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For a new parent it can be hard to balance work and social life with the needs of a newborn baby. It’s a constant challenge to find time to cook wholesome and healthy homemade meals every day, and yet it is vital to give kids a healthful start in life. In 2003, Shazi Visram decided to do something about this parenting dilemma; she created HappyBaby, a brand of organic food that offers nutritious, BPA free, USDA organic, allergy conscious, and socially responsible food and snacks for babies, toddlers and pre-school aged children. Today, HappyBaby has expanded to five different lines in over 5,000 stores in the U.S.
HappyBaby offers mothers a plethora of information on why organic, why frozen baby food and much more detailed information. They have teamed up with pediatrician, Dr. Sears. Happy Baby also packs South Asian influenced meals including Baby Dhal.
CitySaheli talked to the founder and CEO of HappyBaby, Shazi Visram, to find out more about this innovative business idea.
What inspired you to start your own business in organic baby food?
I was inspired when I saw the opportunity to create a business that could actually make a difference in people’s lives. In this case, it was with children In the U.S.; our children are suffering from a horrific health epidemic where one in three is obese, 16% of toddlers are overweight, one in three will develop adult onset diabetes before even becoming adults, and the rates for ADD are staggering. When a friend of mine with twins was complaining to me about how she had no good options when it came to feeding her babies healthy foods made from real fresh foods, I realized there was a great opportunity to create something so much better. It was then that I saw that in our country we start babies off on processed foods that can sit on a shelf for three years and realized why they are addicted to processed foods as they grow into children! Further, by creating a brand with truly great products that could affect change when it came to babies’ health, we could create abundance and use that abundance to give back. We found a great partner in the nonprofit, Project Peanut Butter in Africa. My father is from Tanzania so working to help children in Africa really hit home. So for every unit of anything we sell we work to feed a starving child with Project Peanut Butter for an entire day. In general, this model has been effective and rewarding, and I hope it is inspiring for other businesses as well.
Did you find it difficult to start your own business as a woman?
Not really in our case. I think being a woman working with other women to start an organization that appeals to women is a distinct advantage when it comes to building a brand, creating a marketing message and developing products that women will be excited to purchase for their family’s health and happiness.
What are your goals and plans for the future?
We aim to create a platform for health and wellness for young families so that parents can feel good about what they feed their children.
What would your advice be to young professionals like yourself who want to start their own business?
Be persistent. Surround yourself with talented people and partners whose skills complement your own. Be flexible with you business plan. Channel creativity to transform obstacles into opportunities. Truly love what you do because it will be easy to give up on something that you are not passionate about.
Below is a Happy Baby recipe for Homemade Granola. Try it at home!
Happy and Healthy Granola Bars
Here is a healthy breakfast bar or on-the-go snack for you & your children!
1½ cups of HappyBellies oatmeal or multi-grain cereal
½ cup organic oat bran
1/8 cup organic sesame seeds
1/8 cup organic flax seeds
¼ cup organic pumpkin or sunflower seeds
½ cup of your favorite organic nut – like almonds or walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
2 cubes of HappyBaby frozen apple or squash (or one each!), defrosted
½ cup of organic honey or 100% pure organic maple syrup
2 large organic eggs
¼ cup of flaxseed or canola oil (organic)
¼ cup unsweetened organic shredded coconut
1 cup organic raisins or unsweetened dried organic cranberries
Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8×8 dish with wax paper. Make sure wax paper sticks out just beyond sides of pan on 2 sides.
In a food processor, combine HappyBellies cereal, oat bran, seeds, nuts, and cinnamon until ground. Add in all other ingredients except raisins/cranberries and mix until well blended. Stir in raisin or cranberries. Should make a thick paste.
Spread into prepared dish and press down with spatula until evenly distributed. Bake for 20 minutes or until just done. Use ends of wax paper to remove giant bar to cutting block and cut into small bars while still warm. Store in airtight container for up to a week in the fridge or freeze in plastic bags.
Note: if you would like to add calcium, add ½ cup of nonfat dry milk or serve with yogurt or a glass of milk! This recipe may be doubled and cooked in a 9×13 pan and add 5 minutes to cooking time.
*COOKIES!!! Instead of putting in a dish, plop down paste by spoonfuls and cook at 350 for 10 minutes. They will think you are the best mom to let them have cookies for breakfast! They will never be the wiser.
© Nurture, Inc. 2008
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