Babies just eat it up BizWoman: Lori Karis wants to change the health of the next generation
"I've been making baby food for more than 20 years for the families I care for and finally they talked me into selling my food to the public."
-Lori Karis
by Pam Taylor and Michele St. Martin
Some professions just get no respect. Lori Karis was used to that: Working as a nanny for 24 years was a job she loved but that, she said, "other people sometimes didn't really consider a career."
When Karis discovered her inner entrepreneur and began researching the ins and outs of starting her own fresh baby food business, she was a bit concerned that no one would take her seriously because she was, well, a nanny.
Enter Women Who Really Cook. The Twin Cities-based networking organization for women in the food industry became an early and integral part of Karis' support network. No one seemed to care that she was a nanny; more important to them, Karis was a woman and a "foodie." She found this community of women to be generous with its support and eager to help her get going. "I posted on a Friday night that I needed a commercial kitchen [to prepare her baby food], and by Saturday I had eight responses," Karis said. Likewise, when she thought about shipping her products, she had 30 suggestions about places to buy dry ice.
Karis became a nanny after three semesters of college. She was at loose ends and when her mother suggested the career and it made sense. "I was the youngest and my oldest siblings were 10, 13, 14 years older," she said. Babysitting became an important part of her life. "I was the only single aunt. Because I didn't have kids of my own, I was able to have a unique relationship with them that their other aunts and uncles couldn't because they had their own families. My older nieces and nephew are almost like siblings."
In Karis' first nanny position, she did it all-housekeeping, cooking, caring for the kids. Before long she was experimenting with making baby food. As she gained confidence in her ability to prepare fresh, tasty and healthful food for her charges, she developed recipes and found doing so gave her satisfaction. "I looked up fun recipes ... I always researched the nutrition," Karis said.
"I've been making baby food for more than 20 years for the families I care for and finally they talked me into selling my food to the public," she said. She researched the feasibility of a baby food business and decided to go for it. Along the way, Karis decided to live out her locavore (commitment to locally owned food) inclinations by working only with locally grown produce. That has influenced her menus, something she sees as a plus. "We're coming into peak apple and squash season," she said enthusiastically.
"We live in such a richly agricultural area," Karis said. "We have the choices ... grass fed versus grain fed. Our farmers grow wonderful products for us to use-we just have to learn how to use them."
Dubbing her one-woman show (she is the chef, packager, marketing manager, business manager and direct salesperson) Sweet Cheeks Baby Food, Karis set up shop on weekends at the St. Paul Farmer's Market. She found a welcoming community there-so welcoming that she's agreed to sell outdoors every Saturday morning throughout the winter.
"This is the first generation that has a shorter lifespan than their parents [because of poor diet choices]," Karis said. "I feel confident that I can help people make healthy choices for their babies from the beginning. If that happens, then their kids will have a habit of eating healthier food and that's a good thing-the best thing."
FFI:
Sweet Cheeks Baby Food
651-330-3387 info@sweetcheeksbabyfood.com www.sweetcheeksbabyfood.com
