Major awards for innovative baby food entrepreneur

Shauna McCarney, founder of Northern Ireland's Heavenly Tasty Organics, a manufacturer of a highly innovative range of organic baby weaning food, has been named 2011 Business Parent of the Year in Ireland by the influential Mother and Infant magazine in Dublin.

In addition, the businesswoman, a mum of two young children, has won the Indigenous Innovator/Entrepreneur in the inaugural Women in Business Awards in Northern Ireland.

The company, which she established last year, is now manufacturing and marketing an original range of eight fresh fruit and vegetable foods for weaning babies aged from four months. Business has also been secured from SuperValu for its 39 stores in Northern Ireland and is currently dealing with inquiries that will see the business enter the markets in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland early next year.

Shauna McCarney, commenting on the business, says: "It's been an ambition of mine to use my experience in business to set up my own small enterprise. The opportunity came with the birth of my first baby and the difficulty I experienced in finding organic and fresh food for weaning babies. Initially I began to make my own baby foods.

"The arrival of a second baby led me to carry out a bit of market research. Many of the baby foods I found were 'on-the-shelf' jars and dated for years, in some cases. Some contained a multitude of ingredients that I wouldn't eat myself.

"After four years of research and hard work, in November 2010, Heavenly Tasty Organics was launched to offer mothers alternative products that were natural, nutritious and convenient.

"As well as developing a range of fruit and vegetable purees, I spent considerable time on creating a packaging format that mothers would find easy to use and would also eliminate waste. I opted for a re-sealable and attractively designed pouch holding 10 ice-cube shaped portions.

"Mothers can count on the provenance of the foods because all the ingredients are traceable and sourced from local suppliers. They are 100 per cent organic, hand selected, steamed gently and fresh frozen. The initial range of purees includes pear, apple, broccoli, butternut squash, parsnip, sweet potato, swede and carrot."

The company, which is based at Cookstown in County Tyrone, is developing business in a rapidly growing marketplace. Research shows that the share of organic of the infant food market rose by 48 per cent last year, up from 46.5 per cent the previous year.

According to the Soil Association, for instance, the organic baby food market was worth £2.1 billion in 2008. Significantly the market research shows that smaller companies are making the greatest inroads in this important and growing niche within food sales.