New Mom and Coffee Lover Start Businesses

Oh Baby Foods Inc.
Owner: Fran Free
Gunsaulis
Address: P.O. Box
1644, Fayetteville
Phone: 479-824-1000
E-mail: fran@ohbaby
foods.com
Web site: www.oh
babyfoods.com
Startup date: Nov. 13, 2009

Her education and impending motherhood drove Fran Free Gunsaulis to explore what has become an impressive startup enterprise.

Free Gunsaulis launched Oh Baby Foods – a company that manufactures baby food from products purchased directly from local growers, then delivers it to local grocery outlets – in mid-November, on her daughter’s first birthday. Her products are available in 11 stores throughout Benton and Washington counties, including six Harps locations in Fayetteville and Springdale. Home delivery also is available, via Old Soul Organics & More.

Free Gunsaulis, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Soil and Water Science and a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics, used an initial investment of about $50,000 that included the purchase of a 16-foot refrigerated truck. Production of her six varieties is seasonal, and she employed two full-time workers during the June-to-October phase.

The crew cleans and chops ingredients by hand, bakes and steams them, then purees and mixes up the foods, including finished products with names like Sweet Potato Boogie and Bean Me Up, Baby. All the products consist of nothing more than fresh vegetables, fruits, grains, and herbs, and are prepared in a leased, FDA-approved kitchen space.

Free Gunsaulis also handles the packaging, which consists of three servings per container. Nine of the 11 outlets sell a container for $4.98.

Free Gunsaulis hopes to place her products in Walmart within three years and is considering the possibility of franchising at some point. Her interest in spreading the idea of baby foods generated from locally grown products is so sincere she practically insisted on letting readers know she gets spinach – less than 4 percent of her overall product – from outside the area due to necessity.

“I just want to be honest and upfront,” she said, “as transparent as possible.”

MyCoffee
Managing Partner: Doug Matayo
Address: 1347 E. Henri de Tonti Blvd., Springdale
Phone: 479-306-4369
Hours: 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday;
8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday
Startup date: Nov. 13, 2009

A new place for an old idea is the basis for one of Springdale’s most recent endeavors.

MyCoffee is a drive-thru espresso and specialty coffee shop owned by a group that includes Doug Matayo. The group, which took over operations of a similar store in Siloam Springs on Sept. 1, held a soft opening for its Springdale location on Nov. 13. The stores have a total of five employees, though Matayo said he expects “to grow that pretty quick.”

The idea for the stores began brewing when Matayo was traveling on the West Coast more than five years ago.

“Everybody knows about Starbucks, obviously, but these kinds of mom-and-pop coffee shops are pretty prevalent out there, too” he said.

Similar shops have popped up in some spots in Northwest Arkansas, but MyCoffee offers a new choice for travelers along U.S. Highway 412. Both stores face high-traffic areas along that road.

Matayo said the early response at both locations has been positive and due to a low-cost business model, plans for further expansion already are bubbling.