Year Founded:
2009
Founders and Ages?
Zak Normandin, 26
Tell us about your company:
When my wife and I went shopping for food and snacks to give to our two young daughters, we always talked about the lack of selection in the baby aisle. We always enjoyed purchasing organic or locally produced products for ourselves, but we really weren’t finding anything like that in the baby aisle. In addition, many of the products that were available contained added sugars and preservatives that we did not want to feed to our girls. I decided shortly after that to begin researching what it would take to bring a food product to market.
In February of 2009, I shifted my attention full time to Little Duck Organics and began negotiating with a manufacturing facility and a packaging supplier. It took the remainder of 2009 to finalize our packaging designs, launch our website, and finish production of our first product. During the first week of December (09′), we launched our first line of products, Tiny Fruits, in 12 stores here in New England as well as on Amazon.com. The product comes in three different varieties and contains only 100% natural organic fruit. In addition, none of our products contain added sugar, preservatives, colors, or artificial flavors.
What makes your company unique in its industry?
We are currently positioning ourselves as the Organic/Raw/All Natural leader in the baby foods market. We made it a goal early on to produce products using all only natural organic ingredients, and we are planning to launch two more products later this year that will compliment our current selection. This is a niche within the baby foods industry that has yet to be filled, & we feel very positive about the opportunities for growth within the industry.
Future Plans?
Our short term goal is to expand our retail exposure and grow brand awareness. Over the next couple months, we will be approaching as many grocery stores as possible to try to get our products on their shelves. In addition, we will be expanding our online exposure through websites like Diapers.com and Spud.com . Our future goal for the company is to launch our products nationwide, and incorporate several other product lines into our offering. Future product development plans include a line of organic oatmeal & fruit, products for 2-4 year olds, and organic teething biscuits.
What was the start-up budget?
$20,000
