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The Story of a Brand Show

Little Bellies - When it Comes to Kids, Every Bite Counts

The Story of a Brand Show

Ramon Vela

Business, Entrepreneurship

5145 Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2025

⏱️ 68 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

I loved this conversation with Clive Sher, President & Co-founder of Little Bellies


As a parent myself, I’ve heard many brands talk about “organic” or “better-for-you” snacks, but I’ve never heard anyone break it down the way Clive did. From the very start of our chat, I could tell how thoughtful and intentional he and his team are about what goes into their products.

 

Their mission goes beyond just offering snacks; it’s about guiding parents and children through each age and stage of development in a way that feels supportive, safe, and truly considered.


What struck me most was how Clive described the philosophy behind Little Bellies’ product design, encompassing everything from motor skill development to palate shaping, and avoiding what he calls “health washing.”

 

It’s a level of care that’s rare in this space, and it gave me a whole new perspective on how much food choices at an early age matter. Honestly, I was blown away.


Here are a few highlights from the episode:


* The story of how a family need, his nephew’s severe food sensitivities inspired the founding of the company nearly 20 years ago.

 

* Why organic is only the starting point, and how Little Bellies avoids “pseudo-confectionery” by creating truly age-appropriate foods.

 

* The challenges of launching in North America in 2020, right as the pandemic hit, and how agility helped them adapt.

 

* A fascinating look at their “age and stage architecture” that supports children from seven months through toddlerhood with carefully designed textures, shapes, and flavors.

 

* The commitment to brand integrity and why they refuse to compromise, even when retailers request products that don’t align with their values.

 

Join me, Ramon Vela, as I listen to this episode and discover why Little Bellies isn’t just another snack brand; it’s a partner for parents who want the very best for their children. You’ll find this conversation inspiring, thoughtful, and eye-opening.


For more on Little Bellies, visit: https://littlebellies.com/


If you enjoyed this episode, please leave The Story of a Brand Show a rating and review. 


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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

But in this category where we have such a sense of consumer, to me, there's a really strong

0:05.0

choice most brands have to make in the category.

0:07.6

And that's between brand integrity and product opportunity because it's very easy to find

0:13.3

products that children will enjoy.

0:16.4

But you need to be cognizant of what's in the product and what, you know, and obviously coming back to that pseudo-confectionary challenge, which we, you know, which we have.

0:26.5

And so as a brand, we've chosen to adopt very strict brand guidelines, very strict criteria for each age and range around what we will and want to allow.

0:36.3

And that comes back to not adding flavors, not adding sugar, not adding salt, being organic,

0:42.2

and so forth and into what each product signifies.

0:47.3

And there are very many products we've come across, or we've even had retailers ask us

0:52.4

to potentially develop for their category,

0:54.9

and we've said, thank you, but not.

0:56.8

Because it doesn't meet our brand guidelines,

0:59.1

and it's not where we want to be.

1:01.7

And so as a range, you know, it's really important.

1:07.4

I think one of the things you mentioned previously in our pre-call was around what

1:12.9

do parents, what is one thing you want parents to know about the brand, you know, if that's

1:19.0

not evident on packaging? And I think it's really the commitment we have to brand integrity,

1:24.9

to brand guidelines, to how much time and effort we put into making sure every

1:31.6

product meets those brand guidelines and safe and suitable.

1:50.7

Hey, everyone, this is Ramon Vela, and this is another episode of the story of a brand.

1:54.4

Like always, we have an amazing guest in brand that we're going to feature on today's show.

1:58.6

But before we do, scaling a D2C brand gets harder, the bigger you grow,

...

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