Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis-based Café Baby announces West Coast expansion
INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Enterprise) — An Indianapolis-based child meals firm has introduced plans to develop operations to the West Coast.
Café Child, which opened its first storefront and industrial kitchen on the northeast facet of Indy two years in the past, says Café Child West will open this fall in Sacramento. Co-founder Jeannie Marrugo says she was approached by a pair she knew from faculty who have been seeking to license the Café Child model and recipes to open their very own industrial kitchen in California.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Enterprise, Marrugo stated having a West Coast location fills an vital hole for the younger firm.
“Proper now, we are able to’t ship our child meals previous Missouri as a result of it gained’t keep within the field frozen for these delivery zones,” stated Marrugo. “The household that reached out to us simply occurred to be positioned on the West Coast, which is improbable as a result of we are able to’t get Café Child on the market proper now.”
Café Child was based by Jeannie Marrugo and her mom, Sherri, in 2016 in response to a necessity for contemporary child meals whereas she was working as an architect.
The corporate makes quite a lot of small-batch child and toddler meals, in addition to lactation cookies for moms out of its industrial kitchen and retail retailer within the Castleton space in Indy.
Marrugo calls the growth surreal.
“It nonetheless hasn’t sunk in, the truth that we’ll be capable of give households in Sacramento not solely a neighborhood choice for child meals, but additionally only a face to place with a model that’s making an attempt to assist them by parenthood. So, which means rather a lot, after which simply the truth that we are able to develop nationwide is simply loopy to me.”
Marrugo says Café Child West will produce, package deal and distribute the meals in a industrial kitchen in Sacramento utilizing Café Child recipes, requirements and procedures. The West Coast location initially won’t have a retail element.
“They’re going to begin on-line orders and we are able to additionally refer on-line orders to them as nicely as a result of we at all times get requested if we ship on the market,” she stated. “They’ll begin native grocery shops, farmers markets after which finally get their very own retailer setup.”
Café Child opened its Indianapolis retail location initially of the pandemic and Marrugo informed Inside INdiana Enterprise in early 2021 that its e-commerce gross sales skyrocketed, which helped maintain the corporate afloat.
Since that point, she says the corporate has been capable of promote a few of its merchandise in choose grocery shops, espresso retailers and eating places in central Indiana. Moreover, the corporate’s has been capable of promote its lactation combine on Amazon Prime.
Marrugo says the Café Child West operators are at the moment getting their industrial kitchen prepared whereas awaiting permits from the native well being division with the purpose of opening within the fall.
Trying ahead, she says her purpose for the following 12 months is to extend Café Child’s native model consciousness by partnerships with pediatricians and OB/GYNs within the space.