opinions please: home made baby foods?

Question

i was wanting the opinions of mums about an idea i had for making abit of spare cash.

would the idea of being able to buy fresh, homemade organic baby purees and meals appeal to you? i make all of my sons meals at home and really enjoy cooking so i was thinking of it as a potential way of making some pocket money.

i would make it all at home, freeze it up into single portions with all the cooking instruction ingredients etc included so u knew exactly what you were giving you baby. it would be healthier than processed baby jars or microwave meals.

i would possibly even start a home delievery kinda thing. and keep the prices resonable

it was just an idea but i am interested to know would it be the kind that mums out there would be interested in, or if not why not?

thanks in advance for any feedback
claire x

Answer 1

Great idea, but I think you will need to go through a lot of health and safety checks as its baby food. Contact your local council health and safety department who will be able to help you. You may find that you would have to renovate your ktichen or do improvements of some sort.

You would have to do food hygiene courses, so you can prove you can handle food safely. there is also storage to consider, overheads, would you have to have refridgerated transport? Chilled or frozen food can only be allowed out of a chiller/freezer for a certain amount of time (20 mins I think) before it is deemed unuseable, so there is an awfyul lot to think about.

I am a mum, and would have loved this kind of thing - being able to order a few home cooked meals a week to keep in the freezer, but as a mum I would also want to be safe in the knowledge that the food was safely prepared, handled, cooked and stored.

So i think you doo need to look into this deeper, its a good idea - locally produced food for babies/toddlers, just needs to be thought out a lot.

Go for it, and find out what you can, if its gonna cost too much to set up, you could always write down your recipes, and try and get them published. or maybe get them printed up in leaflet form and see if you can sell them to mums in parks, sell them at car boot sales, or even do them as an e-book and flog them on Ebay!

All the best!

Lorraine xxx

Answer 2

Well, I am already making my food at home as well. If I was a working mother though, I don't know if would trust someone I didn't know making my son/daughters food. I would probably trust the companies that make baby food day in and day out more. They are starting to come out with organic baby foods as well.

When you make it from home don't you have to freeze it if it is big batches?? (I do) So if you were delivering it or selling it to potential buyers I don't think this would apeal, considering it is easier just to take a baby jar along with you, rather than taking a lunch pale with ice in it.

It sounds like a good idea, I have actually thought of doing it myself, but for the price of baby food parents would probably just buy it from the store... also weigh out your delivering costs... I don't know where you live but here in the us gas is way to expensive to be delivering...

Answer 3

I would say you wouldn't want to include the instructions. That would mean that people would begin making their own at home instead of buying your product. Instead, give them a basic overview, making sure to mention that you work in a clean environment and that the jars/equipment used to make everything has been properly sterilized before placing any food in said containers, etc. etc. Put the ingredients list on there, just don't list how much of each is in it. My main concern as a parent would be sterile working conditions and how clean that jar really is. ;) Good luck!

Answer 4

The one problem i see is that often the cost of buying a jar at the store when they are on sale will still be cheaper. I made my own way back when and it ended up costing me more than buying it from the store. There aren't so many moms out there who are willing to pay the extra bit for home made. Mayby go into something strictly apple sauce, at least you have an adult market as well.

Answer 5

well no honey if I did not personally know you I would not feed my child something you cooked at your house. I don't know how clean or honest you are. The stuff you get in the stores is controlled by the governments and it has to meet the criteria of safe to feed to my child.
It is a wonderful idea and if you know a lot of momma's with babies, perhaps you could sell to them. It is too easy to pick up the stuff when they buy groceries than to make special trips or arrangements to get it from you. And if the kids got used to your food and then you got ill or couldn ' t be in service for a while going back to store bought stuff might make the little guys sick or they might not want to eat it.

Answer 6

I would love that because you really don't know what you are getting at the store anymore and I cant really cook all that good at least not according to my 18 month old LOL it is a great idea and i hope it works out for you i wish you the best of luck

Answer 7

what about the dads?

figure out the story with insurance first - you're taking on a biggie. Don't underprice - your goods will not be cheap and you can't expect to be able to sell them to everyone. That said, go do your research on Innocent - the people who make the not-at-all-cheap smoothies - and follow their model. It's perfect for that kind of product. As far as I know, no-one's done the babyfood version yet. Go for it!

oh yeah, and try to come up with some recipes that don't turn everything orange.

Answer 8

i am sure there are many moms in your area that would enjoy that.
here are some points to consider:
__ you will need a business license from your city or county.
__you will need a license and certification from your local health department or you could be in for trouble.
__will your items be reasonably priced for all income brackets or will they be more for upscale customers?.. know your customer base.
__word of mouth is good, but advertisement is better.. try health food stores, kids clothing shops and grocery bulletin boards to start out with.
__research it all thouroughly before jumping in.. BUT DO jump in.. your own buisness can be exciting and challenging.. don't be afraid to try it. GOOD LUCK

Answer 9

never try organic baby food... babies need nutrients that are in regular baby food and mothers milk. There was a couple in NY that killed their baby because they were vegan and tried to feed the baby a vegan diet "home made". Of course they went to jail

Important never to play with your baby's health because you think it's right... definetly consult a doctor

Answer 10

i think its a good idea for mothers with plenty of money, after all, it doesnt take long to puree up fresh veg. For busy mums with a little more money it could be very lucrative.