We recently connected with Maryely Tejada and have shared our conversation below.

Maryely, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

My business started soon after I began my journey to feed my own child, Oliver. I was motivated to help other parents and have them not be in the same position as I was when I started feeding Oliver. As some must not know, thanks to most recent studies, store-bought purées are not the best thing to give your baby. When I started to feed Oliver, I felt in my gut that store-bought purees weren’t right. Always follow your mom gut! I just knew that a product with a shelf life older than my baby couldn’t have been good for my baby. Plus they are loaded with additives and sugars. All the things that a baby beginning to develop did not need.
So, I began visiting my local farmer’s markets and meal-prepping every week for my son Oliver. However, the idea of how other new parents must feel weighed heavy on me. I thought parents must settle for what’s in stores because they don’t have any REAL options. And meal prepping for your child is so time-consuming, especially if you’re a single parent or have multiple children. I wanted to create a NEW and BETTER OPTION. I wanted to create a safe place for parents, where they felt 100% comfortable with what they were feeding their child. I felt that freshly made purees made with local ingredients were going to be the best option for a new baby.

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 friends! My name is Maryely Tejada and I am the Owner and Founder of Ollipop Baby Food LLC. I am a single momma and entrepreneur. My heart is to help parents like me find different options for feeding their children and help educate parents on the importance of nutrition in the first 1000 days of life. My goal is to make good quality, sustainably sourced food for children and make it affordable to all parents.

Also, I founded a non-profit organization, The Papaya Tree. This is to help feed hungry children in my community and around the world; give healthier food options to inner-city children; show the value of local agriculture, and help create and sustain local gardens.

Previously to founding my business I was in the hospitality industry for nearly 10 years where I gained knowledge on all things food and service. Thanks to the pandemic, I finally made the scary leap of taking on my business full time.

I am a passionate individual with many talents. I have created my business on my own from the ground up. I have done all the graphic design for it and all marketing on my own.

My inspiration has been many innovators in my local community who are making a big difference right here in Miami. They are doing their best to help support our community in a sustainable way and help others in need.
I want to do the same. I am passinate in helping and inspiring others in my local community and then moving on to doing the same in our world.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I originally started my business with my son’s father, who was a chef. When we decided to end the relationship I had to decide weather I wanted to run the business on my own or give it up. I made the difficult choice to run the business on my own as a single parent. I couldn’t be more happy about my choice. It made me stronger and more resilient. I accomplished more things on my own than I ever did working with a partner and now I am able to look at any challenge that comes my way as an opportunity. The experienced I gained on my own is unmatched.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media has actually proven to be challenging for my business. We have tried all regular methods or main stream methods that didn’t seem to work for our niche. The way in many may believe is the right way to build. We have managed to grow our audience not through traditional methods but by word of mouth and through different farmers markets. That proved to work better for us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ollipopbabyfood.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ollipopbabyfood/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ollipopbabyfood/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryely-tejada-b0b7b819b/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ollipopbabyfood
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkceAruptje0rAZMLcrQUXQ/featured

Image Credits
Maryely Tejada @bearcat.photo (Instagram) Vivianne Guarisma @viviannephotography (Instagram) Haley Wan @photographer_photovideocreate (Instagram)