NaturKidz
In the first year of business and the first time they entered awards, Bonnie’s Slade’s Naturkidz was named 2024 Outstanding Food Producer Awards Free-From Champion for its Fruit Crispz range. What’s more they had four Gold Medals bestowed upon the product too. A Nelson mother of two, Bonnie wanted a healthy product for school lunch boxes - that wouldn’t return home at the end of the day. NaturKidz starts with good-quality but blemished fruit that would usually end up in landfill creating a healthy, minimally processed, no additive, no preservative snack.
The morning sun spills over Nelson's orchards, painting dewed treelines in shimmering reds, blues, golds, and greens. Plump apples burden branches, juicy feijoas ripen nearby and blueberries, sweet and tart, are ready to burst. This warm nook of New Zealand boasts some of the world's finest fruit. Yet, not every piece of antipodean magic meets the stringent standards of modern supermarkets. Some are too small, others misshapen. A few somehow bear the "wrong" shade of red.
These are the "perfectly imperfect," as Bonnie Slade endearingly calls them, often left to wither on the vine or be discarded. Bonnie saw an opportunity where others saw waste. When frustrated by the lack of healthy, natural snacks for her children, she founded NaturKidz.
"I am my own target market," she says, "a full-time working parent, and I wanted the option of buying genuinely good kids' products off the shelf." And taking matters into the only hands worth trusting - a busy mum’s, in turn, produced pure gold.
At the 2024 Outstanding Food Producer Awards, NaturKidz took home a remarkable four Gold Medals for their innovative Fruit Crispz range, including their world-first Apple & Feijoa Sticks and their Apple Sticks, Blueberry & Apple Sticks, and Gold Kiwi Slices.
Even by the names you know, these aren't your typical, sugar-laden kids' snacks. NaturKidz Fruit Crispz are crafted from 100% New Zealand-grown fruit, picked at peak ripeness, sliced, freeze-dried, and packed with all their inherent goodness. No hidden nasties—just pure, near-unadulterated fruit, thanks to the freeze-drying process that locks in flavour and nutrients. "The whole idea was that I wanted a straightforward ingredients list and didn’t want to add anything," Bonnie explains.
"Freeze-drying was the ultimate way to get that while retaining the flavour." This innovative process preserves the fruit's vibrant colour, natural sweetness, and an impressive 97% of its nutrients, resulting in snacks that are both award-winningly tasty and nutritious. What’s more, they’re sustainable too.
NaturKidz champions local growers, reducing food waste and working closely with orchards often just a stone's throw from their factory. "It's criminal to see all that delicious fruit go to waste," Bonnie laments. "I wanted to use NZ-grown fruit and a decent supply of perfectly imperfect products. I can walk to the apples; feijoas are down the end of the road, golden apples down the other end."
Their Apple & Feijoa Sticks, a world-first, exemplify this commitment, showcasing the unique tropical flavour of a beloved Kiwi fruit often overlooked by the mainstream market. The judges of the 2024 Awards were universally impressed.
When reflecting on her young venture, barely a year old and already achieving four golds for its first four entries, Bonnie admits there’s only one true measure of success, "The number one thing is kids have to like it. No one is buying it if the kids aren't eating it."
And they are - from Hamilton to Ho Chi Minh. NaturKidz is exporting to Vietnam, Taiwan, and Malaysia, with plans to expand domestically and internationally. They've even launched a "Snack Fairies" subscription service, delivering healthy treats directly to homes.
NaturKidz is not just making snacks; they're redefining what it means to be "perfect," one lunchtime at a time. With their award-winning success and growing popularity, Bonnie and the team are poised for even bigger things and you can learn more by visiting ad purchasing them here.