Made With A Mothers Love: Sbongile Mzimela Chats To Batswadi About The Inspiration Behind Her Baby Making Food Business, Indalo Tiny Eats.
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When making baby food at home, focusing on how the food tastes is just one aspect of the process. But knowing what your nutrient you are putting in your baby’s body should be at the top of your list of priorities. And while homemade is always ideal, time is the biggest challenge for working parents.
Indalo Tiny Eats comes with the solution of homemade ready food for a healthy baby and happy family. With homemade recipes, fresh and delicious baby food made from wholesome ingredients that are safe for your baby.
Indalo Tiny Eats owner Sbongile Mzimela hails from Johannesburg but moved to Durban in 2019. She holds a bachelor degree in Quantity Surveying and was in the construction sphere for fourteen years. Her role as a mother to three boys, and wife, is what ignited her passion for making baby food. That love has helped her business, known today as Indalo Tiny Eats.
Batswadi: What inspired the career change and ultimately prompting you to dive straight into the baby food making business?
Sbongile: It all started with me making my own son’s food at home, researching recipes and realising the benefits of homemade food made with quality fresh produce. The business started as a hobby and side hustle, but I fell in love with it, and seeing how my product was being received by my customers cemented the idea that I could turn this into an actual business.
Batswadi: As with every business, there are teething problems, and I’m sure your company had a fair share of them. What challenges did you encounter? How did you overcome them?
Sbongile: Our biggest challenge is getting the product delivered to our customers in its frozen state. We have had a challenge in getting a local courier company that has refrigerated vehicles. We have tried to overcome this by limiting our deliveries to Durban and surrounding suburbs, and we deliver ourselves using coolers. However, with our prospects for growth in the near future, we are looking at the acquisition of our own refrigerated delivery van, which will allow us to service more areas.
Batswadi: Of course, with the expansion of the business will come the delivery of more food. More happy babies and more happy mothers as a result! What’s the most exciting part of making baby food?
Sbongile: I would say the most exciting part of what I do is knowing that I’m giving a mom out their peace of mind, knowing that what I’m creating with my own hands is making someone’s life a bit easier and, of course, the fact that the babies are getting good wholesome and nutritional food.
Batswadi: With many brands already out there, what do you believe makes your brand special?
Sbongile: I believe what makes our brand special is the fact that it is for moms, by a mom. Our food is made with fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, no added sugar or salt, and all of our purées are free from the most common allergens. We make the food to order which allows our customers to store the food for longer in the freezer because it has been freshly prepared. And most importantly, moms don’t have to leave their homes; we offer the convenience of having the food delivered to their doorstep.
Batswadi: What should we expect from Indalo Tiny Eats in future?
Sbongile: You can expect to see us online pretty soon. We are in the process of setting up a website and an online store. In the long term, we are looking to expand our serviced areas and cover the whole of KZN and the Country.
