Organic.org Partner, Fresh Baby

Reminiscent of the movie, “Baby Boom”, starring Diane Keaton, Fresh Baby is the inspiration of two sisters, Joan Ahlers and Cheryl Tallman, who live in rural parts of The United States, thousands of miles apart. In raising their children, they could not identify all-natural alternatives for healthy and hassle-free feeding. Drawing upon their own concerns as parents, the two women began developing products for today’s busy parents and caregivers with a product line that includes: homemade baby food kits, baby food cookbooks, baby food and breast milk storage trays, breastfeeding reminders, and child development diaries.

Since its inception in October 2002, Fresh Baby has leveraged the ever-increasing consumer interest in natural living and healthy eating to curb the childhood obesity epidemic plaguing the nation. Through the development of products that encourage breastfeeding and developing children’s healthy eating habits, Fresh Baby is helping parents proactively respond to this healthcare crisis.

Selected by Entrepreneur Magazine as a “Hot Company to watch in 2004”, Fresh Baby is a company on the move. It’s approach, expertise, and thinking has been tapped by major media outlets, including The Daily Buzz, Fit Pregnancy, Organic Style, Scholastic Parent & Child, The Boston Globe, The Detroit Free Press, and many other print, radio and TV outlets. Fresh Baby has an iParenting award and was one of five finalists in the new product awards at the 2004 Natural Products Show.

Helping Parents Raise Healthy Kids
The facts are disturbing. One in six children attending school today are obese. The number of obese preschoolers has doubled in the last 3 decades and 30-40% of these children are now at risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes. More alarming still, a staggering 80% of overweight children will grow up to be obese adults. Tallman and Ahlers believe one of the keys to solving this healthcare crisis lies with parents.

With research concluding that children’s eating preferences are established by age 3, it is clear that parents play a crucial role in getting their children off to the right start. Fresh Baby was founded on the belief that all parents want to raise healthy children, but when it comes to healthy eating habits, they lack the tools, skills, and knowledge needed to be effective.

Fresh Baby’s commitment to equipping parents goes beyond product sales. Their monthly newsletter, Fresh Ideas, is completely free and packed with family-friendly recipes and tips on healthy eating for the whole family. Cheryl and Joan also volunteer their time speaking to groups of new parents on subjects such as introducing solid foods, making baby food, and raising a healthy eater.

Making Fresh, Natural Foods Easy, Convenient, and Fun
Both Cheryl and Joan started out by making food for their own children and found that it was actually easy with a few simple tools. And interestingly, once they got started making baby food, it was really quite convenient. All total, it took about 30 minutes a week. The So Easy Baby Food Kit is the result of this experience and much research. The kit provides families with everything they need to create homemade meals for their babies. Just open the box and get started.
Fresh Baby puts a modern twist on the conventional wisdom that when you make it yourself, you know it’s better. From writing easy-to-follow, tasty recipes for using fresh ingredients, to recommending simple activities that build good eating habits, to answering all the questions and eliminating the guesswork, Fresh Baby has thought of it all.

Fresh Baby Goal
“The ultimate goal of Fresh Baby is to have our name synonymous with family-friendly healthy eating." says co-founder Cheryl Tallman. Over time, Fresh Baby will offer a complete array of products for newborn through school-aged children that support parents in developing good eating habits for their children and thereby reduce their children’s risk of obesity.