast that's made with whole grain and soluble fiber to encourage a steady release of energy throughout the morning to help keep them alert and eager to learn and play," said Dr. Theuer. "At night time, because babies grow more when they are resting, they need a diet containing high quality protein to help build muscle."

Beech-Nut food scientists applied these principles and created Good Morning and Good Evening, the first line of baby food that's specially formulated to provide babies with the nutrients that they need, when they need them.

In addition to high quality protein to help keep babies calm and relaxed during the evening, Good Evening includes another beneficial ingredient that can help babies' digestive health - a prebiotic called inulin found naturally in some foods, like chicory root. Prebiotics help digestion by stimulating the growth of "good" bacteria in a baby's digestive system. Beech-Nut is the first major jarred baby food and cereals to include prebiotics.

The new product line includes two 8 oz dry cereals, and five varieties of 4 oz jarred food each in Good Morning and Good Evening. Dry cereal flavors include Good Morning Oatmeal with Mixed Fruit and Whole Grain Oatmeal & Chiquita[R] Bananas, and Good Evening Brown Rice and Whole Grain Mixed Grain. Jar food varieties include Good Morning Peach Oatmeal Banana, Rice Cereal & Apple with Egg, Cinnamon Raisin Granola, Mixed Fruit Yogurt, and Country Breakfast, and Good Evening Turkey Tetrazzini, Hearty Vegetable Stew, Ginger Chicken & Veggies, Creamy Chicken Noodle, and Ham, Pineapple & Rice.

Good Morning and Good Evening follow in Beech-Nut's rich history of industry innovation and dedication to infant nutrition. Beech-Nut baby foods were first to offer developmental stage-specific varieties and ingredients designed to help parents follow the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) feeding guidelines. Beech-Nut also introduced the first line of baby food with DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and ARA (arachidonic acid), nutrients, found naturally in breast milk, recognized by pediatric and nutrition experts worldwide as important building blocks of the central nervous system.

Beech-Nut is still the only major baby food brand free of added refined sugar as part of its commitment to babies and their healthy development. All of Beech-Nut's cereal and jarred foods are all-natural with added vitamins and minerals and its jarred baby foods contain no added salt, starches, or refined sugars.

About Beech-Nut

Since 1931, Beech-Nut Nutrition Corporation has been built on a history of innovation and dedication to infant nutrition. Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, Beech-Nut is the number two leading baby food brand in the United States and is committed to deliver more nutritious choices for parents and babies. As a subsidiary of Hero Group of Lenzburg, Switzerland, a global leader in consumer goods and infant feeding, Beech-Nut is able to combine resources to continuously improve food and nutrition for infants.