My name is Sophie Baron and I’m the founder of Mamamade. I’m originally from New York but I moved to the UK in 2014 to undertake a PhD at London School of Economic. I launched Mamamade in 2017 after the birth of my daughter as I felt there was a gap in the market for convenience-based baby food that was nourishing, yet delicious!

Unlike other baby food brands, Mamamade operates very much as a digital business. It is driven by AI, and all produce is delivered online via subscription. We create bespoke nutrient-dense meals for children aged 6-36 months.

We’re very technology-focused, capturing feedback and data from our customer base regularly to help shape the business. Our all-natural, allergen-free baby foods are prepared by a team of restaurant chefs (previously at the likes of Bob Bob Ricard) and nutritionists, to deliver restaurant-standard food to the door.

What were you doing before launching your business?

Before launching Mamamade I was Head of Operation at a tech company. However, after returning to work following the birth of my daughter, I struggled balancing weaning with the demands of a high-level job.

I felt frustrated and uninspired with the lack of transparency over ingredients and preparation processes when it came to convenience baby food: everything on the shelf was full of sugar and came in a jar or packet.

The challenge was finding something nutritious when I lacked the time to cook everything from scratch. From there I saw an opportunity to leverage my Tech background and launch a baby food subscription service driven by AI that provides a time-saving support system for parents.

Getting involved in Tech is still a hot topic for women, what was the motivation for you?

I am fortunate enough to be one of the first generations to really grow up with tech at their fingertips, and this ignited a passion from a young age– I was even Head of Tech at my sorority at University! This passion continued as I started my career with a specific focus on web optimisation in retail and media. Tech has played a central role in helping Mamamade build a community with fellow parents in our customer base. Without digital tools we wouldn’t be able to provide a support system to so many parents across the UK.

How have you found your journey so far and what has been your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment to date has been building Mamamade’s fantastic community. The feedback we have received from customers has been overwhelming and it’s been amazing to see our product resonate with so many like-minded parents.

What has been the most challenging thing so far?

As a young business, there is always the chicken-and-egg between demand and supply, and managing growth whilst working on a bootstrapped budget. Our biggest challenge has been when we've seen surges in demand and a rapidly increased customer base, and ensuring our stock scales without any compromise in quality and experience for the customer.

Women in Tech_ Sophie Baron founder of Mamamade.png

You have created a business that is adaptable and progressive. What has that process been like for you?

The key for any business to succeed is to remain customer-focused throughout, and that means adapting to customer needs. Everything we have done at Mamamade is in response to customer feedback. For example, we created the first savoury porridge by identifying those ingredients ordered/requested most frequently and adding the new product into our production line with minimal disruption. Being nimble to customer demands is central to success.

Who is your target audience?

Our target audience is working parents with children aged 6-36 months that are looking for timesaving, yet nutritious food. Mamamade was set up to create tools to make parenting easier, healthier, more social, more restful and more fulfilling - and we aim to continue to be that support system for parents.

What advice would you give to fellow entrepreneurs stuck on mapping out a strong business model?

Entrepreneurs need to think carefully about the proposition they are making. They need to identify a problem and find the solution to ensure their business model is sound. It is also imperative to know your customer and exactly what they need.

What plans do you have for business over the next two years?

Our focus on AI is key: we use this to drive personalisation, forecasting and recipe optimisation, all with the aim to provide the best customer service, most nutritional food and reduce waste. We are in the early stages of building out a dashboard for parents to track what they are feeding their children, with nutritional breakdowns and the ability to understand their child better, based on the boxes they've received. This will give parents a better understanding of their child’s development and needs.

We track the use of our ingredients in our production and by utilising forecasting, we can ensure we are not over-ordering raw stock or over-producing – essentially ensuring we’re utilising our facility as effectively as possible. This in turn has helped us develop, and with a growing number of customers we can start to identify trends and respond accordingly.

Overview of how your business works:

Mamamade is a fast growing direct-to-consumer business delivering everything parents need to make delicious, plant-based meals for their babies, quickly. Mamamade creates bespoke nutrient-dense meals for children aged 6-36 months. The brand offers 16 delicious plant-based meals across three product ranges designed to empower parents to see every ingredient and introduce new, original flavour combinations to their babies’ palates.