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Finally, a small straw cup for toddlers

By Jeremiah | September 26, 2008 | 18 comments / Comment now

Last year, we considered NurturePure's multi-stage feeder unusable because of its leaky straw cup lid. Now that they've fixed it, the company has a product on their hands that many parents will want to get their hands on.

Nurture Pure entered the BPA-free feeding market in 2007 with a glass bottle, a strong stand against harmful chemicals in plastics, and a plans for a three-stage infant-to-toddler cup. We were excited by their plans but disappointed when we tested the cup, which had terrible leaks in its straw cup mode - leaks so bad we wondered what we might be doing wrong. It leaked both through its straw and from the seal around its rim when turned upside down and gently shaken or rocked, a failure that made the product something we simply could not recommend. We bought a tube of silicone caulk and made elaborate plans to seal up areas of the lid one by one to discover for ourselves where the leaks were, and report this back to the company and to consumers. Reality intervened, and although we told the company we had serious problems with the product, the caulk and cup never had their rendezvous.

To be honest, we didn't expect much from this company after testing their multi-stage cup. But I'm thrilled to report that they have spent the last year proving me dead wrong.

If NurturePure had just fixed their buggy straw lid, I'd say they were back on track. But they have accomplished three other things this past year that are each notable in their own right. Here's the short version of what they've done:

Fixed their straw cup lid to make their three-stage feeder truly usable, and a good value at $15

Developed a bottle system that uses an adapter ring to fit wide-mouth nipples on the same bottles their standard nipples use, further enhancing the value of their durable glass bottles for handing down or using with multiple babies

Designed an all-silicone orthodontic pacifier and teether set in a market devoid of many quality BPA-free choices

Developed a new kind of silicone sleeve to offer further protection for their bottles

Items 2, 3 and 4 were all on display at the ABC Kids' Expo in Las Vegas, where we met with company representatives and discussed their plans. We got samples of all four in the mail the other day, and are busy testing them. Today, we'll talk about the feeder, which is the one new item in their lineup that is available for purchase now.

NurturePure's GrowPure Multi-Stage Feeder is a three-stage feeder with a seven-ounce cup, an o-ring with twin handles, and a separate screw caps for a cross-cut nipple, soft sippy spout, and snap-shut straw lid. The nipple is a wide-neck design and offers a fast flow of liquid that is probably best suited to older infants. The sippy mode has a very soft spout and will probably get chewed up by those who have teeth and like to use them.

But the straw cup mode is well-designed, leak-proof, and unique. Its design and cleaning are simple - there's a soft straw portion that pokes through the lid, a straight straw segment that drops into the liquid, and that's it.

There is no other BPA-free straw cup on the market that is this small, so we think NurturePure has a high-interest product on its hands. Given the benefits of using a straw cup over a sippy (aids in language development), we anticipate other companies will get smart sooner or later and follow their lead.

Our only wish is that they'd sell the straw cup version on its own, for those who don't need a multi-stage feeder.

You can check it out here on the company's website.

Categories: BPA, reviews, sippy cups

1. Krista [9/26/08]

For a reasonably small straw cup I did a bit of combining different sippy cup parts that other parents may have lying around, as I did.

I like the Plaxtex straw sippy cups, but they are only sold as 9oz insulated cups (#5). They also have a two piece straw construction, with a silicone top portion and a straight straw portion which is probably #5 also. Playtex also makes a non-insulated 9 oz cups which are a nice size for young toddlers. As they are not insulated, they are smaller and a better fit for small hands. They only sell these with sippy cup spouts. The lids for all cups are interchangeable though. With that said, the straws are too long for the small cup. I used straws from the #5 plastic take-n-toss cups (which were useless to me, as they spilled and the lids popped off with just a light toss). I trimmed off a small bit of the straws and they were a perfect fit for the smaller Playtex cup, using the larger cup straw lid.

I can still use the bigger insulated cups with the original straws too, now that my toddler is getting bigger. The take-n-toss cups are now dog food scoops, bath toys and sandbox toys.

2. Britney B [9/26/08]

As a speech pathologist, I only did the sippy cup stage for two weeks as just a way to transition my daughter gently. We quit bottles cold turkey and I didn’t want to totally shock her system. I was deliberate in moving beyond sippies to straws so quickly because of wanting to prevent speech issues in the future. However, I was so disappointed in the terrible selection of straw cups (leaky, leaky, leaky) that I went ahead and transitioned her to the older tumbler cups (Kind of like a travel mug) after about two months. This was a life saver. Thank you for reporting on this new straw cup as I am expecting my second and will try it the next time around. Also, thank you for mentioning the harmful effect that using a sippie has on speech (particularly articuation and tongue thrusting). Most people I work with have no idea about this.

3. Mika [9/26/08]

These reminded me of a soft spout sippy that I picked up at a baby furniture pool that are made in Japan by a company called Pigeon. I looked it up and not sure if this is just crazy coincidence, but it looks like they produce a multi-stage feeder that looks exactly like NuturePure’s called Mag Mag Cup System. I don’t think these are available in the US?. They also have a drinking cup attachment that looks like it might be an older version that I have never seen in another sippy cup. Any info. on this company/product?? I’m hoping the sippy I’ve been using is BPA-free.
http://www.galtak.com/magmag.htm

4. Amelia Sprout [9/26/08]

I love that, it looks so promising. I just wish they sold just the straw without all of the other stuff. We still haven’t found a BPA free straw that we liked enough, or that she liked enough. I may have to get it.

5. Sherri [9/27/08]

I was very interested in this product however I think that its pricey and then you get hit with another $10 UPS ground fee! The cup ends up costing around $25 and thats too much for a cup I have NOT tried yet and for a 1 year old to be tossing off the table and possibly loose when out and about! Anyone know where else this product can be bought besides the website?

6. Sherri [9/27/08]

Mika, I just check out that website (http://www.galtak.com/magmag.htm) and your right they look really simillar and a better value. I called there toll free number to see about the BPA and she really could not answer yes or no. Zrecs is this something you guys can look into?? I’m also wondering about some of the other baby products they sell? This could be a great alternative if it was BPA free… HELP!!! :) Thanks!!

7. Sherri [9/27/08]

also its great that you can buy the replacement parts like straws, lids etc.

I have been using the Platex 9oz straw cup that often leaks. They do not sell replacement straws. I now have two cups one of which a friends child chewed a hole in and another I used for milk and can’t seem to get clean enough to use anymore. I hate to throw them away and they are not recycleable either…

8. Jeremiah [9/27/08]

We have put in an inquiry to NurturePure for a comment on the design - sometimes companies use designs owned by others, and sometimes do not get exclusive licensing (particularly when the products are sold to different markets). The cups look so similar, there is clearly some relationship, and this means it is likely that the Canadian version is BPA-free as well, although it is hard to be sure.

As for Galtak, their prices are certainly low, and I like the fact that you can buy the cup with a single stage of lid (i.e. just a straw cup). $8 CAD is a good deal. The only thing I don’t like about the site is they aren’t set up to quote shipping before you order (including before you submit your credit card info) and you are supposed to give instructions in the comments field of the order form if you don’t want them to charge you without telling you the shipping cost! This seems a little odd to me and would give me pause.

I also got a weird complaint about not meeting a minimum order amount when I started going through the checkout process with just one cup, and then when I updated my shopping cart to include a second one (testing to see what the minimum order was) it took me to a secondary page (to enter your shipping addy and cc#) that had just one cup listed as my purchase. So I would have been ordering without knowing how much shipping was, how many they were really going to charge me for and/or send me, and without knowing anything about this company.

That shipping cost is too bad; we tend to favor links to Amazon.com in part because the site offers so many different things you can usually find something else you need and get free shipping, and even when you can’t their rates are a bit lower. If anyone has seen this product in a brick-and-mortar store, let us all know!

9. Alisha [9/27/08]

Thanks for posting about this new cup from NurturePure. I bought a few Born Free sippys, per your recommendation, and we really like them. The only problem I had was finding the hard spouts to replace the soft ones. I only needed 3 and I couldn’t find anybody that had them at a reasonable price including shipping. Had I know I’d run into that problem, this cup would have actually been perfect for us if we’d started out with it. I ended up buying some Gerber sippys that were on the BPA free list at SafeMama.

10. Krista [9/27/08]

Sherri - Playtex does sell replacement straw parts. Amazon has them at a reasonable price too.

11. Sherri [9/27/08]

Great! Thanks for telling me!!!

12. Char [9/27/08]

About the Pigeon straw cup, check out this web site (http://www.pigeonbaby.com.au/bpaInfo.php). It seems like the Pigeon products are not BPA free.

13. Sherri [9/28/08]

Char, If you scroll down it lists BPA Free products that they make and the Mag Mag Drinking Cup (Nipple, Spout & Straw) is listed as well as 5 other items…

I’m just wondering if this is accurate and can be trusted...?

14. Char [9/28/08]

I think it is just more reliable to go with the Nurture Pure. I know Pigeon have been around for a long time, I used them when I was a baby according to my mom.....

15. PaperPusher [9/29/08]

I bought a NurturePure cup earlier this year as part of the smorgasboard of sippy cups I bought for my daughter to try out. I think the one I received was the old design. We didn’t end up using it as a sippy cup as she didn’t like the spout nor the straw (she’s picky), but we would use it for measuring cup purposes for my daughter’s milk, etc. After a few turns in the dishwasher, the ink on the outside washed off. Not exactly a good feature. Hopefully they’ve corrected that in the redesign.

16. Alicia [10/06/08]

Rubbermaid makes an 8 oz. Litterless juice box that is round (they have square ones too) that is a straw cup and it is BPA free. I can usually find them at Rite-Aid in this size and when I do, I buy them all because they are usually about $3.00 each. They also sell a 32 oz. straw cup in the same design that I love for me because it fits in the stoller cup holders and is easy to handle while nursing or doing other chores. They do not leak and my son loves the size.

17. Tierney Barnes [6/15/09]

These cups are useless. Honestly. For several reasons...1) very leaky. You have to use extreme caution to screw the top on as it is not symettical so you have to screw it on “just so” and make sure the handles and top line up, along with the sippy nipple; 2) the straw design is poor. It slants to one side which is a good idea so that as your child tilts the cup, it will suck all liquid. HOWEVER, the flip lid is on the same side as the lean so that if you want to get all of the liquid, the lid is hitting the chin of your child. It is totally backwards and cannot be reversed; 3) the writing on the outside (e.g. the oz) rubs off within a few washings (handwashings, I might add); 4) they are smaller than you think. Very expensive for such a lame product. I complained to the manufacturers and have not had a follow up.

18. Sandra [12/08/09]

Beware of Nurture Pure. I ordered 2 cups from Nurture Pure’s website on 11/6/09 after reading this blog (which I love). Nurture Pure charged my credit card on 11/7/09 and as of today, 12/8/09, I have not received my order. I sent them an email asking why they charged my credit card before shipping my order and I received a generic “your order has shipped” message. After 4 emails and 2 phone calls, they have not responded to my inquiries about my order. I am going to contact the Better Business Bureau because as it stands today, they have taken my money and I have nothing from them, not even a personal response.

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