Our journey began in 2015 with the birth of my first daughter. Before that, I was a nerdy hobby-chef who loved to throw dinner parties for friends, travel, and eat my way through (discovering) new countries and foods. Food chemistry and the science of cooking was (and still is) my obsession – it was all about taste and culinary perfection.
However, being a biochemist by education, I was already attuned to health, nutrition, and well-being. But, becoming a mother added another level of seriousness to the equation. It wasn’t about me anymore, it was about my daughter and my responsibility as a mother to care for her to the best of my abilities.
Given my science background, I started investigating and researching nutrition and how nutrition works in our bodies at the molecular level. And because of my background, I was able to tell the difference between research findings based on sound science and information distorted by industries to advance their commercial interests.
It didn’t take long to make some profound discoveries about food, or maybe I should say, shocking discoveries about food. Things I always thought to be “healthful”, such as dairy and eggs, turned out to be the polar opposite. But wait, how was that even possible? I asked myself. How did I miss all this before? After all, I studied biochemistry!
Armed with new knowledge and a mother’s will to make things better, I redesigned all our family recipes to maximize nutrients and minimize disease. The redesigned recipes became all about nutrient-density and less about fancy culinary techniques. Take my word for it: anyone can make any food taste great with enough sugar, fat, and salt. But to make truly tasty yet healthful food requires marrying nutrition knowledge and culinary skill.
I had lots of failures along the way. Food was thrown off the high-chair, spat out, or outright refused to be eaten. It took me two years, and another baby, to arrive at the set of recipes I use today for my family.
And these are the recipes I want to share with other parents in an attempt to help them feed their children the most nutritious diet they can, without sacrificing taste.
In 2019, I partnered with investors who shared the same vision, that science-based, healthy foods should be the new default for our kids. And from there on, I was blown away by the overwhelmingly positive responses I received from doctors, dieticians, and nutritionists who offered their support – without any commercial interest – because they too, share the same values and are committed to doing their part in creating a healthier world.
With all this being said, Sprout became what it is today when my friend (and now co-founder) Katerina joined. With her, a core team of dedicated, honorable individuals was formed, working with nearly no pay, to launch Sprout. Because they too, share the same values and it is this team that is serving you and your family today. I am eternally grateful for their faith and efforts, going above and beyond to make Sprout a reality.
We serve a much bigger purpose than making food. We are here to stay and we hope you will join us on our journey to raise the nutritional standard for kids by revolutionizing food through science.