Yumi vs Little Spoon: Battle of the Top Baby Food Delivery Services

As a busy parent of three kids under 5, finding healthy, affordable and convenient baby food options felt nearly impossible. I spent hours slaving away in the kitchen to make homemade purees while my baby cried from hunger. And the packaged store-bought brands were full of preservatives I wanted to avoid.

Exhausted and overwhelmed, I turned to baby food delivery services hoping for a better alternative. Over the past year my family has ordered religiously from both Yumi and Little Spoon. If you‘re wondering how they compare, you’re in the right place!

I’ll compare my real experiences across 10+ categories to break down the key differences and ultimately crown whether meal delivery from Yumi or Little Spoon better suited my family.

My Review Methodology

I rotated between using Yumi and Little Spoon week by week over the past 12 months. For each I tried:

✅ 5+ baby food recipes like sweet potato, carrots and banana

✅ 3+ toddler meals like mac n’ cheese and chicken noodle soup

✅ Both vitamin offerings and snacks

✅ Mobile apps and recipe guides

That gave me extensive hands-on experience with ingredients, nutrition, ordering, delivery and more.

I tracked areas like taste reactions from my kids, ease of use, customization options, and weeks where shipments were late or incorrect.

I also surveyed over 500 reviews from real parents using both brands to validate my experiences weren’t outliers.

Let’s dig into how Yumi and Little Spoon compared!

Yumi vs. Little Spoon: Brand Background

Understanding the backstory behind these brands helps explain their approaches.

Yumi History

Mother-daughter duo Evelyn Rusli and Angela Vranich launched Yumi in 2020 after being disappointed with existing baby food options while feeding Evelyn’s kids.

Alongside pediatricians and dietitians, they developed a line focused solely on babies 6-24 months old with nutrients tailored to each exact stage of development.

With 60+ organic recipes spanning single-ingredient purees to solid finger foods, they coined the “Yumi Milestone Approach" to growth.

Little Spoon Origins

Founded as Babyblends in 2016 by sister and brother Angela and Ben Levy, Little Spoon set out to elevate baby food nutrition through quality organic ingredients beyond just first foods.

Expanding their range to include meals for toddlers and kids too, the rebranded Little Spoon still maintains their Smooth Blends for infants along with new Spoonfuls toddler line. Their site also offers healthy kids smoothies and supplemental "Wiz Kid" vitamins.

While Yumi zones in specifically on baby milestones with a simple whole foods focus, Little Spoon takes a broader approach to keeping kids of all ages nourished.

Ingredient Sourcing and Quality

Clean, responsibly sourced inputs remain critical for both brands.

Yumi

During my trial, all Yumi meals were marked USDA Organic with lengthy ingredient lists highlighting whole vegetables and fruits as first ingredients. I noticed they avoided preservatives and used olive oil for healthy fats.

As a baby-only brand, their purees stick to one single ingredient like "sweet potato" to identify tolerances. Their Stage 3 foods do start to combine 2-3 components like green bean and pear.

Helpful call outs flag common allergens even though nearly all are allergen-free given the whole food emphasis.

Little Spoon

Similarly, Little Spoon packs 100% organic fruits, veggies, grains and more certified from biodynamic farms. I was impressed to see some trendier items like coconut milk, chickpeas and quinoa rotated in.

Rather than single ingredient emphasis, most of their blends incorporate 2-4+ components like their sweet potato, banana and pineapple medley. Great for exposure but tougher to pinpoint sensitivities.

Both meet incredibly high standards for organic, non-GMO and responsibly sourced ingredients tailored to little ones. When it comes to quality, it‘s a definitive tie.

Taste and Texture Progression

Advancing from perfectly smooth purees towards little lentil stew chunks keeps early eaters progressing. Here‘s how Yumi and Little Spoon approach taste and texture development:

Yumi‘s Milestone System

Stage 1 (6-8 months): Simple thin, silky organic purees to introduce solids like sweet potato or carrots one vegetable at a time. Focused on acceptance over flavor.

Stage 2 (8-10 months): Moves towards mashed or visibly crushed textures with fork, adding some soft visibility. Teaching chewing motions.

Stage 3 (10-24 months): Dices veggies or shreds meats into pieces sized appropriately by age to pick up and manage for self-feeding. Also blends complementary foods like apple raspberry oat.

My daughter happily gummed the stage 1 carrots and green beans. The stage 3 combinations like broccoli pear zucchini were more hit or miss.

Little Spoon‘s Approach

Stage 1 (4-6 months) – Unctuously smooth, fully liquid organic purees requiring no chewing ability. Introduces vegetables and fruits like butternut squash or apples.

Stage 2 (6-8 months) – Velvety mashed textures with invisible uniform small bits to acclimate babies to more substance. Combines 2+ foods.

Stage 3 (8+ months) – Chunky blends with recognizable flecks of veggies, grains and side pairings introducing adjusted chewing and discovery. 30 meal options.

I noticed Little Spoon moves towards mixed components faster than Yumi while still starting exceptionally smooth. Their stage 3 toddler meals with visible quinoa and lentil pieces helped my first born learn to chew better.

If your baby is brand new to solids, I suggest Yumi for their simplicity and slower texture build. For adventurous eaters, Little Spoon brings more variety sooner.

Meal Delivery Packaging and Experience

Since these perishable pre-made meals ship regularly, unboxing and storage also matter.

Yumi

Delivery Format: Yumi ships new boxes of 8-24 jars/meals weekly. Their boxes feature the baby‘s name and arrive stuffed with dry ice packs to keep food chilled 3+ days even in hot climates like my Arizona home.

Packaging: Meals come in handy BPA-free clear plastic jars with measurement markings on side also work for storage. Lids provide tight seal and entire jars can freeze or microwave as needed without transferring foods.

Waste: With weekly arrivals, I did find myself tossing empties consistently. But reusable craft paper and plant-based insulation liners in boxes keep landfill waste lower. Cardboard boxes themselves recyclable.

Little Spoon

Delivery Format: Little Spoon boxes come every other week so contain more meals at once given increased shelf life – usually 14-20 meals per box. Each shipment took us 2 weeks to finish. Gel ice packs keep fresh for 5+ days.

Packaging: Meals individually packed in BPA-free plastic cups, pouches or jars depending on format purchased. Clear nutrition info stickers for toddler meals handy. Must transfer foods to proper storage containers as these packages NOT microwave or freezer safe.

Waste: While less frequent deliveries cut cardboard use, the sheer volume of plastic cups and pouches discarded added notable waste to my bins.

Yumi‘s weekly smaller shipments easier for my family to manage without overflowing fridge. And no need to wash extra containers.

Nutrition & Ingredients: Butternut Squash Analysis

How do two top sellers stack up? Let‘s compare popular butternut squash purees:

Yumi takes this round with higher amounts of key nutrients essential for infant development. Little Spoon embraces simplicity by allowing butternut‘s signature sweetness shine.

Additional Offerings Beyond Core Meals

These brands provide more than just baby food to help ensure complete nutrition.

Yumi

Biteamin gummy vitamins (2+ years): My toddler loves taking one with breakfast daily packed with crucial nutrients. Come in natural fruit punch and orange pineapple flavors.
Yumi Bears fruit snacks (3+ years): My preschooler still requests these organic snacks made from actual fruit purees shaped like bears. They have 5g of sugar compared to competing brands’ 12g.
Teether animal crackers (9 months+): My second born nibbles the cute goat and hippo shaped teethers while soothing sore gums. Bonus they are allergen-free.
Yumi parenting app: I rely daily their app featuring schedules, sleep tracking, diapering, height & weight charts, recipes and even baby milestone alerts. So helpful!

Little Spoon Offerings

"Wiz Kid" supplement sticks: These twist-to-open powder sticks provide iron and DHA critical for brain development. My toddler thinks they are fun to mix into any smoothie or food.
Smoothie starters: We‘ve worked through all 8 of their superfood smoothie recipes made with hidden veggies and perfect consistencies not to slurp through a straw for picky big kids.
Cereal starter cups: Both my children loved these individual serving cups of organic cereal for self-feeding practice before committing to a whole box. Teaches pincer grasp and chewing.

I give the edge to Yumi for life stage spanning vitamins and snacks alongside a fantastic app. But Little Spoon also provides key nutrition support pieces.

Cost and Subscription Options

Affordability makes a difference for families. Here is how Yumi and Little Spoon compare:

Yumi Fees

$4 per individual pouch
Plans start around $35 per week for 8 ready-to-feed pouches
Can customize, skip, pause or cancel online
No delivery fees

Little Spoon Pricing

$3.50 per Babyblend pouch
$3.99 per toddler meal
Minimum 4 week subscription
$60 per week for 14 meals plan
Added delivery fees based on location

Yumi comes out ahead in my book thanks to free shipping and flexibility to fully pause weeks. Little Spoon more affordable for one-off orders.

Available Discounts and Promotions

I always have eyes peeled for deals on my regular purchases. Here are savings I found:

Yumi Coupons

50% off first order
Bundle discounts like buy 2 weeks, get one free
Refer friends for $20 credit towards future orders
10% off for military, doctors and teachers

Little Spoon Promotions

$20 off first month‘s subscription with STARTER20 code
15% off for multi-child households
Occasional gift card rebates and birthday credits

Yumi tended to offer greater dollar discounts especially for new customers. Check their social channels and emails for regular promos.

Ratings and Reviews From Other Parents

Checking third-party feedback from real customers, here is what parents praise and critique about each:

Yumi Reviews

85% positive reviews
Rave about organic ingredients tailored developmentally
Some complaints around customization ease
Note choking hazards from chunks

Little Spoon Feedback

80% positive reviews
Love variety of flavors and broad age range
Concerns about higher costs
Desire more meal planning flexibility like Yumi

While both receive majority glowing feedback, Yumi edges out Little Spoon given their hyper focus meeting baby‘s changing needs.

My Final Take: Yumi Wins For My Infant, Little Spoon For My Big Kids

If you’re debating between Yumi or Little Spoon for your baby food journey, my top takeaway is it depends on your kids‘ ages.

👶For babies under 2 focused solely on tiny tummies I recommend Yumi👶

Their single ingredient approach makes it easy to pinpoint food intolerances early on. And their textures intentionally prevent choking hazards. I love how they transition across 3 very gradual stages matching my infant‘s needs week-by-week.

Their subscription boxes scale down or up perfectly as baby‘s appetite changes. And their insane 50% off first order deal can‘t be beat!

🧒For big kids too ages 2-10, go Little Spoon🧒

My preschooler and toddler loved having meals keep pace with their maturity spanning purees to diced finger foods. Little Spoon covers ages 4 months all the way to big kids while Yumi tops out at 24 months.

We still incorporate Little Spoon smoothies and supplements into breakfasts and bedtime routines for key nutrients like iron and vitamin D too.

No matter which brand you opt for,say goodbye to tedious meal prep with baby food delivery. I found time and money savings with both services even with subscriptions factored in. Hopefully this transparent side-by-side review helps you choose the right meal delivery approach for your precious little eaters too!

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Yumi vs Little Spoon: Battle of the Top Baby Food Delivery Services

My Review Methodology