As part of my services for the Bumbles™ Cookery Club, I sold homemade frozen baby food to my local moms, but as fast as the Cookery Club grew, so did the orders for the baby food. It was during this time that I was struck by how many complaints there were about the lack of nutritious, tasty and healthy jarred baby foods available to the average South African mom.
I was also selling homemade frozen baby food as part of The Cookery Club services.
As a mom who had only ever made fresh baby food, I asked my Cookery Club moms what their reservations were in buying the jarred baby foods available and what their thoughts were. It came down to the following points and questions.
- How do they preserve it without using additives?
- The taste or smell wasn’t true to its original form
- Salt and artificial sweetners are used
- Could we as moms trust the ingredients used
- Some use GMO maize & corn starch as fillers
- If I don’t like it why must my baby eat it?
- It wasn't nutritious enough
- The shelves are filled with boring flavours
- Taste and texture issues when moving to Stage 3
As the demand for my homemade baby food grew, I decided to take on the challenge and bring something new and exciting to the babies of South Africa.
Together with my team, all of whom are experienced in the baby food category and experts in the field, we sat down in a tiny kitchen in the beautiful town of Paarl with my recipes. I had my pink basket filled with fresh produce, only to be met by a team whose ingredients consisted of concentrates, fillers (all GMO) and unflavourful pulps.
I refused point blank to use any of their proposed ingredients, I wanted to make baby food the same way every single mother in the world has made baby food since the beginning of time!
Bumbles™ philosophy is about giving our babies the best super foods available so that they can benefit from the best nutrition possible.
My commitment to my children became the Bumbles™ Promise
- No added salt or artificial sweetners used in any of our baby food purées
- Source only the freshest fruit and vegetables
- Offer the best combination of nutrient rich super foods
- No GM or artificial ingredients whatsoever
- No thickeners or fillers
- Preservative-free baby food purées
The Question of Organic -v- Conventional
Growing up on a farm and being proudly South African, I have a strong loyalty to our motherland and was insistent that we try and source as many of the fruits and vegetables from local farmers as possible.
My commitment is to offer ingredients that add more value and variety which is locally grown rather than using the limited expensive organic supply and losing on the nutrient profiles of the super foods that Bumbles™ loves to use.
The Bumbles™ range uses nutrient rich super foods such as;
- Blueberries
- Baby Spinach
- Peas
- Red Lentils
- Beetroot
- Quinoa
- Sweetcorn
- Onions
- Spices
If Bumbles™ was certified organic, we would be limited in our offering and as we say in our weaning workshops, fresh is best!
I was extremely lucky to have found the best procurement pro in South Africa and all I can say is that we (Bumbles™ moms & babes) are in safe hands! Our procurement manager is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable experts in the fields. We source “infant grade” ingredients and purchase our foods from reliable sources, meaning no harmful or dangerous pesticides.
Bumbles™ Organoleptic Criteria
In the weaning workshops we spend time in the kitchen teaching moms how to make healthy, delicious and tasty baby food. It is during the cooking time that all your senses are stimulated, making the food we eat so much more delicious.
I wanted to achieve the same effect in our baby food range, so I implemented a strict organoleptic criteria which had to be met.
- Smell - does it smell like the real food
- Taste - does it taste like the real food
- Look - does it have the same colour as the real food
- Feel - is the texture true to the real food
As for sound sense, when your Bumbles™ Baby hears the pop of the lid it will encourage kicking of feet and clapping of hands in excitement knowing there is some yummy goodness on its way!
Other Certifications
The Bumbles™ Baby Food range is manufactured in an ISO22000 facility that is both Halaal and Kosher certified.
Our baby food is manufacturered in a Kosher Certified facility and although we conform to the kosher guidelines, our decision not to be certified was due to the fact that we will be introducing a range of delicious meat and chicken variants to Stage 2 and Stage 3.
Bumbles™ has been proudly certified with SANHA for our Halaal certification number S – 0413
All the Bumbles™ products are based on values that reach beyond merely business, with the belief that small efforts and genuine heartfelt intent can make everything just a little better.
I hope that you will enjoy each of the variants, we would love to hear from you with your thoughts, comments, pictures and any requests that you have.
Billie-Clare Schofield
(Mom, Founder and Creator of Bumbles™)
