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BOOST Kid Essentials Nutritionally Complete Drink – Nutritious Candy Juice?

8 Replies
photo: Nestle Nutrition

photo: Nestle Nutrition

Last month, Nestle Nutrition, a subsidiary of Nestle, launched BOOST Kid Essentials Nutritionally Complete Drink. According to Nestle’s press release:

…parents have a new way of providing their children with optimal nutrition and protective benefits… the only nutritionally complete drink that gives kids ages 1 through 13 the power of immune-strengthening probiotics plus complete, balanced nutrition…fortifies a child’s diet with 25 essential vitamins and minerals, seven grams of muscle-building protein, key antioxidants and 244 energy-packed calories.

BOOST Kid Essentials Drink can fill in nutritional gaps and help support the strong growth and healthy immune system every child deserves. As a refreshing treat or meal, BOOST Kid Essentials Drink can be part of a child’s daily diet.

“Parents can feel good knowing they are building the right health foundation for their children with this one-of-a-kind product,…”

What you need to know:

All of the above is great, but we’d like to know what’s in inside. Specifically – how do they get kids to like it.

Especially because the press release boasts:

does not contain high-fructose corn syrup

A look at the ingredient list, reveals that 3 out of the first four ingredients are sugar:

Ingredients: WATER, SUGAR, MALTODEXTRIN, FRUCTOSE,…

In fact, in an email response to our question, Nestle Consumer Services stated that an 8 fl oz (1 cup) serving contains 24 grams of sugars. That’s the equivalent of FIVE TEASPOONS of sugar!

Is this a sweet deal for parents?

At $2.50 a pop (a 6 pack costs $14.99 at Walgreens), this sounds more like expensive candy juice with a torrent of nutrients thrown in.

Can’t kids get their vitamins and minerals from real food?

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  • Corey

    I’ll admit, I was about to defend this. But then I try to get on nestle’s site to see what the calorie information on the product was. They offer it all right. In two handy ways. By milliliter….and by “brik pack”. The pack has 355 calories total, and its 1.5 calories by ml. Okay, why are they being vague? Tell me the calories of what the kid is actually going to drink. How many bottles are in a pack, or how many milliliters are is a bottle? This is somewhat shady I feel.

  • Corey

    Just found another source that says one version of this(apparently there are two) has 244 calories per 8.25 oz for all three flavors, so im assuming that that is how many fluid oz there are in the bottle. If nestle pulled the “multiple servings in a bottle clearly meant to be consumed in one sitting” stunt, I’ll be a little angry. But let’s assume the bottle is just 244 calories for the entire thing. Okay, this is for 1 year olds it says. According to the American Heart Association-http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3033999
    a one year old male needs 900 calories a day. The calorie counts are for inactive people I believe, as the 18 year old male requirement is 2200, which seems a little low for even a moderate athlete. So let’s be nice and say 1000 calories a day. Should a child get one-fourth of his days calories from a drink? I think not. I mean that’s almost a meal for a one year old. And the “health halo” might make parents more at ease in other areas. They’re eating McDonald’s, but at least they have BOOST! They’ll be okay! Hopefully.

  • ginn

    I dont know what to do I have a 12 year old son who eats nothing but peanut butter and after what has went on with that whole thing I am not so sure I want to even buy it. So, I thought ok boost will help me to be sure he gets what he needs. He eats two finstones every morning with some cereal (most mornings he is not hungry) He loves pizza so that is my only options with food right now. How do I make sure he gets what his growing body needs?

    • http://www.fooducate.com/blog staff

      Hi ginn,

      A visit with a dietitian is highly recommended. But aside from that here are several additional pointers:

      How about getting your son involved with food preparation at home? Children that participate in the selection of food at the supermarket, and then cooking it, tend to be more interested in the eating part as well.

      Try to incorporate peanut butter into food other than sandwiches. Celery sticks with peanut butter, Asian style noodles, chicken satay.

      Set a positive example by eating healthy as well.

  • Stacie

    My 2 yr old daughter was recently put on Boost Kid essential 1.5 because she is considered as “failure to thrive”. She is suppose to drink 1 a day, but she can’t even get through 3oz of it before she is full. Is there any other way I can incorporate the drinks to get it in her without her actually drinking it? Like mixing it with pudding or something along the line of that? Thank you

    • http://www.fooducate.com/blog Editorial Staff

      @Stacie
      You really should consult with a registered dietitian who can see your daughter on this.

  • reesy

    “24 grams of sugars” is not “the equivalent of FIVE TABLESPOONS of sugar”.

    You’re mixing up teaspoons with tablespoons:

    24 grams of sugars is the equivalent of (approximately) FIVE TEASPOONS of sugar.

    There’s no need to incorrectly inflate your claims. You lose your message…

    • http://www.fooducate.com/blog Editorial Staff

      @Reesy, thanks for spotting that. fixed.