“It takes a village to raise a child”.
This idiom is well-used when it comes to raising children and will ring true to many parents. While fulfilling, life as a parent is busy, bringing with it never-ending responsibilities and concerns, and any help from external sources is monumental.
One of these concerns is the nutritional well-being of our children, and with a short parental leave the reality for the majority on-island, available time to prepare meals is often in short supply.
This is where Tiny Spoons, a female-led, local business comes in – joining a family’s village by preparing fresh meals and snacks for the babies and toddlers of Cayman.
FIRST STEPS
Founder Stefanie King recognised a gap in the market during Cayman’s pandemic lockdown.
“I noticed how dependent the market was on ready-made options and restaurant dining to feed their families,” she says. “I also noticed that very few friends were shopping locally.
“My business partner and I could see the potential for a business providing meals at the younger end of the market – often caregivers are returning to work around the time little ones are starting their weaning journey.”
Stefanie spent formative years in both diverse North London, rich in cultures and flavours from all over the world, and in a sleepier suburb with its local butcher, greengrocer, farm shop and emphasis on local produce.
“I think this is where my love of flavours, shopping local and understanding where food came from [originates],” she says.
This interest has helped form a company intent on delivering the best of local produce to Cayman babies when they need it most.
“The 1,000 days from pregnancy to age 2 are a crucial window for development; they set the foundation for all the days that follow and access to good nutrition has a huge impact on a child’s ability to grow, learn and thrive,” Stefanie says.
“We created Tiny Spoons to take the stress out of prepping for parents and caregivers of Cayman and to provide an alternative to grocery store, shelf-stable products which can be older than your own baby.”
CULTIVATING RELATIONSHIPS
“Our products contain no preservatives, no added sugar, and nothing artificial,” explains Stefanie of the company, which sources as many ingredients as possible from local farmers.
By doing so, Tiny Spoons not only supports local businesses and protects local farmland for future generations, but it also provides a refreshingly evolving menu according to the season and what is available or soon-to-be cultivated.
“For example, when putting our menu together, we wanted to create a broccoli dish – brassicas are a nutritional powerhouse so we really wanted to use them in our products,” says Stefanie. “When broccoli is not in season we use the leaves from farmer Panton’s Cayman-grown tatsoi. Tatsoi is part of the brassica family and has a buttery texture and sweet flavour, so we added it to our dishes, and it is a massive hit.”
In constant contact with many farmers, Tiny Spoons has a special relationship with Verdant Isle, an East End farm which strives to keep its use of fertilisers and pesticides to a minimum by using natural methods.
“Their recently constructed greenhouse is home to Tiny Spoons’ First Sprouts which are plants being grown especially for us that will become ingredients in our products,” says Stefanie.
These local partnerships are also an important factor in increasing food security in a country so heavily reliant on imports of food.
“Tiny Spoons believes it is incredibly important to work with local farmers cultivating ingredients and we are committed to assisting in any way we can to help raise the level of food stock here in the Cayman Islands,” says Stefanie.
The company has also partnered with Cayman Theraplay’s occupational therapist and feeding expert, Rachel Lawrence, to develop blends which contain the texture, flavour and nutritional value required for each stage of a child’s development.
“We purposefully focus on nutrient-dense ingredients to ensure our meals support development during this crucial stage in development,” says Stefanie, who also emphasises the importance of texture. “Eating different textures helps develop muscles a baby needs for their first words and our convenient serving sizes allow caregivers to introduce a variety of flavours.
THE FUTURE
As a company, Tiny Spoons hopes to grow alongside the tiny customers for whom it caters. They have just launched a line of Big Spoon meals, featuring the same ingredients as our Tiny Spoons meals, for the entire family.
“Dining with little ones helps to expose them to a broad range of foods, develop adventurous tastes and avoids fussiness,” she explains. “The social aspect of dining together is also incredibly important.”
Next up are curated meals, fit for on-the-go.
“We are working on a bento box to be delivered, ready-to-eat, to preschools and homes,” explains Stefanie. “It will be full of our freshly made snacks and meals containing locally grown ingredients.”
This article appears in the Spring/Summer 2023 issue of InsideOut magazine, now available at magazine stands and delivered to select homes.
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