Anyone who watched Rachael Ray in January might already know who Leslie Grant is. Leslie is the “Mother Hen” behind Chickin Feed, a website dedicated to helping parents teach their children how to eat healthy and make balanced meal choices. As a mom, she wanted a fun way to teach her children how to eat healthy. As she came up with ideas, it all grew into what became her website where other parents can purchase her tracking boards and other things that she’s come up with since then.
What is Chickin Feed?
Chickin Feed is a company that I started after finding a solution to a problem many families have. They say that Necessity is the Mother of Invention…Well I was one frustrated mother. So I invented a thing called the Chickin Feed Nutrition Tracking Board in response to the age old question of “what to serve for dinner.”
What was your inspiration?
My children (chickins) were my inspiration. My own childhood led to some dietary habits that I did not want to pass along to my kids - so I set about to find a way to educate them (and me) about good balanced eating.
How long has it been since you started Chickin Feed?
I first noodled the idea for tracking what we ate about February 2007. By July I had a prototype and production model of the board that debuted at our local art festival (Summer Shade Festival in Grant Park - Atlanta, GA)
How long have you been selling your Chickin Feed products? What are all the products that you offer through your website?
We’ve been selling Chickin Feed since August 2007. Our first retail account landed in September 2007. Through the website (which became e-commerce friendly in December 2007) we sell our very popular Nutrition Tracking Boards in five different colors as well as our FEED BAG (Shopper/Tote bags to save the planet!) and our CHICKIN-T’S. We have two other products in the hopper - a PRIMER which will hopefully debut this Spring and CHICKINWARE which we hope to have out this Summer.
How do you manage to find the time to work on your website as well as being a mom?
Ha! The house is a pigsty and my husband has learned to do the dishes and laundry (he could before but wasn’t properly motivated:). My son is in school 20 hours a week, my daughter is in 30 hours - so I have that time to work. My office is in the basement which overlooks the backyard play area so I can keep half an eye out when they are home! I have several wonderful friends who have become part of the Chickin Coop and they have been sharing the load!
Do you have any advice you’d like to give to other moms that might be looking to start a nutrition based business?
I have a great piece of advice for other moms that want to start any kind of business - buy the book Mommy Millionaire by Kim Lavine. It is just full of great information! I also attended a Ladies Who Launch seminar - they are popping up in communities nationwide and help you get a grip on your vision. As far as starting a “nutrition” based business - well, don’t oversell your expertise would be something to pay attention to. Keep it simple and your mission clear.
Moschel Kadokura on February 27th, 2008 at 10:29 am
I saw the Rachel Ray segment. Great idea and great product. I feel I followed the same path, and I need to get those books for reference.
Good luck to you!