Thursday, June 23, 2011

A Keurig-style machine for baby formula?

I think you can easily gather from my name that I LOVE coffee. I consider myself to be a coffee aficionado and connoisseur. Some of you might call me an addict. Whatever… I may or may not resemble that remark!
Have you heard of Keurig? It’s the latest thing in making your morning routine simpler. A lot of my friends love their Keurig machine and think it makes a great cup of coffee. Personally, I am not a huge fan of the Keurig machine. I admit it. Don’t boo me if you own one. To each their own! Right? I like being able to buy my organic beans, grind them, use filtered water and make the absolute perfect cup of coffee my way.
I was flabbergasted when I happened upon an article about a Keurig-style machine that Nestle created for the sole purpose of making baby formula. At first glance the concept seems sort of scandalous, while at the same time strangely interesting and novel. Nestle calls their machine “BabyNes,” and it’s being marketed as a “new lifestyle consumer machine.”
The machine costs almost $300 and the capsules of baby formula cost almost 4 times as much as their coffee equivalent. One feature is a built-in water filtration system to eliminate concerns over bad water being consumed by infants. The BabyNes is being trialed in Switzerland before Nestle determines if they will expand into other markets, including those in developing nations.
Critics of the BabyNes say, “The current trend is manipulating young mothers into believing infant feeding is a lifestyle event like drinking Nespresso.”
Nestle has had problems over the years when it comes to their baby formula products, including some quality control issues related to bacterial contamination. Some people believe that the machine would feed into “rampant commercialism that could come at the expense of infant health.”
I breastfed both of my boys and I can tell you with some confidence that I would probably never own a machine like this, had they been around when my boys were babies. That’s not to say that for some women it would be a wonderful thing, particularly those who are unable to breastfeed their babies. But, you would probably need to have a fairly large wallet to afford it!
Is this a product you would like to buy? I’d love to hear what you think about this machine! Please leave your comments below.  
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...