Peanut Butter Puffs: Why Mission MightyMe is a Healthier Choice

“How are Mission MightyMe’s Proactive Peanut Puffs different from Bamba?” is one of the most common questions we get. Our answer: “VERY different!”

 Here’s the TL;DR explanation: Mission MightyMe Proactive Peanut Puffs are simply a better, more nutritious alternative to Bamba peanut snacks, which contain palm oil, saturated fat, corn and a high salt content.  

What are Bamba snacks?

If you’re not familiar with Bamba, the corn-based peanut puff has long been a popular snack in Israel. It’s been credited with the extremely low rates of peanut allergy in the country, because so many Israeli children begin eating Bamba – and therefore peanut protein – in the first year of life (think: the equivalent of Cheerios in the U.S.). Bamba was also the primary peanut food consumed by babies in the groundbreaking LEAP Study, led by our co-founder Dr. Gideon Lack. The LEAP Study found that up to 86% of peanut allergies could be prevented with early peanut introduction for high-risk infants – a discovery that changed feeding guidelines around the globe.

We tried Bamba when our third child was born because there were so few baby-friendly peanut foods on the market, and we wanted to help him avoid developing a nut allergy like his older sister did. Bamba – which our family called “peanut Cheetos” – has an ingredient label that gave us initial reservations about introducing it to our baby. But at the time, it was our only option, and we weren’t going to risk it by not following the latest prevention guidelines.  

Since then, three top allergy organizations in the U.S. and Canada (AAAAI, ACAAI, CSACI) have released a consensus report on food allergy prevention, which states, “Although Bamba was specifically used as a peanut snack in the LEAP trial and provides a dissolving textured food, it [Bamba] is not necessarily a long-term, healthy weaning food option.”

While we’re grateful for the original lightbulb moment that Bamba made possible, we wanted a healthier alternative, and knew other parents felt the same. And while we liked the convenience of Bamba, we didn’t like that we had to crumble or cut it to make it safe enough for our baby to eat without choking. We dreamed daily of a yummy, science-backed, quick-dissolve prevention snack in a food form that babies love and willingly eat, with bonus points for a safe and small size designed for tiny hands. Was that too much to ask?

It turns out, no. That product was possible but simply didn’t exist, so we decided to partner with Dr. Gideon Lack and make it ourselves. Mission MightyMe was born, and our first product was a clean, organic peanut puff specifically made for babies but also delicious for big kids. We worked with Dr. Lack to make sure our product matched the science, guaranteeing that one pouch per week would deliver the 6 grams of peanut protein recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for high-risk babies.* Our goal is to normalize, not medicalize, the process of feeding babies allergens and diverse foods, so there is never mixing or dosing or preparation required with our products –just enjoyable snacking. 

How Are Mission MightyMe Proactive Peanut Puffs different from Bamba Peanut Snacks?

• NO PALM OIL: Bamba uses palm oil. MightyMe uses zero oils other than peanut.
• NO SATURATED FAT: Bamba has 3g saturated fat per ounce. MightyMe has 0g saturated fat. 
• LOWER SALT: Bamba has 40% more sodium than MightyMe.
• ORGANIC: Bamba is not organic. MightyMe Proactive Peanut Puffs are made with organic, non-GMO ingredients. 
• NO CORN: Bamba is corn-based, which can be hard on little tummies. MightyMe is corn-free.
• BABY-FRIENDLY SIZE: Bamba is a large stick form that must be cut or crumbled for babies. MightyMe is a small star shape, specifically made for developing pincer grasps.
• NO MESS: Bamba is sticky and messy. MightyMe was developed to keep sticky peanut butter off little fingers.
• CONSISTENT PROTEIN LEVELS: Bamba isn’t transparent about the amount of peanut protein in their snacks.. 1 pouch of MightyMe delivers the AAP recommended amount of peanut protein for high-risk infants.*
• DEVELOPED BY FOOD ALLERGY PARENTS + LEADING PEDIATRIC ALLERGIST: Mission MightyMe Proactive Peanut Puffs were developed by the global expert in food allergy prevention + food allergy parents who made the exact products they wished they’d had for their own children.
• MISSION-DRIVEN: Part of our mission is giving back to food allergy prevention research and awareness.

Because we prioritize quality, we source only organic, non-GMO ingredients and the most pure rice lots from California’s Sacramento Valley. We’re also a small, family-owned company, so we don’t have the scale of Nestle, which owns Osem, which owns Bamba. Naturally, our price point is a little higher than Bamba. But our ultimate goal is for Mission MightyMe products to be accessible to all families, which is why we’ve donated tens of thousands of puff pouches – and counting – to food insecure families since launch.

With our newest product, we wanted to go beyond the peanut. Because tree nuts are notoriously hard to get into tiny tummies, we created Proactive Nut Butter Puffs as the first and only baby-friendly puff on the market to contain peanuts and multiple tree nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts and hazelnut), making it deliciously simple for busy parents to include a wide variety of nuts in little diets, early and often.

Whenever your baby is ready for peanuts (and tree nuts!), our products can make early and regular introduction, stress-free, mess-free, easy and safe. Whether you’re looking to get more proactive about prevention or just want to stock your pantry with a nutritious snack, Mission MightyMe checks all the boxes – we have you covered. 

Shop Mission MightyMe puffs, which are also available in convenient variety packs and subscribe-and-save plans, on our website or via Amazon Prime. 

*FDA HEALTH CLAIM: For babies with an increased risk of peanut allergy (babies with severe eczema, egg allergy or both), introducing age-appropriate, peanut-containing foods as early as 4 months may reduce the risk of developing a peanut allergy. Caregivers should check with the baby’s healthcare provider before feeding the baby peanut-containing foods.