Summary: I gave my kindergartner Hiya’s multivitamin, daily probiotic, green powder, and immune sticks to see if we could avoid the back-to-school illnesses that always hit mid-September. I was excited about the third-party tested formulas packed with vegetables, fruits, and essential nutrients, but I was skeptical that my extremely strong-willed kiddo would eat the sugar-free chewables, let alone get anywhere near a green powder. While the texture of the vitamins took some getting used to, she quickly started looking forward to our new morning ritual mixing her drink and taking her vitamins. We’ve been in school for a month, and (*knocks on wood*) we haven’t had a sniffle yet!

Pros

  • Hiya’s formulas are sweetened with monk fruit, not sugar, and contain 15 essential vitamins and minerals derived from a blend of 12 fruits and veggies.
  • The brand worked with pediatricians, nutritionists, scientists, and parents to create its powerful supplements.
  • Hiya conducts third-party testing to ensure the highest quality product, including heavy metal testing on every batch of every product made.
  • Hiya’s supplements meet the full range of nutritional needs for kids, while still tasting good enough for kids to actually eat!
  • Not only is the packaging eco-friendly, but kids can personalize the cute refillable containers with an included pack of fun stickers.

Cons

  • Kids accustomed to gummy vitamins might need a few exposures to Hiya’s chewables before getting used to their unique texture.
  • The greens powder has a smell. If you don’t have an adventurous kid, don’t let them smell it before it’s mixed into their milk!
  • If you are not used to buying high-quality wellness supplements or vitamins, $30 for a one-month supply of vitamins might seem steep — but with 50% off first orders, it’s worth trying.

It’s no secret that children can be tricky when it comes to eating. You don’t even need to have kids to be aware of this fact. The kids’ menu at every restaurant shows the same five items, and none of them are green.

It was hard not to feel like I’d failed when my daughter Poesy entered her Noodle Era. I felt like I’d somehow been too weak to be the kind of Good Mom who resists kids’ menu American culture, but I was fatigued from battling on so many parenting fronts at once. I wanted my kid to be healthy, but sometimes the best dinner was the one I knew she would eat. I wanted her to eat nutritious food that would help her brain and body develop well. And okay, I missed the phase when she just ate anything you put in front of her — the baby who used to take a spoon to the d’Affinois on the cutting board, the studious face she made as she chewed anchovies, or the way she’d marvel at the hot pink beet juice left on her plate. That adventurous baby had grown into a strong-willed child who would subsist on buttered noodles and chicken nuggets if not for her mean ol’ mom who kept worrying about silly things like her brain development.

“I wanted my kid to be healthy, but sometimes the best dinner was the one I’d know she would eat.”

I started looking for some vitamins and supplements that could help fill any nutrition gaps while we endured the Noodle Era. The overwhelming number of products available appear to be essentially candy — gummies chock-full of sugars in various forms, with serving sizes that would require a trip to a dental hygienist just to pry them from my kid’s molars. But I was desperate, and I figured that they couldn’t be completely empty of value (even if I wonder about the bioavailability and the dosages). I kept looking, sure there would be something better out there.

It wasn’t long before my newsfeed started showing me Hiya advertisements. “No sugar!” it said. “Designed for picky eaters!” Kids of all ages in bright colors sat happily holding their Hiya bottles, while the captions promised that the chewables were universally approved by dentists, pediatricians, parents, and kids. Vegan, dairy- and gluten-free, the multivitamins include 15 essential vitamins and minerals to support immunity, growth, and development. I was intrigued. “Tastes delicious!” the copy promised. The chewables looked like fat Smarties, pastel-colored and reminding me of the Flinstones vitamins of my own childhood. The bottles were cute. But how could I sell my kid — who could tell if I switched from the Annie’s Mac & Cheese to the store brand on sight — on a vitamin that wasn’t a gummy? The fact that it was basically candy was the only reason I was sure she would eat it at all.

“Could I sell my kid — who could tell if I switched from the Annie’s Mac & Cheese to the store brand on sight — on a vitamin that wasn’t a gummy?”

When The Good Trade had a chance to review Hiya, I jumped like a wedding guest during the bouquet toss in a ’90s rom-com. “Mine!” I said, “Me!” We were about to start kindergarten, and it had been a few months since Poesy was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. She had some tooth decay we were monitoring, plus a whole new lifestyle and way of thinking about food that made it the perfect time to try new things. Since sickness can throw a real wrench into insulin therapy, I am pretty desperate to avoid the back-to-school plague we usually have from August through February, so in addition to the Kids Daily Multivitamin and the Kids Daily Greens + Superfoods for general nutritional supplementation, I also picked the Kids Daily Probiotic and the Kids Immune Sticks.

I threw the gummy vitamins away and let Poesy unbox everything herself, telling her that it was her job to be honest about our experience, which meant that she had to be open-minded and try everything more than once, over a few weeks. I know my kid, and as strong-willed and stubborn as she can be, she loves a job and a spotlight. I went in with my expectations low and my hopes high as ever. Could Hiya meet our nutritional needs and compete with the gummy she was used to? Would she actually drink a green powder?

There was only one way to find out!

About Hiya

The company was founded by two new dads who, once faced with the options for kids vitamins on the market, were shocked to discover the amount of sugar, artificial ingredients, and other additives packed into each serving. It struck the founders as ironic that in an effort to get their kids the nourishment they needed to grow, conventional vitamin products were also introducing and fostering a taste for “junk.”

“It struck the founders as ironic that in an effort to get their kids the nourishment they needed to grow, conventional vitamin products were also introducing and fostering a taste for ‘junk.'”

“We’ve been training their bodies and brains to be addicted to sugar and other junk,” they say on their website. “Make no mistake that sugar addiction is set to become a generational problem.”

Together with pediatricians, nutritionists, scientists, and parents, the brand worked for three years to formulate a high-quality, superpowered chewable that could provide all the essential vitamins and minerals kids need while being tasty enough for them to actually eat it.

Top of the brand’s priorities is the third-party testing it conducts on every batch of every product to ensure the highest levels of safety are achieved every time. This includes testing for heavy metals like lead, mercury, chromium, arsenic, and cadmium using reputable ISO/IEC-accredited third-party labs affiliated with the FDA and other regulatory bodies. Focused on transparency, they share results and extensive details of their testing protocols to confirm all products are safe and below even the most stringent of standards — and what the Hiya team would be comfortable giving their own kids.

Okay, okay, but did my daughter like them?

Kids Daily Multivitamin | $30/30-day supply ($15 first order)

The packaging was an instant sell for Poesy. She sensed the stickers even before she saw them, and had dutifully set to work decorating the bottles well before I’d fully removed everything from their boxes. (The brand definitely understands kids’ priorities!)

“She sensed the stickers even before she saw them, and had dutifully set to work decorating the bottles well before I’d fully removed everything from their boxes.”

Some things that stand out to me about the ingredients: There are 15 essentials included in this multivitamin, including Vitamins A, C, D, K, and E, Thiamin (B1), Riboflavin, Folate (B9), Vitamin B12, Biotin (B7), Pantothenic Acid (B5), Calcium, Iodine, Zinc, Selenium, and Manganese. The doses are more in line with what you might get from eating foods with these vitamins in them, which is important to prevent a number of complications from overdosing, whether from imprecise formulas or an overenthusiastic kid.

For example, one medium orange contains 60-80 mg of Vitamin C. The gummies Poesy had been eating contained 240 mg Vitamin C, or four times the amount of one orange. Hiya’s multivitamin contains 40 mg of Vitamin C, which means it acts like a true supplement for a healthy diet, not a replacement for one. Since my kid could live on strawberries and oranges, this is a relief to me! Overdosing on some vitamins can cause stomach problems, loose stools, and other side effects, so I was pleased to see that Hiya’s dosages are in a safe range.

“Overdosing on some vitamins can cause stomach problems, loose stools, and other side effects, so I was pleased to see that Hiya’s dosages are in a safe range.”

I knew she would be a little wary of the texture, so I played it cool the first day. There are three pastel colors to choose from — green, yellow, and red. Neither one of us thought the flavors were particularly distinct from one another, but that didn’t stop Poesy from wanting to pick which color to eat each day.

I’ll be honest: She spit it out the first day. She ate half of it on days two and three, but by the end of the week, she’d grown accustomed to the texture and flavor. “It’s yummy!” she said, for the official record. “It’s a little weird at first, like powdery but crunchy too? But I like it now.”

The stickers are a brilliant way to encourage kids to take some ownership over their vitamin routine.

Kids Daily Greens + Superfoods | $54/30-day supply ($27 first order)

This is a new product for the brand, and I’ll admit that if it wasn’t included in the review lineup I probably would have been too skeptical of Poesy’s willingness to try a green powder to give it a shot. But we would have been missing out. This supercharged powder is packed with 55 whole-food sourced ingredients like kale, broccoli, amaranth, and marine algae, but it tastes like chocolate-cinnamon milk!

“This supercharged powder is packed with 55 whole-food sourced ingredients like kale, broccoli, amaranth, and marine algae, but it tastes like chocolate-cinnamon milk!”

This product kind of blew my mind. I am no stranger to greens powders, but even the best-tasting ones I’ve ever had always carry with them a hint of earthiness. You just kind of get familiar with the taste until whatever flavor it’s pretending to be (pineapple, vanilla, chocolate) starts to stand out to you more. Still, there’s no pretending that a traditional greens powder is a milkshake and not a health drink, and that’s what I was expecting when we mixed up what Hiya promises will taste “just like chocolate milk!”

A real word of caution: Do not let your kid sniff the powder first. It smells like dirt, but a little funky. If my kid smelled it, she would not have tasted it under any circumstances.

“A real word of caution: Do not let your kid sniff the powder first. It smells like dirt, but a little funky.”

Mixing the scoop into milk or a milk alternative of your choice is a little bit more of a process than stirring (which we discovered because I don’t really read instructions!). You can stir it, and we even shook it in a Mason jar, but to fully dissolve any and all clumps a frother is probably best.

The remarkable thing is that it tastes amazing. Like, really and truly delicious. But while the brand says it’s “chocolate milk” there is a definite cinnamon flavor in there that took my daughter a little getting used to. It kind of reminds me of horchata, honestly. When I told Poesy that it had basically a full garden’s worth of greens in it, her jaw hit the floor. “But it tastes brown!” she said. “It’s like a dessert! You’re teasing me, right Mom?”

I’m not sure there’s a better endorsement than that, TBH.

My daughter was in disbelief that the delicious milky concoction made with Hiya’s Daily Greens + Superfoods powder contained a full garden of greens.

Kids Daily Probiotic | $30/monthly supply ($15 first order)

Most days, my kid is a Greek yogurt monster, and I’m not particularly concerned about probiotics. But when she inexplicably went off yogurt at the beginning of flu and cold season, I got antsy about her gut health. One of the key ways to fight off unfriendly bacteria and build your immunity to infections is with probiotics, so I was eager to sell Poesy on this one.

This chewable is essentially a smaller version of the multivitamin, in terms of its color, taste, and texture. Packed with 10 billion live cultures, this tiny supplement supports nutrient absorption, and boosts gut health and immunity. (Plus it is a lot faster and less messy than a bowl of yogurt!) Like the multivitamin, it took us a few days for Poesy to get used to the experience of eating it, but after about a week it was as much a part of her morning routine as choosing which podcast to listen to while getting dressed (PBS’s “Pinkalicious,” in case you were wondering!).

“Packed with 10 billion live cultures, this tiny supplement supports nutrient absorption, and boosts gut health and immunity.”

These supplements are formulated using three of the most clinically researched probiotic strains for children, designed to meet the unique needs of childhood growth and development. Since the connection between digestive bacteria and healthy development is so important, I’m assured knowing that I’m not just giving my daughter a random formula designed for an adult gut.

The probiotic supports nutrient absorption, and boosts gut health and immunity, and is almost identical to the multivitamin from a sensory perspective.

Kids Immune Sticks | $30/monthly supply ($15 first order)

These were the unexpected flavor winners for Poesy, which was a relief since they are the product I was extremely hopeful would help stave off the School Sniffle Plague. In an orange tropical flavor that can be mixed into water or poured directly into the mouth, these babies aren’t just a sugary overdose of Vitamin C, but carefully formulated with precise measures of Vitamin C, Elderberry, and algae-derived beta glucans, which is known for helping the immune system respond rapidly and efficiently to pathogens.

“These babies aren’t just a sugary overdose of Vitamin C, but carefully formulated with precise measures of Vitamin C, Elderberry, and algae-derived beta glucans, which is known for helping the immune system respond rapidly and efficiently to pathogens.”

Made without dyes, sugar, or any other additives, these sticks are travel-friendly and taste great. We tried them in water and on their own, and Poesy’s overwhelming preference was to pour them directly into her mouth. Poesy is intrigued by intense flavors that are tart or sour, and if left to her own devices will eat enough Salt & Vinegar chips to burn her tongue, so take that for what it’s worth. She loves to lick a lemon, even as her mouth puckers and her whole body shudders. Kids are weird! But we both agree that the immune sticks are delicious.

My daughter thought they were too weak in the water, and preferred to eat the immune sticks by pouring them directly into her mouth

The bottom line: Is Hiya worth it for picky eaters?

I can’t tell you that Hiya is going to be the perfect fit for every family out there. Every kid and every home is different, and what works for one family might never land with another. That’s okay! Sometimes your best is just surviving, and it’s okay to celebrate that too. You’re doing great.

But if you are in a season where testing out vitamins and supplements for your family fits your budget, needs, and energy, then yes, Hiya is well worth a shot. Not only are the formulas crafted specifically for kids and rigorously tested for the highest standards of safety and quality (for every batch of every product!) but they taste great.

“If you are in a season where testing out vitamins and supplements for your family fits your budget, needs, and energy, then yes, Hiya is well worth a shot.”

Subscriptions come on a monthly basis, because these are not supplements you want sitting on the shelf for years. The brand recommends replacing the old batch when your new one arrives for optimal potency. Each product is around $1/day, and they are all designed to be taken together or alone, without interference. New subscription sign-ups give you 50% off the first month’s supply, which is a great deal for giving the full range a taste test.

If you want to try Hiya with your family, new sign-ups get 50% off the first month’s supply. It’s a great deal for giving the full range a taste test.

Like anything new, repeated exposure is key here, so don’t be discouraged if your kid snubs the products for the first several days. Letting them decorate their refillable bottles with the stickers, mix their drinks, and get involved in the process helps familiarize them and makes it a little easier to give the new flavors and textures another chance. You can even set it up as a review, where they can observe the look, feel, and taste each day and give you notes. A little fun and a little ownership can go a long way, and maybe even head off a battle of wills before it’s even begun.

Just remember not to let them smell the green powder first.

THIS STORY IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR FRIENDS AT HIYA

Stephanie H. Fallon is a Contributing Editor at The Good Trade. She is a writer originally from Houston, Texas. She has an MFA from the Jackson Center of Creative Writing at Hollins University. She lives with her family in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, where she writes about motherhood, artmaking, and work culture. You can find her on Instagram or learn more on her website.