NatureDoc’s inaugural ‘Hug Factor’ Awards 2020

We are totally thrilled to announce our new ‘Hug Factor’ Awards. You may not know what on earth that means, so let me explain. As you probably know, one of my special interests at NatureDoc is children’s nutrition. And getting that right is firstly about finding the food and products with the right nutritional and scientific credentials. But more than that, everything has to be child friendly: ie. packaged and styled so that kids want to have them. So we have a big focus on good design and child friendly branding when choosing what products we stock in the shop.

And the other day, my husband Christopher found a word for it: “Hug Factor”. Since we were in lockdown 2.0, and social distancing anyway, hugs were in pretty short supply. One thing led to another, and we cooked up a crazy plan to give out Hug Factor awards to our most huggable brands. Virtual hugs for the lovely people behind them that work so hard to make nice things for you.

Seven brands have won this year, and here they are. I will be highlighting one of them in my blog, week by week for the next 7 weeks:

HotTea Mama is the most gorgeous business making herbal tea designed for pregnancy and breastfeeding. Truly a hug in a mug, but backed up by science. The range includes gems like Milk’s Up, a breastfeeding blend that is jam packed with botanicals that have been used to increase milk supply for millennia.

Lizzie Loves is a start-up brand with a lovely range of children’s food supplements, Lizzie Loves was our original inspiration for the Hug Awards when they came up with a Be Sleepy-ccino recipe to promote their Be Sleepy product when the clocks went back.
Necta & Hive is a honey specialist, run by honey Guru Shamus Ogilvy. They produce delicious ‘super’ honeys such as Australian Jarrah and Red Gum honey that are more potent and more palatable to children than manuka.
Pukka Herbs is a longstanding favourite of ours. They have a really good focus on quality food supplements, vitamins, herbs and teas, and have retained their homely feel even as they have become so successful.
Raw Chocolate Company Not just a chocolate fix, these raw chocolate-covered almonds, mulberries, goji berries etc. give you a burst of delicious and healthy nutrition too. Even healthy food nuts like me need a bit of chocolate now and then, and raw chocolate is healthier for you.
Spots & Stripes With a beautifully designed range of natural beauty and skincare products for tweens and teens, Spots & Stripes will get kids feeling good about themselves, zapping those spots and discovering deodorant.
Unbeelievable health We all love bees, and Unbeelievable Health has a gorgeous range of research-based supplements with bee products, such as royal jelly and bee propolis, at the heart of them.