Being a parent is basically a contact sport: from constant battles about bedtime to “Please comb your hair!” to “What did you just eat?!” But when kids are little-little, there’s so much more to do outside of helping them, and when you’re an exhausted parent of a very cranky tiny human, any help you can get is always a lifesaver.
Feeding your baby shouldn’t be terrifying, but for many parents, the world of solids feels like a Jurassic Park of potential disasters: choking, allergies, picky eaters. (But thankfully, no Raptors…yet.)
Meet Solid Starts: a lifeline for millions of parents ready to skip the purées and watch their babies confidently devour real food. (Little dinos included.)
Solid Starts: An Origin Story
Jenny Best, a mom of twins, was on a mission: to break free from those first-kid mistakes and not have her children’s lives dominated by allergies and picky eating. She turned to experts and documented everything concerning her twins’ journey into real food. By the time she finished her experiment, she had a database.
Best knew what foods she could serve, and that knowledge went beyond a personal quest, evolving into a community-driven resource that never stopped growing. Now, Solid Starts is the go-to for moms looking to fight against jarred baby food.
Serious Impact, Serious Stats
Teresa Mayede, head of growth marketing for Solid Starts, has become one of the minds behind the brand’s ascent into the stratosphere, and the stats speak for themselves:
- 17 million families helped worldwide
- 5+ million app downloads
- 3.6 million Instagram followers
It’s About More Than Mushy Peas
One of the biggest takeaways from the Solid Starts empire is that it’s not just about food — it’s about empowering and building confidence in new parents. Every parent lives in constant fear: “Are they choking? Is everything okay?” Solid Starts reduces anxiety by giving parents a roadmap, thanks to a collective of pediatricians, speech therapists, and dietitians.
There are also pillars broken down by age: six months, nine months, and twelve months — which help parents with their constant question: “Can my kid eat this?”
Thanks to Solid Starts, now they know.
Real Food Matters
Real food matters. Have you ever smelled the stuff in the jar? The scent alone is pungent enough to make any parent question whether feeding it to their kid is smart. But really, going the road of real food affects babies beyond the dinner table.
Having a sense of textures and flavors early on helps circumvent picky eaters — something every adult is thankful for. (Is there anything worse than a “ketchup on everything” person?) Might as well head them off at the pass and get these kids started young on knowing that not everything has to be fish sticks.
“There’s so much research showing that serving babies real food — not jars or processed purées — helps them develop better eating habits for life. It’s about setting the stage for healthy family meals where the baby is part of the experience,” says Mayede.
Community is Everything
One of the biggest reasons people love Solid Starts is that it’s not just an app. For many parents, especially new ones, it’s a community. New parents freak out about everything, often drowning in what to do and what not to do. Parents swapping tips, sharing stories, and cheering each other on creates a huge emotional and psychological benefit. That shared experience makes feeding time less of a struggle.
“We get hundreds of messages from parents who say their baby now eats everything—from salmon to curry—and how much easier mealtime has become. It’s a real community: one where parents feel supported and heard,” Mayede shares.
Building a Following Brick by Brick (or Carrot Stick by Carrot Stick)
And that app they built? They crowdfunded it. The people helped build it because they knew the value was there. Mayede knows that the culture of Solid Starts is meaningful and offers depth within people’s lives — beyond just meals, but for overall well-being.
“So many parents say, ‘I wish I had this when my kids were little!’ That’s how we know we’re making a difference. Our whole approach is about bringing babies to the table, helping parents create a positive, shared mealtime experience.”
Looking to the Future
The company is focused on how to grow the right way. “We want to reach as many families as possible — not just in the U.S., but globally.” And they’re not just stopping there. They’re also launching a book in April. “It’s kinda like What to Expect When You’re Expecting, but for solid foods.”
As Solid Starts grows beyond its humble beginnings, things are changing fast. By working together, they’ve hit some serious milestones. “We used Manychat to create a Readiness Quiz that walked parents through recognizing when their baby was ready for solids; it got 275% more engagement than a typical Instagram Story.”
The Role of Technology
Parenting in the digital age means juggling a million questions, a flood of notifications, and a never-ending cycle of ‘Is this normal?’ moments. The demand for real-time answers is huge, and that’s where automation makes all the difference. Manychat allows Solid Starts to provide expert-backed guidance 24/7, whether it’s a late-night question about allergens or a first-time parent navigating their baby’s first bite of real food.
“Manychat allowed us to collect emails directly from Instagram, something we couldn’t do before. It made a huge impact on how we connect with our community,” Mayede explains. With millions of parents relying on Solid Starts for guidance, staying connected at scale isn’t easy.
They use Manychat to instantly deliver resources, answer FAQs, and keep engagement high without overwhelming their team.
One Spoonful at a Time
As Solid Starts’ journey continues, it’s inspiring to know that people are out there connecting, helping one another, and doing their best to navigate what can be a very stressful time: being a parent.
But the more you learn about the company, the more it becomes clear they’re building something impactful, one spoonful at a time.
Dinosaur nuggets not included.
