Ooby’s cooks up something healthy

Lauren Rockteacher is a food scientist with years of experience in food regulation, research and development, and quality control who is passionate about food. She is also the mother of two children. Her education has taught her that the food people eat has a direct impact on their health. Because of that, she is very aware of the food she gives her children.

When her son turned one, she wanted to give him a Pinterest-perfect birthday party, complete with his own smash-cake. That is when she discovered there weren’t any cake mixes on the market that offered a healthy alternative to the traditional high-sugar cake mix. “There weren’t any options that were truly healthy. If there wasn’t added sugar, there was a non-nutritive sweetener, or sugar alcohol in its place,” she said.

Unhappy with her lack of options, Rockteacher decided to create her own healthy cake mix. After much trial and error, she hit upon a healthy recipe that is free of allergens and additives- best of all, it also tasted great. Rockteacher knew there was a market for the mix, so she founded Ooby’s.

Launched in 2021, Ooby’s offers cake, frosting, and pancake mixes.

The business is a family affair. Not only are her family members the first line of taste-testers, but her son also gave the company its name when he struggled with his new sister Ruby’s name, adorably pronouncing it as ‘Ooby.’ The name stuck and the business is growing.

Manufactured in Watertown, Rockteacher has strict protocols for how Ooby’s mixes are handled. The mixes are gluten-free. With the exception of the frosting mix, which contains dairy, they are also free of dairy, fish, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, sesame, and eggs. “I require swabs to prove that there are no allergens on the line,” she explained.

Currently, Ooby’s mixes can be found on Amazon and through the company website, but Rockteacher hopes the product will soon find its way onto grocery store shelves.

“A lot of people go to the grocery store and look at the food aisle. They get their purees if they’re doing puree, and then they look at the opposite side of the aisle and they see a few bars, some puffs, a couple of small TV dinners for toddlers. That’s really all they’re offering. The next step is the entire grocery store opens up to them. I don’t think that is the greatest idea. I think there needs to be some additional offerings that hold you over until those kids are ready for the bigger store. Parents can really nurture the love of food through Ooby’s products,” Rockteacher said.

While the mix was created with toddlers in mind, Rockteacher is quick to note the products taste delicious and offer a great alternative for adults looking to decrease sugar in their diets.

The company is currently enrolled in Scale Up Milwaukee’s SPARC program, which is designed for Black-, Hispanic-, and woman-owned businesses with annual revenue under $1million. Rockteacher has a number of aspirations for Ooby’s, including expanding the product line to include muffin mixes, oatmeal packets and products with gluten.

To learn more about Ooby’s, connect with the company here.