Providing fresh, healthy food to your kids can always be a challenge. For one local mom, she found that wasn’t even an option years ago. She turned her passion into an international business. A mother from Wayland did a successful career swap—to help parents make food quickly and easily for their own babies.
Before following her passion to create products for healthy baby food, Liza Huber starred as Gwen Hotchkiss for nearly ten years on the daytime soap ‘Passions’.
“If you would’ve told me ten years ago that manufacturing was actually my true passion, I would’ve said you’re crazy what does that come from?”, said Liza Huber, creator and owner of Sage Spoonfuls.
Little did she know, life would take her on a different path when the show ended while she was pregnant with her second child. Liza’s son was born nine weeks premature and was in the NICU fighting for his life.
“I mean we almost lost him on two different occasions and it was an absolute game changer for me,” said Huber.
The desire to act on another soap was gone, and instead Liza’s desire was to make fresh, healthy baby food. She realized at the time there was a big hole in the market.
“There is no product out there that makes providing fresh healthy food for your baby easy everything is a chore and it should be easy for busy parents or caregivers to provide healthy food,” said Huber.
Liza did a two year concept-to-creation and while she was pregnant with her fourth child, she launched her product, Sage Spoonfuls. She had no idea how fast it would grow—inking a deal with Buy Buy Baby five months out of the gate.
“What I thought was going to be just maybe a boutique store with maybe an independent mom-owned brand took off like wildfire,” said Huber.
It started with BPA free, plastic baby food jars, and has since expanded to glass containers, reusable zip bags, and silicone plates. But there have been bumps along the road, a $35,000 mistake on a design package, and questions on whether she could do this with zero business experience.
“I said no I can do this, I have no idea what is coming down the road but I believe in myself so much that I’m just going to figure this out along the way,” said Huber.
Liza frequently makes trips to the production warehouse in New Jersey, not only to oversee her business, but to visit a group of special needs adults she employs, who have really become like family to her.
“We’re so grateful to have them doing this meaningful work for us and we’re also so happy for the independence that it provides them,” said Huber.
Sage Spoonfuls is now in major retailers like Pottery Barn Kids, Target, Walmart and Amazon. Liza continues to lean on her husband and other female entrepreneurs for guidance, and in turn, offers her advice for those who are following their passion.
“Just do it,” said Huber. “There is never the right time, there is never enough money, you never have enough experience. Don’t wait, go plant your seeds and just start in the belief in yourself and the belief in your idea because if you don’t, someone’s going to come up right behind you and they’re going to do it. Just start.”
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