Here at Business Plus Baby I have a regular feature called ‘I started a business with a baby’. A few weeks ago I heard about Anna Ridgway who was inspired to start her business before her baby arrived! Anna will be just about at her due date as I publish this post, so good luck Anna and husband Ben, and we all hope you have a wonderful time with your new baby. Here’s the story of their business…
When Anna and her husband Benjamin decided that they wanted to start a family they knew that a regular supply of folic acid was really important for mums-to-be. Despite good intentions during the early stages of pregnancy, Anna found it difficult to take the tablets as recommended because of the discomfort of swallowing the folic acid tablets, eating before taking every tablet and fitting the tablet into her daily routine.Anna was concerned that any supplements she managed to take were not being effectively absorbed into her bloodstrea and that made her wonder if there was a better solution available. After looking around and finding no suitable replacement, both Anna and her husband Ben started to work on an alternative that meant women could safely get their RDA of folic acid, but from a more suitable and palatable product.
Anna came up with WaterBaby, a drink that not only contains the recommended daily allowance of folic acid (400mcg) but also incorporates a careful blend of other essential vitamins and minerals and can be taken at any time in the day. Ben and Anna then conducted some market research and the feedback was resoundingly positive. Encouraged by this feedback, Ben sought advice from nutritional scientists based at a leading drinks manufacturer on establishing the brand and producing a functional drink aimed at the mum-to-be market. Together, they created the WaterBaby formula; with the RDA folic acid, plus calcium, zinc and vitamins B6 and B12.
By now Anna was at the stage of her pregnancy where she was experiencing regular morning sickness. This made taking tablets very hard for her and left Anna struggling to eat regular meals, which meant she had to endure the discomfort of swallowing traditional folic acid tablets on an empty stomach. WaterBaby really helped Anna because she was able to take her supplements in liquid form, the mild citrus flavour helped her overcome her nausea and she stayed hydrated.
Both Ben and Anna are very proud of WaterBaby and happy that their product can help many mums to be all over the the world. WaterBaby are also committed to working with charities to educate and raise awareness of the benefits of folic acid and all-round pregnancy health. They are looking forward to the success of their product and to the birth of their very own baby in October.
For more information, see www.mywaterbaby.com
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