Looking Inside Kids’ Vitamins

Our Perspective on the Sunday Times Exposé

If you’ve seen this morning’s coverage from The Sunday Times, you might be feeling frustrated, or even worried, about what’s really inside the vitamins you’re giving your kids every single day.

We get it. Parenting is hard enough without having to second-guess whether something you’ve bought to support your child’s health is actually doing the opposite.

So here’s our Tonic Truth take, and why we do things differently at Tonic for you and your family’s health.

The Sunday Times article

This morning, The Sunday Times highlighted the vitamin levels and sugar content in leading kids’ vitamin brands.

The investigation into kids’ vitamin gummies has sparked concern among parents, raising a simple but important question: are some kids’ vitamins actually closer to sweets than supplements?

What the Sunday Times investigation found

According to The Sunday Times, some popular kids’ vitamin gummies contain more sugar than Haribo sweets, despite being marketed as a health product.

It also raised concerns that some products may not provide meaningful levels of key nutrients in the amounts parents would expect from a daily supplement.

That is not what most parents think they are buying when they pick up a “vitamin”.

It also highlights a wider issue: some kids’ vitamins may give a strong impression of health benefits, while falling short on both sugar content and nutrient quality.

Parents should not have to choose between something their kids enjoy and something that genuinely supports their health.

Artificial sweeteners are also an important part of this conversation that’s often overlooked. The UK’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) advises that young children should avoid products containing them, encouraging more natural, unsweetened options instead. Yet many children’s vitamins still rely on artificial sweeteners to improve taste. We believe this deserves more attention. That’s why Tonic takes a different approach, using beetroot fibre instead, adding fibre while avoiding artificial sweeteners altogether.

Why this matters

At first glance, a couple of grams of sugar may not sound like much. But these gummies are often taken every day, on top of the sugar already coming in through snacks, drinks and treats.

That means the real concern is not just one gummy on one day. It is the cumulative effect of hidden sugar in products that are supposed to support health.

It also matters because many parents are buying these products in good faith. If something is labelled as a vitamin, immune support, or “for kids”, it is easy to assume it must be a healthy choice by default.

But as this investigation suggests, that is not always the case.

As a parent, what should I look out for?

Here is what to look for when choosing a supplement for your child:

1. Sugar content

Always check the label. If the first ingredient is glucose syrup or sugar, that is worth paying attention to.

2. Meaningful nutrient levels

Look for key vitamins in effective amounts, for example vitamin D at 10mcg rather than a token dose.

3. Clear labelling

You should be able to quickly understand what your child is consuming, why it is included, and how much they are getting.

Our position at Tonic

At Tonic, we have always taken a different approach. Our mission is to support parents in improving children’s nutrition in a responsible and transparent way.

We created Tonic Kids because we believed parents deserved better – an alternative to the sugar- and sweetener-filled traditional kids’ gummy supplements so often found on shelves.

We believe parents should not have to choose between something their kids enjoy and something that genuinely supports their health.

“Being a parent myself shapes every single decision we make as a company. If I wouldn’t give it to my sons, it doesn’t go into the product.”
Sunna van Kampen

Tonic Kids products

Tonic Kids is designed to taste great while delivering meaningful nutrition, without relying on added sugar, sweeteners or unnecessary extras.

That means our kids’ gummies are built around:

• ❌ No added sugar
• ❌ No sweeteners
• ❌ No added unnecessary ingredients
• ✅ Beetroot fibre and Chicory Root to sweeten
• ✅ 0.3g of naturally occurring sugar per gummy vs. 2-4g
• ✅ Optimal, effective doses of nutrients
• ✅ Broad, transparent formulations
• ✅ Every batch independently third-party lab tested
• ✅ Glass packaging

Our products are designed with nutritionists and paediatricians, with real health in mind, to create something parents can genuinely feel good about.

Explore our Tonic kids' range here. 

Our response

While this news might feel like a reveal to some, for us it is simply validation of what we have been saying all along. The kids’ vitamin category is overdue for change.

And it is encouraging to see more people finally asking better questions about what is really inside the products they buy for their children.

We have always built Tonic around transparency, quality and simplicity. Because when it comes to kids, we put real health first.

Final thoughts

At Tonic, we are not here to scare anyone – we are here to help.

We know mornings are chaotic, kids are fussy, and parents are doing their best. Our mission is simple: to make one small part of parenting feel easier, safer and more trustworthy.

If you have questions about this topic, our ingredients, or how to choose a better supplement for your family, we are always happy to help.

You can reach us at hello@tonichealth.co

Reference: Sunday Times, https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/article/child-multivitamins-misleading-parents-over-dosage-7fm8lmgfq