Balancing Business Goals with Values

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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Gigi Lee Chang: The inspiration for Plum Organics came from my son, Cato, who is now 3 1/2 years old. The birth of a child is one of very few opportunities in life to see the world anew and make a fresh start. My husband and I were reasonably health minded -- we shopped at Whole Foods and used Seventh Generation laundry soap.

When it came time to start our son on solid foods, the importance of optimum quality and nutrition came into sharp focus. The choice to make his food from scratch was both natural and intuitive. We knew it would give him the best start possible -- something all parents desire for their children. In the case of our son, he developed a real joy for eating and mealtime was something we all looked forward to.

Our son's love of food led to the idea of starting a frozen baby food company. As the idea turned to 'what if' discussions and those led to 'how would we...' conversations, we realized the need went beyond our friends and New York parents. Traditional baby food options were not keeping pace with the desire of today's consumers' looking for alternatives to conventional options.

What we wanted to offer would be relevant in the context of today’s time constrained yet more informed and empowered consumer. The broader backdrop of growing interest and awareness about our food choices and their implications -- spurred by movies such as Fast Food Nation and books like The Omnivore's Dilemma -- gave us confidence that not only was there an unmet need, but a real business opportunity. The alignment of market environment and our personal values made the decision to start our business a simple one.

I knew from the beginning that we would stand for quality and choice -- our anchoring values. For the parents, we would represent choices they could feel better about and have confidence in. For the babies, we would help create a foundation for healthy eating that would lead to healthy food choices later in life.

I don't fancy myself a "revolutionary," but I am an idealist with a competitive streak. I didn't merely want to sell better baby food, I wanted to challenge established practices and influence the baby food market. To do so meant making our products available to as many families as possible by pursuing the national market from Day One. While the desire to make an impact was the driver for launching nationally, there were also business benefits such as speed to market, scalability, and market reach.

It has been 2 1/2 years since my husband and I first started thinking about our company. As Plum Organics' grows, I must define business practices, which are not always easy to align with our values, especially as we get bigger. It is an evolving perspective I imagine all entrepreneurs try to reconcile as we shape the directions and futures of our companies.