A Bend nutritionist has a recipe to take the guesswork out of feeding babies and has created a business that will deliver frozen, nutritionally balanced ready-to-eat-meals to the door.

After several years of R&D and honing menus and food offerings, Square Baby, a subscription delivery service, is at the point where it can accommodate new business. Co-founders Katie Thomson, the Bend nutritionist, and Kendall Glynn, a San Francisco genetic counselor, wanted to create food that was healthy, and satisfied a baby’s nutritional needs in just one to two meals. Costs range to about $4 to $6 a meal.

“When I had my first child, I’d cruise down the baby food aisle at the grocery store and be disappointed by what I found,” Thomson said. “There was a sea of products that didn’t help me know what I was giving my baby or what he needed during the day. I felt like I had to be my own detective.”

Thomson decided to take matters in her own hands and put her knowledge to use. She cooked up menus and food offerings that were science-based and helped parents introduce their baby to solid food and become adventurous eaters.

At first she thought about a cookbook or an app, but she wanted to bring convenience to the table. Thomson devised a customizable meal system of protein, veggies, fruits and grains that met the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommendations. Now more than nine meals are available on the website for delivery.

While volunteering at one of her children’s school functions Thomson met her co-founder Glynn and they launched Square Baby in 2018. At first the meals were made in a commercial kitchen in San Francisco and were made by hand. The first month of shipping, Thomason said she sent off 800 meals.

Now the meals are made at an undisclosed location, but the business operates from Bend.

“We’d love to make the food in Bend,” Thomson said. “Our current co-manufacturer gives us a competitive edge. We have earned the trust of parents for these decisions.”

Future growth areas still remain into the snack and smoothie realm, she said. Being in Bend has really helped the business, she said, as the community of entrepreneurs supports each other.

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Recently, she pitched the business at an Economic Development for Central Oregon pub talk and has been tapping into the vast entrepreneurial knowledge of packaged food products of Central Oregon at Cultivate Bend, a trade association of packaged products that cultivates an atmosphere of support and camaraderie.

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Since Cultivate Bend’s focus is to accelerate the path to success for companies like Square Baby, connecting with other natural food producers in the area can bridge challenges, said Paul Evers, co-founder and CEO of Riff, a Bend cold brew coffee company and founder of Cultivate Bend.

“We connect innovative, high-integrity brands with a full spectrum of resources — from education and awareness to the tactical operational issues, that range from manufacturing and distribution to retail placement and funding,” Evers said in an email. “Square Baby is a model brand for Cultivate Bend — we’re a supportive community passionate about good-for-you, good-for-the planet products.”

Square Baby’s meals can be made dairy free, rich in iron and probiotic or vegan. Food offerings can be customized to match the parents’ and baby’s palate and nutritional needs, Thomson said. Customers can choose between one to four meals a day to be delivered to their door every two weeks.

“The freshness is a key component to us,” Thomson said.

Gobbling it up

Scottsdale, Arizona, resident Sarah Pace was among those early subscribers. A working mother, Pace said she at first tired to do all the cooking for her baby, but that proved to be unsustainable. She has been a subscriber for about three months for her 9-month-old baby.

When her baby was introduced to solid foods, Pace feared she wasn’t getting enough nutrition or eating the right things. And then there’s introducing the baby to foods that she didn’t like and the progression of introducing foods normally that can spark allergies.

“We absolutely love it,” Pace said. “The food is good quality and my daughter gobbles it up. I like that she gets exposed to different flavors. Fingers crossed that she’ll become an adventurous eater when she gets older.”

She said the food selections are high in nutrition and some recipes have super-healthy ingredients mixed in.

“I love the grab and go and I know that it is nutritionally balanced,” said Pace. “A lot of baby food is 100% one ingredient. But is that everything my daughter needs? Probably not. The service has a full range of healthy fats and proteins. Every meal has that included.”

Sibylle Brown, a Seattle mom, knew Thomson in college and watched the transformation from idea to a business. Brown, an early tester of the baby food subscription service, said that her children liked the food and ate it.

“When you know you have a 6-month-old and an 18-month-old and you’re trying to feed your baby all the right food, it was a no-brainer to serve them the food,” Brown said. “The food was what they needed to start their life on solid food. I loved seeing mango and salmon all over her face. It was really helpful to relieve the mom stress.”

Brown said what she liked the best was receiving food that had been made and frozen just a few days prior, rather than buying a pouch of food that’s been sitting on a shelf. “It felt good that I could do this and it was healthy.”