Love & Purée was launched in Costa Mesa this April to make sure kids eat healthy, fresh and organic.
The three families that started the organic kitchen don’t have to go far to see if their product is working.
“The moms work every day—they are the R&D department; our kids [are the] test subjects,” said Jeff Chon, co-owner of the company, whose first location is in a shopping center at 333 E. 17th St., near Santa Ana Avenue.
“The men are the muscles, we do delivery ourselves.”
The kitchen specializes in fresh, blended organic baby and toddler food. It also provides “any age bites” like organic chicken nuggets and cauliflower mac and cheese.
Patrons can opt for delivery or visit the store and purchase directly.
The founders of the company were friends before they became business partners.
“We’ve known each other [since] our early 20s,” said Chon. “What’s beautiful, is that we are three fathers, three mothers with young kids … [and we really care] about how we feed our kids good products.”
The couples—Jeff and Melissa Chon, Allison and Brady Beauchamp are based in Costa Mesa, and Danielle and Mike Close live in Corona del Mar—have four children, with an average age of 15 months.
The idea for the business came about during a ride back from a trip when Allison was complaining that she had to get home to make food for her 8-month-old daughter Logan.
The couples all pitched in. They’re financial partners, and they put in approximately $300,000, according to Jeff Chon.
“I manage the day-to-day operations because of my restaurant experience, but the moms are really the core of the concept,” said Chon.
He is an area restaurateur, who owns a quartet of restaurants in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, including Japanese style hot pot spot Tabu Shabu and yakitori concept Oak & Coal. “This is a standalone concept because of the level of involvement from the three families … we are trying to provide something for our neighborhood.”
Love & Purée is not alone in the baby food game.
Similar concepts include Yumi, owned by Los Angeles-based Caer Inc., and Little Foodie Club in Pasadena. But to Chon, there’s something missing when it comes to the two baby food delivery companies frozen purée offerings.
“When you get a box that’s frozen, something is disconnected,” said Chon. It’s important to Love & Purée founders to have a kitchen where customers can come and watch where the food is prepared, and to see and touch the products, he said.
“Transparency is there.”
Chon said the business is focused on growing its first location, “making sure we are doing things right,” and not eager to scale immediately. “We want to be very boutique to our environment, to mothers we know,” he said.
A 6-ounce purée jar costs $6 each. The store currently generates about $50,000 a month.
The food has a shelf life of 72 hours; excess products are donated to the Costa Mesa chapter of Fristers, a charity for teenage parents.
