Local Baby Food Brands Are Disrupting Lebanon’s Market

As scrutiny mounts over hidden sugars and misleading marketing in leading baby food brands, local mothers in Lebanon are providing healthy homemade alternatives.

Mom of two Jennifer Mansour hates cooking, so she never expected to build a baby food brand. Nor did she expect it to grow into a flourishing business that is revolutionizing the way Lebanese parents feed their children. “One person referred another, then another, and things started growing. Sure enough, I was cooking on a daily basis and delivering food to different homes,” the 31-year-old told Middle East Uncovered.

Six years later, her company, Little Melly, is favored by parents in Lebanon for its healthy baby food and toddler snacks. Many now trust Mansour’s freshly made recipes over foreign imports as shoppers grow wise to harmful ingredients lurking behind the labels of big brands. “It’s been a prime time for us to be in business. Had we launched 10 years ago, it would not have worked the way it has,” said Mansour.

Controversies surrounding the content of baby cereals and food pouches have contributed to a growing global awareness of the risks posed by some ready-made infant meals. Leading brands promising nutrient-rich contents that support healthy growth stand accused of omissions and misrepresentation, particularly around the amount of added sugar and preservatives contained in each serving.

As parents question the promises on brightly-colored packets, Lebanese start-ups are filling a glaring gap in the market. Where international baby food brands were once the preferred option, now homegrown businesses are gaining momentum. “There is definitely a shift. I see it very clearly. Parents in Lebanon are willing to spend a bit more if it’s for their kid’s health,” said Mansour.

This move is reflected on a global scale as concerns mount over the contents of convenience foods for early years eaters. A controversy last year involving food and beverage giant Nestlé found that the company adds sugar and honey to infant milk and cereal products sold in low- and middle-income countries, contrary to international guidelines.

The inquiry, conducted by the Swiss investigative organization Public Eye, found added sugar in Nestlé brands sold in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, including Nido, a powdered milk intended for children aged one and above, and Cerelac, a cereal for children aged six months to two years.

And here’s the kicker. Such products sold in Nestlé’s main European markets contained no added sugar.

“There is a double standard here that can’t be justified,” said Nigel Rollins, scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO).

In response, Nestlé told Public Eye that it had “reduced by 11 percent the total amount of added sugars in [its] infant cereal portfolio worldwide” over the past decade, and that it will “further reduce the level of added sugars without compromising on quality, safety and taste”.

Nido and Cerelac are popular in Lebanon, where commercial infant foods, including formulas, cereals, purées, and packaged snacks, are widely used. Parents often turn to these products for convenience, and because their marketing portrays them as essential for healthy growth.

A national survey found that nearly half (48.9%) of children aged 6 to 23 months consumed “unhealthy” food, including sugary baby products.

“Many parents are unaware of hidden sugars or additives, as packaging and branding suggest that such foods are automatically ‘healthy.’ At the same time, busy family schedules and limited support systems make ready-made options appealing, even when parents would prefer to prepare meals at home,” said Myriam Tabangi, a Pediatric Dietitian.

The report pointed to a loophole in labelling standards that allows companies to list only the total sugar content of a product, thereby avoiding transparency about the percentage of added sugar. A market analysis of 117 infant formulas and baby foods in Lebanon revealed a widespread failure among baby food products to disclose the total amount of added sugar.

But the monopoly of big brands in the multi-billion-dollar baby food industry is being challenged as word spreads via social media, pediatricians, nutritionists, and local baby food brands about ingredients that pose a risk to children’s health.

Tabangi has observed this shift at her practice in Beirut. Parents have begun sending her pictures of baby food products, asking questions about nutrition, and questioning the safety of commercial infant foods. “This growing skepticism is encouraging. It shows that awareness is spreading,” she said.

However, for this shift to translate into healthier habits, support needs to come from multiple sources. “Both healthcare professionals and government authorities need to play their part: by guiding families with clear, honest information, ensuring proper regulations, and creating an environment where healthier choices are easier to make,” she added.

This is where homegrown brands can play a powerful role, offering affordable, locally made meals with simple, transparent ingredients.

As a busy mom juggling a career with multinational companies, Roula Al Sayegh fed Cerelac to her first child, now 20, believing it to be a healthy option. Over time, she became aware of the hidden sugars in many commercial baby foods and switched to organic brands for her youngest child. “I thought, why should my son eat this because his mother doesn’t read the label, but many don’t.”

It was during the COVID-19 pandemic that she decided to launch a line of baby purees that prioritize wholesome ingredients without the additives. “It’s very costly to get the flavor without adding sugary products, but it’s not an option for us to use sugar,” said Al Sayegh, who channelled her experience as an agricultural food engineer into creating recipes based on local ingredients for her baby food brand Natura Spoon.

After starting with apple puree made from apples in her village, Al Sayegh expanded her repertoire. “As a local brand, we focus on foods like olive oil, bulbul, courgette, tomatoes, and red lentils—ingredients that are part of our meals and traditions,” she said.

Lebanon’s sunny climate produces fruit and vegetables that are packed with flavor, which Al Sayegh harnesses to create products with no added sugar or fruit concentrate, a potential source of hidden sugars depending on the production process.

“Fruit concentrate is quick and produces a huge number of pouches…but it’s not real food. All the flavor comes from sugar,” Al Sayegh said.

Added sugars, also known as “free sugars,” are often considered to provide “empty calories” because they have minimal nutritional value. Free sugars are the sugars added to food and drinks, or those naturally present in pureed fruit after becoming separated from the fibre during the blending process.

The World Health Organization states that babies under one year should have as little added sugar as possible. Children aged one to two should have no more than 10g of free sugars a day, amounting to two and a half sugar cubes, according to the National Health Service (NHS) in Great Britain.

Yet baby food brands regularly market products for infants as young as four months old that contain more than the recommended daily sugar intake.

Damning research by the BBC’s Panorama found that many baby food pouches failed to meet key nutritional needs while “intentionally misleading” parents with marketing. Some claimed to be “good for brains” and “as nutritionally good as homemade”, despite containing well below the recommended daily intake for iron and other key nutrients.

In a separate survey by the British Dental Association of 209 food products aimed at children under 12 months, over a quarter contained more sugar by volume than Coca-Cola. Boutique brands are among the worst offenders, the survey said, with one “bedtime blend” marketed as suitable before sleep containing 13g of sugar per portion.

The survey found that 37 out of 60 fruit pouches on supermarket shelves in the UK contained more free sugar than the 10g WHO guideline.

Parents need to read labels closely, regardless of the advertising, said Dr. Edouard Sayad, MD, a pediatrician and pediatric pulmonologist at LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital.

“The early introduction of sugar during childhood, as well as preservatives in commercially available jars and baby foods, negatively impacts our children’s health early on. It has been associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, hypertension, even to a certain extent, asthma, and more frequent infections,” he explained.

“Kids who start with healthy, homemade, natural food, rather than food with excess sugar and preservatives, have better outcomes on all levels, medically,” he said.

In Lebanon, nursery and pre-school settings are replacing processed options with home-made meals. “There are now a lot of small startups—companies that are entering the baby food market with healthy options, really preaching the low-sugar policy,” Dr Sayad added.

For many Lebanese parents, the primary barrier is financial. Healthy food costs more, and for some families, it’s not an option they can afford to eat every day.

Economic challenges, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently the war in Gaza, have contributed to rising rates of food insecurity in Lebanon. A detailed analysis published in 2022 described infant and young child feeding practices in Lebanon as “suboptimal,” with low dietary diversity and frequent consumption of sweetened beverages and other foods high in sugar, salt, and/or unhealthy fats.

After launching NaturaSpoon in 2020, Al Sayegh partnered with USAID, UNDP, and other development organizations to expand her product range. Her brand has since participated in the Food System Challenge as the country seeks to address national shortages that intensified during the pandemic.

Social and cultural factors also compound economic challenges and concerns around non-compliance with labelling standards. Maternity leave in Lebanon is typically short, usually around 10 weeks, and mothers often have limited opportunities to prepare nutritious meals for their babies once they return to work.

“This is where our job as nutritionists comes in, to help working mums find ways of batch cooking meals and using the freezer to safely store foods that can be offered over the course of weeks,” said Yasmina Dakik, a Pediatric Nutritionist and professional certified Health Coach in Lebanon.

Professional advice is expensive, and in the absence of national awareness campaigns, the majority of parents rely on pediatricians for advice.

“There is a vast amount of scientific research to prove that rice cereal can do more harm than good, yet you see (some) pediatricians pressuring mums to start with commercial iron-fortified cereals as early as four to five months of age,” Dakik added.

The powerful influence of older generations in Lebanon means that outdated practices like these often prevail when it comes to milestones like weaning.

For new parents, the opinion of the mother or mother-in-law can be challenging to dispute, even if it contradicts current guidelines. “This is something we tackled early on at Little Melly—to gain the acceptance of the grandmother. They are a decision maker in this process,” said Mansour.

Her mission to improve access to healthy food for babies and raise awareness around infant nutrition arose after she started weaning her daughter, Melanie. Researching the market, she realized there were no products available that she was willing to feed her child. As the business expanded, she dug into books on child nutrition, deepening her resolve to revolutionise infant feeding in Lebanon.

She learned that by the time a child is three, their brain is 80 percent formed, and that nutrition is one of the key pillars that support optimal brain development. These discoveries prompted her to develop nutrition courses for parents, challenging misconceptions about infant feeding and providing a channel for information that reflects the latest research.

Weaning advice in Lebanon, like in many other countries, traditionally encouraged parents to start with baby rice because its smooth texture and sweet taste appear similar to breastmilk. “Now you find more doctors saying skip it altogether and dive into vegetables, meat, and other ingredients,” Mansour said.

In a market long dominated by foreign imports, the rise of homegrown baby food brands like Little Melly and Natura Spoon reflects a growing movement toward transparency and sustainability. As a new generation of parents questions the promises on packaging, local brands are gaining momentum, shaking the monopoly of international giants as they come under scrutiny.

For Mansour, building the brand while raising her daughters has been a juggle—one that reflects the mounting demand for nourishing alternatives to home-cooked baby meals among time-poor parents. It’s this imperative that motivates her through the challenges as she strives to make healthy options accessible across Lebanon. “I want babies to have an amazing future, to raise the next generation sustainably, and to make a difference in these children’s lives,” she said.

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