Turning kids’ imagination into a global food ecosystem.
Traditional children's marketing targets parents while ignoring the growing autonomy and digital presence of kids aged 8–12.
In the food and FMCG sectors, traditional marketing for children is actually directed at parents, who actually make purchasing decisions. However, kids aged 8–12 undergo rapid social and personal development. They seek independence, form peer-driven preferences, and possess personal mobile devices. Despite this shift, traditional consumer channels have struggled to engage this demographic directly.
Beyond audience dynamics, the 8–12 demographic presents structural business challenges: single-category products yield short customer lifetime values (LTV), making long-term strategies difficult to sustain. The ambition was to invent a scalable, cross-category commercial ecosystem centered on a core insight—children want to be taken seriously, exert responsibility, and see their ideas come to life. Mildberry co-founder Oleg Beriev and food tech expert Roman Glebov conceived the initiative, with Mildberry leading the end-to-end brand architecture, design framework, and operational launch.
Building an agile business model and direct co-creation system where kids serve as active product directors.
Mildberry broke standard industry paradigms to structure Yummy United as a hybrid entity—combining elements of a consumer goods company, content platform, and communications agency.
We established an authentic governance format where children aged 8–12 serve as company directors, re-elected three times a year. Outfitted with official business cards and custom interaction software, kids participate in weekly board meetings with adult specialists. They propose, debate, and vote on taste profiles, product concepts, visual designs, and marketing campaigns.
Instead of enforcing strict corporate style guides, we built a flexible, experimental brand identity. The packaging ignores standard shelf conventions—eschewing uniform line color-coding or predictable flavor cues in favor of bright, expressive artwork directed by the children. Packaging serves as an entry point, integrating hidden QR codes that link directly to mobile apps, social content, and YouTube programming.
To overcome single-product LTV limits, we created a cross-category portfolio spanning food, digital content, and interactive services. Yummy United retains lean internal oversight of core brand value while delegating traditional manufacturing and logistics to regional partners. This asset-light model enables rapid experimentation, turning children’s concepts into retail-ready items at high speed.
We launched the brand internationally in 2019 at TuttoFood Milano, introducing chocolate-glazed quark bars—a traditional Eastern European dairy staple—as a novel, high-value offering for Western Europe. The launch featured the inaugural Italian Kid’s Board of Directors, generating widespread global media coverage and immediate distribution inquiries.
Entering new markets, Yummy United scales board recruitment through major retail networks. For the CIS market debut in 2020, the first local Kid's Board was formed in partnership with retail giant Magnit, seeding immediate shelf presence and regional brand equity.
A global brand ecosystem operating across multiple markets, categories, and retail chains.
Yummy United successfully proved that genuine co-creation with children builds high-performing consumer products. The brand expanded rapidly across Western Europe and Eurasia, establishing local Kid’s Boards of Directors and securing prominent retail distribution.
Within its first 18 months the company assembled five successive Kid’s Boards, launching 18 distinct SKUs across 5 cross-category segments. By empowering children to shape the products they consume, Mildberry helped build an international ecosystem that turns creative ideas into commercial realities.
