Valentina Peroni comes from a family of entrepreneurs. Her father, brothers and cousin and husband all run successful businesses in sectors ranging from agriculture to production, e-commerce and tourism. It was only when Valentina started a family of her own, however, that she hit upon the idea that would turn her into an entrepreneur as well: after having her first baby, she went out to buy some baby food, but couldn’t find any.

Surprising as it may seem, up until 2009 commercial baby food was virtually absent from the market in Argentina. ‘I looked everywhere, but found nothing! So I sat down and started to outline my plans to launch Nutribaby,’ Valentina explains. ‘The first pre-requisite was that it had to be organic; as a new parent myself, quality and healthiness were obviously a big concern.’

Affordable, organic and healthy

Argentina is one of the major exporters of organic produce in the world and Valentina makes the most of the abundant national production for Nutribaby’s purees. Manufacturing is also based in Argentina, which helps to keep costs down and fight the competition, which entered the market just as Valentina was launching. ‘Our products are organic but our prices are 20% to 30% lower than the non-organic competition,’ she confirms. Certification from the Argentinian Pediatric Association (FUNDASAP) has also been a boost to her brand’s credibility in this new, relatively unexplored local market.

As a result, Nutribaby has already conquered an impressive 40% market share in and is squaring up to the mainstream names. The Argentinian market has huge potential, with average consumption of jars per year currently at a mere 15, compared with 250 in Europe and 600 in the US. The brand’s key differentiation is its organic credentials, which are also drawing interest from other interested Latin American countries, with contracts signed with distributors in Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil and Chile.

Raining apple purée!

Setting up in business has not necessarily been as smooth as it could seem for Valentina. Despite extensive experience as a marketing manager for firms such as Mattel and Unilever and the advice she has gleaned from the entrepreneurs around her, some things can never be planned for, such as the catastrophe that hit her factory in the first days of opening. ‘Just after we moved in and launched production, we found ourselves with apple purée raining from the ceiling! The workmen had blocked a tube in the production facilities on the first floor. When it burst we had apple purée everywhere. It took a week to clean it all up!’

Having swept this teething trouble firmly behind them, Nutribaby now offers 9 different flavours of baby food that is sold in the main supermarket chains. Packaging and quality control is state-of-the-art and sourced from Europe to ensure the utmost safety. Now the mother of two children, Valentina is well placed to know the needs of busy parents seeking convenient, healthy food for their babies. Her second child was born just as she was launching Nutribaby and the day before it was due she was in the plant organising the last details for the machinery. ‘Two weeks later I was back at work again,’ she says, ‘with baby in tow!’