Founder, Plum Organics
www.plumorganics.com

Gigi Lee Chang launched Plum Organics after spending many a weekend making organic baby food for her 10-month-old son and freezing it. Then she realized other women would love to give their babies organic homemade food, too, especially if they didn’t have to labor over making it.

Now you can find Plum Organics products in the freezer sections of approximately 500 stores nationwide, including Wild Oats and Whole Foods locations. Plum Organics puts blends on baby’s menu like Red Lentil Veggie (potatoes, carrots, corn and red lentils), Super Greens (peas, spinach and green beans), Chicken Whole Grain Pasta and Banana Peach Rice Pudding.

Here Gigi (a member of the Ladies Who Launch Incubator in New York) serves up her story and shares some secrets about best practices in branding and more…

Why She Launched Plum Organics

Gigi: “After having my son (now age 3), I had gone back to work in strategic planning for an ad agency and while I enjoyed the work, I felt like my heart was elsewhere. I craved the flexibility to see him more and do more with him during his day. I started thinking about options and changing jobs.

“My husband and I were bouncing around ideas. He was joking and said, ‘Maybe you should sell your baby food.’ My son was 10 months old and I made all of his baby food. I got a lot of feedback from my friends and my nanny… they would say, ‘Wow, we can’t believe you are so committed and take the time to make this food.’ I was still working 60-hour weeks and devoting an entire weekend a month to cooking. It was important to me that my son have a broad variety of food - I would have maybe like 12 things in the freezer at a time.”

But She Didn’t Want To Be an Entrepreneur

“I had come from an entrepreneurial family. I saw a lot of the stress that it put on my parents. It’s one thing if you have a corporate job - yes, that can be stressful and there are things that keep you up at night, but it’s a whole different thing when it’s your own business. I saw that with my family’s business and thought I didn’t want that.”

Launching a Business by Taking Baby Steps

“I didn’t necessarily set out and say ‘I’m going to be an entrepreneur.’ It was a gradual thing. I broke it down into projects. I kind of had the idea this might be something I would turn into a business.

“In the fall of 2004, I said, ‘I’ll just research the market for six months.’ I was still working full-time. I found that there were other companies in other markets already doing this in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and some other places. In May 2005, I left my job and said, ‘I’m going to do more active research now. How can I put the pieces together to make (my idea for a company) happen?’”

Lots of Questions about Launching

“I asked a lot of questions about ways of approaching the market, like ‘I think the food should be frozen, but should I look at fresh? Who do I get to help with product development?’ I took classes at The New School (in New York City) on how to build a food business. It was also a question of the approach to the market… whether I did it in a grassroots way and sold store by store, or went with a regional or national approach.”

Turning Point

“At end of the summer, I had been put in touch with a consultant who has deep experience in the natural organic food industry, Bob Burke, and he was the turning point. Prior to that, I was only able to get so far. Not having any experience in the food business, it was a struggle for me to find the right people and put pieces together for entry into Whole Foods.”

How She Met Him

“I tried to look at similar companies doing something in this space - healthy snacks for kids, juice for kids. I reached out to those companies and said, ‘I’m doing something in your space that’s non-competitive, can you help?’ One of the companies put me in touch with Bob and he was able to help me put the pieces together.”

Preparing for Launch

“I knew time-to-market would be critical. One main trade show happens twice a year - once in the spring and once in the fall. The question was, ‘Do I try to launch (my products) in the spring or wait for fall?’ I made the decision to launch in the spring. This was in October and the show was in early March. A lot of people were skeptical that I could get it done. Because I had been thinking about my vision the whole time I was doing research – I was clear on my strategy (go national), I was able to make decisions quickly and make it happen.

“In five-and-a-half months, I did consumer research focus groups to validate the assumptions that I had on my vision, engaged with a product development company (Mattson & Company), which helped me to create formulations for recipes, and engaged a branding company (Brand Engine). I interviewed four to five branding companies, and I could say that none of them ‘got it’ (my vision). When I spoke with (Brand Engine), I immediately knew they understood my vision – they were making comments and saying things that were right in line with my thinking.”

Getting Start-Up and Growth Funding

“I was in a really fortunate position. Because of my dad being an entrepreneur, I was fortunate to have the support of what my husband and I can put in (to the business), as well as what my family committed. My dad manufactures and exports sports equipment for sporting goods retailers and OEM products as well. His base of operation is China.

“We had earmarked a certain amount to get us through until launch, and now we’ll probably double that initial investment. We’re not quite through the proof-of-concept phase yet, but we have enough data points now to be in advanced discussions with investors and looking to close a round of financing very soon.”

Best Practice in Branding

“(Your branding) needs to be a marriage of understanding who your consumer is and knowing what values you want your brand to stand for and then finding a way to strike that balance. For example, I knew that my consumers were particular, like the UrbanBaby mom… they would appreciate something more contemporary, something fresher. I knew it was important for my brand to project those kinds of aspects that my consumer would identify with. But the values of my product were anchored around nutrition, wholesomeness, homemade… something you can trust.

“If I just did wholesome pictures, you have the tendency (to perceive the product as) old-fashioned, whereas I knew my consumer wanted something more contemporary. By keeping in mind both balancing points, we came up with (branding for Plum Organics) that does both.”

Words of Advice

“Keeping sight of your priorities. The day-to-day of a business can overwhelm you. I went through a period of time where I was working every weekend, putting off a lot of the childcare responsibilities on my husband and my son sensed it, and it was a hard time. It took my husband to say, ‘Hey you gotta wake up here, and understand what you’re doing. (Your son) is the genesis for your company – (partly) why you did this is to have the flexibility to spend time with him and now you’re not seeing him much.’

“The way I found to be able to leave work and go home is realizing that there’s very little that can’t wait until the next day. We all have our lists. The critical stuff always gets done. The important things eventually get done. The stuff that really isn’t important falls off the list.”

Find the People Who Have Figured It Out Before

“Look for resources in your community. Do as much learning so that (launching) doesn’t seem so daunting. When I took classes at The New School about launching a food business… one, it was interesting to get to know other people trying to do similar things, and it was also realizing that ‘Hey, other people know how to do this!’ Prior to taking the class I thought I would have to build a factory and make (the baby food) myself. I was thinking about ‘What kind of equipment do I need?’ It was a huge black hole for me.

“Then I found out… oh yeah, there are these independent third-party food manufacturers… all they do is make food for someone else. The day I learned about co-packers was one of my watershed days. Wow, that was big for me. Recognize that you don’t have to figure it out yourself, and focus on finding the people who have figured it out before.”

How the Ladies Who Launch Incubator Helped

“It helped me to think more about my vision because I sometimes get caught up in the day-to-day of the business. When I go to a meeting and hear people talk about their products and hear people’s visions, it reminds you, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve got to think about mine.’ The other side of it, too, is the inspiration and support you get from the other women. The enthusiasm and feedback you get from other women is really great.”