We were lucky to catch up with Lucie Thome recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lucie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

As a French mom raising my kids in the U.S., I quickly noticed something: feeding babies here comes with a surprising amount of pressure. There’s no shortage of content, but most of it makes feeding feel like a series of high-stakes decisions. You’re expected to pick a lane, purées or baby-led weaning, homemade or store-bought, and stick with it.

I didn’t expect food to become about choosing sides. I thought it would be about introducing balance, pleasure, and variety, without guilt. In France, that’s how we approach mealtimes: they’re something to enjoy, not optimize. So I started asking myself: why isn’t that mindset reflected in the tools we give parents today?

At the same time, I was overwhelmed by how hard it was to find simple, trustworthy, and personalized guidance. I didn’t want a wall of articles or endless scrolling. I just wanted someone to tell me: here’s what’s helpful today, for your baby, at your pace. That kind of support, clear, adaptable, and grounded in expert guidance, didn’t seem to exist.

That was the starting point for Bébé Foodie.

I saw an opportunity to build something that felt missing: a culturally aware, pressure-free app that supports all feeding methods and all parenting styles. One that delivers expert-backed information with empathy and simplicity, and reflects the real lives of parents, not an idealized version.

I didn’t want to create another tracker or static recipe archive. I wanted to design a dynamic food journey that grows with each family. A tool that gives parents confidence, helps them feel less alone, and removes the pressure to get everything “right.”

And beyond parenting, I believe this taps into something bigger: how cultural perspective can spark innovation. Sometimes, we don’t need to invent something new, we just need to adapt what already works, in a way that fits the context and real life of modern families.

Bébé Foodie is that bridge. A product of my French roots, my American experience, and a belief that feeding our children can be simplified, supported, and, above all, enjoyed!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Hi! I’m Lucie Thomé, founder of Bébé Foodie, mom of two, certified nutrition consultant, and someone who never expected to build an app… until I desperately needed one.

I spent over 10 years in brand strategy and marketing before starting Bébé Foodie. I’ve always loved food, cooking it, learning about it, sharing it, but it wasn’t until I became a parent that I realized just how confusing and stressful feeding a baby could be. I thought my background in nutrition and my love of cooking would make starting solids easy. Instead, I found myself overwhelmed by conflicting advice, rigid “rules,” and a lot of guilt.

That experience, plus the contrast between how feeding is approached in France, where I grew up, and the U.S., where I now live, is what inspired Bébé Foodie. In France, food is cultural, joyful, and not overly analyzed. There’s structure, but not pressure. Here, I saw how quickly something as simple as introducing carrots could turn into a debate. I wanted to create a solution that brought balance to the process, not more stress.

So what is Bébé Foodie?
It’s a French-inspired mobile app that simplifies the baby feeding journey,, without the pressure. It supports all feeding methods (purées, baby-led weaning, mixed, you name it), and offers personalized daily guidance tailored to your baby’s age and stage. Think: “What should I serve today?” or “How much should I offer?” or “When do I introduce allergens?”, we answer those questions in real time, with expert-backed info, easy recipes, and thoughtful reminders.

What sets us apart is our mindset. We’re not here to tell parents what they should do. We’re here to meet them where they are, ask what they need, and support them through the messy, imperfect, and beautiful reality of feeding a baby. We blend the practical structure of modern tools with the emotional relief of being told: “You’re doing okay.”

I’m most proud of the fact that Bébé Foodie is truly built with empathy. From the tone of voice in the app to the way we design our food journey, it’s all meant to help parents feel less alone and more confident. We’ve also brought together an incredible team of pediatric experts, doctors, dietitians, feeding therapists, who believe in our mission and have helped us build something that’s both trusted and approachable.

For anyone discovering Bébé Foodie for the first time, here’s what I want you to know:
We’re not about perfection. We’re about support.
We’re not pushing one method. We’re embracing your method.
And we’re doing it with a little French flair, a lot of heart, and a deep understanding that feeding your baby should feel good, not overwhelming.

Whether you’re a first-time parent, a curious foodie, or someone who just believes we can do better by families, thanks for being here. This isn’t just an app. It’s a mindset shift, and a community I’m so proud to be building.

Any advice for managing a team?

I’m a people person, through and through. I’ve always loved working in teams, collaborating, bouncing ideas, laughing in between meetings. I’m an extrovert, and being surrounded by people, both in my personal and professional life, energizes me. So when I left my corporate job to become an entrepreneur, I wasn’t prepared for how lonely it would feel at first.

That’s why from day one, building a team wasn’t just a business decision, it was a personal priority. But I quickly learned that having a team isn’t enough. You need the right people around you, those who share your values and believe in the mission as much as you do. And I’ll be honest: it took a few hiring mistakes and tough lessons to understand that.

I’ve now built a small but incredibly strong team of people who genuinely care about what we’re building with Bébé Foodie. They’re motivated, thoughtful, and aligned with the vision, and that alignment makes all the difference.

So here’s my advice on managing a team:

– Be consistent. Whether it’s your feedback style or how you run meetings, people need to know what to expect from you.
– Set boundaries. It’s so tempting in a startup to be “on” all the time, but I’ve learned to protect everyone’s time, including my own.
– Be fair and clear. If accountability, proactivity, or even a sense of humor is important to you, say it! One of the most useful things I did was sit down and define what really matters to me in the people I work with. You can hire the most skilled expert, but if they don’t match your working style or values, it can be frustrating for everyone involved.

And when it comes to maintaining morale, don’t underestimate the little things.

We’ve had team outings (nothing fancy, just real time together), I send gifts to their doors on holidays, and I never forget to say thank you. Appreciation matters. So does respect for their time, empathy when life gets hard, and creating a culture where people feel seen, not just as team members, but as humans.

At the end of the day, we’re all juggling a lot, inside and outside of work. Leading with care and clarity has been the most powerful way I’ve found to keep morale high and motivation genuine.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Even though we only recently launched the Bébé Foodie app, fostering real connection with our first users has been a top priority from the start. I know how precious those early adopters are, they’re not just “users,” they’re the foundation of our community. So we’ve made a conscious effort to treat them like partners in this journey.

We’ve set up one-on-one user interviews to listen and learn directly from them, what’s working, what could be improved, and what they truly need in their daily lives. We’re sending small gifts as a thank you and are planning to invite them to test new features before anyone else or join exclusive virtual events with our expert team. We want them to feel part of the process, because they are.

We’ve also sent personal thank-you notes and small virtual gifts, just a little token to say, “we see you, and we appreciate you.” For example, when one user told me she was having trouble accessing certain information on the appdue to a bug, I didn’t just fix it, I created a custom guide just for her and had one of our experts put together a tailored plan for her baby. That kind of personal support might not scale perfectly, but it builds trust, and that matters.

We also make an effort to show up consistently in their inbox with seasonal food tips, encouraging reminders, and thoughtful updates. It’s never about marketing for the sake of it, it’s about building a relationship rooted in care, relevance, and shared goals.

At the end of the day, loyalty comes from feeling valued. So we lead with empathy, stay responsive, and never forget that behind every app user is a real person, doing their best for their baby, and we’re here to make that journey feel a little easier.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bebe-foodie.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bebefoodie_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/B%C3%A9b%C3%A9-Foodie-100075706280987/?locale=id_ID&_rdr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucie-thom%C3%A9-%F0%9F%A5%A6-91381028/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bebefoodie

Image Credits

Adelaide Chantilly Photography