A healthy snack for her children. From that idea, Life is Bananas was founded almost a year ago, and will debut next month at the Tavola fair. "It is not always easy to offer children healthy food that appeals to their taste and fits into a busy family life," says founder Sigrid Severijns. "I started wondering how we could get children to eat more fruit and vegetables without sacrificing convenience or taste."
© Life is Bananas
Sigrid, a bioengineer by training with 18 years of experience in product development and quality management, gradually developed the idea for her own brand. Initially, her focus was on vegetables. "I was looking for an accessible way to make healthy food last longer and remain easy to use. During the development process, however, I discovered the potential of freeze-dried fruit."
The principle behind freeze-drying is simple. Fruit consists of 80 to 90 per cent water. By removing that water, the flavour, colour, aroma, and nutrients are largely preserved. "It's like eating a summer strawberry in the middle of winter," says the Flemish entrepreneur. "You don't have to add anything. The pure flavour remains intact. That was a real eye-opener. It tastes surprisingly intense and crunchy. In fact, my own children often call it 'sweets' or 'chips'. They and their friends were my first, and probably most critical, test panel. However, they were immediately enthusiastic. That was when I knew: this has to be included in the range."
Expanding the range
In theory, almost any type of fruit can be freeze-dried. "However, we started with strawberry and mango, chosen based on experience and intuition, and later confirmed through a survey of our followers and customers. Our name sometimes causes confusion. People think we specialise in bananas. But the name symbolises our vision. Life is busy and sometimes a bit 'bananas', or chaotic, and we want to offer a healthy snack within that frenzy that parents feel good about, and children enjoy eating."
© Life is Bananas
"Banana was not initially part of the plan at all," Sigrid explains. "We wanted to focus on fruit that is not necessarily bite-sized, but through freeze-drying becomes easy to snack on. Remarkably, however, bananas also came up as a favourite in the survey. Of course, it is still important to listen to your customers, so we decided to add a banana to the range as well."
The range now includes three fruit snacks, with a fourth flavour currently in development. The original vegetable concept also remains on the agenda. "For now, however, the focus is on further expanding our fruit snacks, so the vegetable concept has become a plan for the future. We want to build it out in a structured way."
Growing in the Netherlands
For production, the young company deliberately chose to work with subcontractors. "Buying our own freeze-drying installation would currently be too big a risk. By working with specialised partners, we can remain flexible and scale up quickly. At the same time, I monitor quality closely and personally approve each batch."
Commercially, Life is Bananas is focusing on a combination of online sales and retail. "Belgian and Dutch customers are mainly reached via our own webshop, and in Belgium the products are now available in around 100 supermarkets, including Carrefour, Delhaize, Delitraiteur, and several branches of Jumbo." However, Sigrid sees the Netherlands as a particularly interesting growth market. "Consumers there currently seem slightly more open to innovative and healthy snacks, so there are still many opportunities. Our products are ideal for on-the-go consumption. One hundred grams of fresh strawberries becomes about ten grams after freeze-drying, while the flavour and nutritional value are preserved. One bag can therefore replace one of the five recommended daily fruit portions."
© Life is Bananas
Tavola
With the company's first anniversary approaching, Sigrid describes it as an intense but positive journey. "We have learned a lot in a short time. The foundation is there, and now it is a matter of controlled further growth. Step by step, we are building a brand that makes healthy food for children natural and enjoyable."
To support that growth, Life is Bananas is also investing in trade fairs. After participating in its first B2C trade fair last year, the company will attend its first B2B trade fair this year, namely Tavola. "It offers opportunities to meet international buyers, retail partners, and distributors, and to expand our network."
Life is Bananas can be found at booth 1A12 during Tavola 2026, from 15 to 17 March.
For more information:
Sigrid Severijns
Life is Bananas
[email protected]
www.lifeisbananas.com
