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Moms on Monday :: Shazi + Jessica of Happy Baby Food

It's a wonderful thing to feed your baby yummy + fresh organic baby food. You know what's even more wonderful? Not having to make it yourself! Thankfully, we have Happy Baby Food, available at stores nationwide. Happy Baby Food, founded by Shazi Visram + Jessica Rolph, is a line of fresh, frozen organic baby meals and cereal that your baby is sure to love! Besides having really fun names (Peas on Earth), the meals feature spices that not only add flavor, but also serve to expand your baby's food palette (mint is an addition to Peas on Earth).

iknowamom :: How, when and where did the idea strike for Happy Baby Food?

shazi :: I was getting my MBA at Columbia University with the dream of starting a socially responsible business. One day a close friend of mine and I were catching up after a long radio silence after she had given birth to twins. She was really upset about what she was feeding her twins. Her pediatrician had counseled her to make all of her children's food from scratch in order to insure a healthy taste profile for fresh whole foods, so she had tried to make all of their foods homemade, but she just couldn't keep it up. He had told her that the jars are over processed in order to ensure a long 3 year shelf life but mostly were made of drum dried powders, so she was really disgusted that she had no other option but to feed them the jars. I heard the guilt and "failure of being a perfect mom" in her voice and I began thinking of ways to create a brand that would represent a better alternative to the jarred foods so moms could feel good about what they feed their babies and so babies could get the best start in life.

iknowamom :: What was the best piece of advice you received when you were starting your business?

shazi :: Surround yourself with good people. And I did and now we continue to do so. The best thing that ever happened to me was to meet my business partner, Jessica Rolph. Jessica has a dedication to socially responsible bsuiness practices and is exceptionally gifted at execution. She and I have complementary skill sets and and she could share the vision that I had to change the way babies and children were fed in our country. We have the same values and the same dedication to doing the right thing, going the extra mile in order to provide the best products, and a consistent dedication to never giving up.

iknowamom :: What has been the biggest reward from Happy Baby Food?

shazi :: We work with an amazing non profit organization, Project Peanut Butter, that feeds starving children in Malawi with a revlutionary peanut butter treatment. For every unit of HAPPYBABY we sell, we reserve enough to feed a child on their program for an entire day. We also get so many thankful emails from moms who are so excited to have our foods for their babies, and that is so very affirming for all of us at HAPPYBABY.

iknowamom :: Can you suggest any valuable resources (books, magazines) that helped you along the way?

shazi :: We have a list of things on our office wall that we practice as a company to keep us motivated and focused based on our goals.It really helps to read over it from time to time, get grounded, and put one step in front of the other.

iknowamom :: What is your favorite way to take a break from the business?

shazi :: Yoga, spending time with our amazingly supportive husbands, and taking a nap to catch up on all of the lost sleep :)

iknowamom :: Do you have any favorite indulgences?

shazi: red wine, NY pizza

jessica: red wine, premium ice cream

Thanks, Shazi + Jessica, for making it so much easier to serve healthy food to our little ones!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank you Happy Baby! I love the product. Furthermore, I love this blog - what a great concept - celebrating mommy entrepreneurs. You get a thumbs up from me.