Puree is everything. At least at Little Leaf. The Munich-based startup produces baby food that's not only healthy but, according to the company, also delicious. The company uses a particularly gentle production method that isn't yet standard in Germany. Founder Sandra Peralta tells us in our seven questions how she came to produce and sell her own baby food.
1. Who are you and what do you do? Please briefly introduce yourself and your product!
We are Little Leaf, one of the first baby foods in Germany to preserve using high pressure processing (HPP) instead of heat. This preserves the vitamins, nutrients, and—most importantly—the flavor of the ingredients.
The idea for Little Leaf came from me, Sandra Peralta (40 years old), a mother of two from Munich. When I started making baby food for my daughter myself, I quickly realized: It tasted much better than conventional jars. Shortly thereafter, when I first heard about a process that preserves food using pressure, my idea quickly became clear: I wanted to bring fresh, tasty baby food to the German refrigerated shelves. My years of experience working with recipes and food through my catering company were naturally advantageous, as were my business studies.
“Taste, taste, taste”
2. But that's been around for a long time!
That's not true. Products of this kind are already available in other countries, that's true. In Germany, however, there are hardly any alternatives to baby food from jars or homemade baby food. Little has changed in the baby food sector here in the last 30 years. With the new HPP process, it's finally possible to revitalize this segment with fresh ideas. With Little Leaf, I offer parents who don't have time to cook themselves but don't want to resort to conventional jars a tasty alternative from the refrigerated section.
3. What are the three main ingredients for your recipe for success?
It's simple: high-quality ingredients in organic, ecological infant quality, careful processing by our experienced organic producer and the gentle HPP process, as well as my own proprietary recipes. These differ significantly in their ingredient composition from what you'd find in the baby food range to date. In summary, you could say: taste, taste, taste.
4. Let’s get down to business: How is business going?
Our porridge will not be available until spring, so we cannot give any figures at this time.
“I value the exchange with other founders here”
5. What does Munich mean to you?
I was born in Munich and live here with my family. In that sense, Munich is my home, and I love spending weekends in the mountains or the lakes around Munich, or cycling through the English Garden with my children. I deliberately chose to start my business in Munich. Munich is a high-birth-rate metropolis; mothers with their babies and strollers are a key part of our cityscape. I personally like that a lot. At the same time, it's also important for me to reach my target audience.
Regionality was also a priority for me when looking for a producer for Little Leaf. I'm all the more pleased that I found a partner in Bavaria who can produce my cereals to excellent HPP quality. Overall, I think Munich is a great location for a startup, and I appreciate the exchange with other founders here and the way people interact with each other.
6. How will your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we see you soon at Epic Fail Night?
How was that? Be yourself, unless you can be a unicorn. So, quite clearly: Unicorn. We'll achieve this with a coherent concept and a product that's in demand. More and more parents are working and simply don't have the time to cook for themselves. Nevertheless, they want to feed their children healthy and mindful food. With Little Leaf, this will be possible in the future.
7. Isar or English Garden?
As an old Schwabing resident, definitely the English Garden.
