I first read about Happy Baby Food in a magazine that discussed new entrepeneurs under the age of 30. I always love to hear success stories. I was extremely impressed when I walked into a Whole Foods a few months after having read the article to find Happy Baby Food in it's frozen food section. I asked Shazi Visram, Found and CEO of Happy Baby if we could interview her to learn more. 
I read that you grew up on homemade baby food. What’s so great about it?
Homemade baby food tastes and looks and smells like real food, so it trains a baby to appreciate and crave the tastes, textures and colors of fresh wholesome food versus the processed jarred foods that are less likely to resemble real food. The idea is that we create a blueprint for our children from a very early age as to what foods they should get accustomed to having. If we can create taste profiles right from the start around a variety of fresh fruits, grains, veggies, and meats, they will be less likely to become picky eaters and more likely to love those foods throughout their lifetimes.
Tell us a little bit about the company you started.
We launched in 5 stores on Mother's Day 2006 with the intention of changing the way babies and children are fed in our country with a frozen line of organic baby food, HAPPYBABY which is available in natural retailers like Whole Foods as an alternative to processed jarred food. We partnered with Dr Sears, respected pediatrician to come up with the most optimal organic nutrition for infants, make moms lives easier and also create abundance to give back to our nonprofit partner, Project Peanut Butter, which saves lives of starving children in Malawi by donating enough to feed a child for an entire day based on the sale of each unit.
We have since launched HAPPYBELLIES, a revolutionary dry cereal that protects against the development of food allergies, asthma, and eczema now currently available in BabiesRUs, Whole Foods, and Amazon. The latest focus is the launch of the HAPPYBITES, line of balanced handheld meals with hidden vegetables and secret dipping sauces for toddlers and kids. 
What was your inspiration behind HappyBaby?
A close friend with twins was advised by her doctor to make all of her baby's foods fresh at home to ensure the development of good eating habits and learn to crave nutritious real foods. She ended up having twins, life happened, and she just didn't have the time or capacity to peel (for instance) sweet potatoes, steam them, add the water from steaming, and puree to the right consistency, and then freeze into batched of ice cube trays, which is what she had planned on doing. We were talking one day and she was confiding in me that it made her feel like a bad mom for feeding them the jars. It was the first time I had ever thought of baby food, and realized that we start our kids off on these processed foods and then wonder why they are developing such high rates of obesity, ADD, Diabetes, etc that are directly related to food and nutrition.
I immediately asked her if there were something better, would she buy it. She said " In a heartbeat" , and I began working on what is now HAPPYBABY.
Can you explain some differences between jarred baby food and the food that you offer?
Jarred foods, even those that might be made with organic ingredients are processed in order to achieve a three year shelf life. Many times, a drum dried powder (pea powder for instance) is then reconstituted in the jar with water and cooked for an extended period of time at high temperatures in order to achieve a shelf stable product that can sit on a shelf for up to three years! This means that in many instances, baby's first bites come from food that has been sitting on the shelf longer than she has been in the world!
What is HappyBaby's most popular baby food?
I would say it's a tie between our Grrreat greens (spinach, mango, pear) and our Mama Grain (black bean, banana, quinoa). These two boxes are also supplemented with DHA which is critical for brain and eye development. We have also just launched chick chick, gobble gobble, and super salmon, which are all high in protein and contain a wonderful variety of veggies and grains, so I expect those to be top sellers as well. 
What do you think are the reasons for your success?
I think moms are always looking for better options when it comes to saving time and being able to provide the very best for their children. I also think that not only are we becoming more aware of the importance of organic when it comes to baby but also the importance of freshness, and moms are looking for better alternative to the jar. Our tagline is "Think Outside the Jar", and we truly suport driving that education and awareness. I think we are successful because we are truly passionate and committed to making a change. We encourage moms to email us for our recipes and feeding guides that are co-authored with Dr Sears so they can make thier own foods and use ours as a supplement for when they don't have the time.
Your baby food is frozen, how does one prepare it for eating?
It's very easy. The reason we freeze is that freezing locks in the nutrients, taste, color and texture better than any other method. Once foods are refrigerated, they are slowly spoiling, while freezing literally halts that process. So to use, just peel back the film exposing the number of cubes baby will eat. Generally, they start with one or two ounces and then work their way up to more. Pop out the desired cubes and heat. You can heat them in your own glass container in the microwave for just a few seconds per cube (We NEVER encourage microwaving in plastic) or on the stovetop. You can also take them with you in a tupperware so they have thawed for later. Just be sure to refrigerate any unised food which will keep in the fridge for a couple of days.
Can moms outside of the United States buy your baby food? If so, where?
Unfortunately not. Maybe one day HAPPYBABY will take the world by storm, but for now, we are only available in the US and Puerto Rico.
To find out more please visit HappyBabyFood.com
