Carly Pepin sits down with Jennifer Chow, co-founder of Nurture Life, to explore the intersection of entrepreneurship, nutrition, and the challenge of helping children build healthier relationships with food.
In this episode of Built For This, Jennifer shares the story behind Nurture Life and the gap she discovered as a parent. While there were growing options for babies transitioning to solid foods, healthy, convenient meals for toddlers and young children were surprisingly limited. Determined to solve a problem she was experiencing firsthand, Jennifer and her co-founder launched Nurture Life, starting with a small team operating out of a converted restaurant before growing into a nationwide company serving families across the United States.
Throughout the conversation, Jennifer offers an honest look at what it takes to build and scale a food business, from navigating manufacturing and logistics to maintaining quality standards while expanding operations and entering retail distribution channels.
Beyond the business journey, Carly and Jennifer dive into the realities of children's nutrition and eating habits. They discuss picky eating, food preferences, parental influence, and why understanding child psychology is often just as important as understanding nutrition. Jennifer explains why healthy food must be more than nutritious. It must also be appealing, enjoyable, and something children genuinely want to eat.
This episode is a thoughtful conversation about entrepreneurship, parenting, leadership, and the role businesses can play in helping families build healthier futures.
Key Themes
The Best Businesses Often Solve Personal Problems
Nurture Life began when Jennifer recognized a challenge many parents face: finding nutritious, convenient meals for growing children. By solving a problem she personally experienced, she built a company that now supports thousands of families nationwide.
Healthy Food Has to Be Appealing, Too
Jennifer explains that nutrition alone is not enough. If children aren't attracted to a meal visually or don't enjoy eating it, even the healthiest food won't have an impact. Success comes from combining nutrition, taste, presentation, and understanding child behavior.
Scaling Requires Strong Systems and Constant Adaptation
From a small startup kitchen to a large-scale production facility and national distribution network, Jennifer shares how operational excellence, customer feedback, and thoughtful planning helped Nurture Life grow while maintaining quality and trust.
About Jennifer Chow
Jennifer Chow is the co-founder of Nurture Life and a passionate advocate for children's nutrition and healthy eating habits. As a mother of two boys and a lifelong food enthusiast, she has dedicated her career to helping families make healthier choices without sacrificing convenience.
At Nurture Life, Jennifer leads product development, marketing, customer experience, and company strategy, with a mission to make nutritious eating more accessible for children at every stage of development.
Before founding Nurture Life, Jennifer spent 17 years in the technology industry, holding leadership roles in marketing and product development, including serving as Vice President of Marketing at Engine Yard and leading marketing initiatives for SAP's outsourcing business across the Americas.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Memorable Quotes
"If they don't want to try it, if they're not attracted to it from a visual perspective, we've completely lost the battle."
"One in ten children in our country will eat enough fruits and vegetables per day."
"It's not just about crafting a perfect meal from a nutrition perspective. It has to be delicious, visually appealing, and a kid has to want to eat it."
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Guest: Jennifer Chow
Host: Carly Pepin
Co-Founder & Host Built For This
West Coast Growth Advisors
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