WATCH: This Maltese Co-Founded Baby Food Company Is Making Waves In The UK
It’s the cutest baby food product you’ve seen in ages and it’s been designed from head to toe by a young, Maltese creative – Kane O’Flaherty. The brand is named Piccolo, and Mediterranean ingredients are its USP. It’s already stocked by supermarket giants Waitrose, and has recently secured listings in ASDA, Wholefoods, Planet Organic, Ocado, Booths, and a few other independent retailers.
So who is O’Flaherty and where did this all begin?
Kane O’Flaherty – Head of Creative, Piccolo
“I was introduced to Cat Gazzoli (CEO of Piccolo) about two years ago whens she was in the very early stages of setting up the business. All she had was an idea and a name. Together with another co-founder Alice we raised investment (through angel investors) and built the brand to what it is today,” O’Flaherty told Lovin Malta. When he joined, it was his task to create a brand that outshone any other product on the market. And he knew that would be a big challenge.
“The baby food market was quite neglected from a brand identity point of view. There were already established market leaders, so we adopted a ‘challenger’ way of thinking to really stand out. We wanted to be known to be THE cool baby food brand.”
It seems like they are well on their way to reaching their objective. Their brand is fresh, fun and speaks of a product that is both nutritious and delicious – exactly what Mediterranean cuisine is about.
“We believe that encouraging taste exploration helps develop babies’ tastebuds from when it matters most. And it’s not just what we believe it is a proven fact. We put pinches of herbs, hints of spices and dashes of olive oil to give that Mediterranean touch.”
So basically, these guys are grooming the most discerning baby foodies you’re ever going to meet. And as a nation that takes its own cuisine pretty damn seriously, we’re quite sure Maltese parents are going to love this brand.
They already do.
“The brand has been really well received in Malta, and we get people asking for it pretty much every week.”
Not a massive shock. So when will we be able to try these delicious looking blends? Err… by ‘we’, we mean the babies.
“We launched in the UK last March, and we’re just starting to export to China and a few other countries. Malta is on the list for 2017!” O’Flaherty happily confirms. Which means it won’t be long until we can sample the butternut squash, red pepper, chickpea and apple blend with a hint of rosemary. Again. We mean the babies, promise.
Right now, Piccolo are fundraising again – working to raise money to grow their brand and become the baby food that parents can relate to and trust. A modern, relatable brand which is constantly developing.
Aside from the actual food, the brand has a strong social responsibility to it. Piccolo is the first baby food brand to be partnered with the National Childbirths Trust – the UK’s largest charity for parents – with 10% of their profits going towards food education charities.
Piccolo are now working on raising funds through the female funding platform – Allbright. Meanwhile, in Malta – we’re counting the days till this yummy-looking stuff is on our shelves. So watch this space people (babies).