Good times roll for baby food firm

Organic baby food producer Heavenly Tasty Organics has launched a new range of frozen weaning products in the Republic through the SuperValu retail chain.

A winner in last year’s Irish Maternity and Infant Awards, the company is to supply the Musgrave Group with five puree flavours — apple, pear, mango, butternut squash and carrot — available in SuperValu stores in a new convenient packaging.

Each pack contains four individual heart-shaped portions for mothers weaning babies from four to six months upwards. All the products are suitable for mums seeking fresh and allergen-free foods for babies.

Managing director Shauna McCarney established the business in 2009 because she found it difficult to find fresh, organic and ‘free from’ products for weaning her own young family.

McCarney says: “I searched the shops and supermarkets for pure, fresh, nutritious, and tasty baby food, but it just wasn’t available anywhere. All of the baby foods I found were, ‘on-the-shelf’ jars, which were dated for years in some cases, and contained a multitude of un-pronounceable ingredients, which I wouldn’t eat myself, never mind feed it to a baby. To me it just didn’t seem right. All I needed was a little convenience, without the guilt.

“I subsequently found out my two young children also have multiple food allergies, ranging from severe nut and egg allergies, to dairy and wheat intolerance, and this spurred me on even more to go ahead and launch Heavenly Tasty Organics.

“Winning the listing from Musgrave for SuperValu is a marvellous endorsement of the innovation and quality of our range of natural baby products. It’s a recognition of the growing demand from mums in Ireland for the opportunity to wean babies using ‘free from’ products. Mums can be sure that our products are natural because all of our raw ingredients are also sourced from certified 100% organic farmers and growers,” she adds.

McCarney says her products are made in the same way that mothers have been doing at home for years — pureeing and freezing into little portions.

Her company’s success is based on the fact that today’s working mothers often find this preparation work too time consuming.

The company, based at Omagh, Co Tyrone, has been assisted in the development of the range of natural purees by Jane McClenaghan, a leading Irish nutritionist.

Heavenly Tasty Organics is also supplying its natural baby weaning products to over 400 Costcutter and Henderson convenience stores across Northern Ireland. The company also has a home delivery service available to Northern Ireland residents, however, they hope to expand this service to include the Republic.