CEO Stories: Sara Hurst, Bella's Kitchen

Healthy Foods for Kids

When Hurst’s own daughter, Isabella (for whom the business is named) was transitioning to solid foods, Hurst was frustrated by both lack of guidance and the paucity of fresh, healthy food choices. After reading up on a method called baby-led eating – which is about the child making choices from a variety of foods rather than literally being spoon-fed – Hurst decided that was the method she would pursue. She soon realized that preparing three meals and two snacks a day was enormously time-consuming, and rightly guessed that other mothers shared her need for convenient, healthy food for their children.

Timing Isn’t Everything

After testing recipes on her own children, friends’ kids, and even adults, perfecting her business plan, putting her marketing background to work, consulting with the Arkansas Small Business Center, Hurst planned to open her business in the spring of 2020. Covid hit, and she put it on hold. After a month, she decided to forge ahead, finding a commercial kitchen where she does all her food prep and cooking. A big advantage to the commercial kitchen: The informal networking with like-minded entrepreneurs.

Family Tradition

Hurst’s mother and grandfather were entrepreneurs; Hurst says seeing her mother run a business while also pursuing a successful career in telecommunications was a powerful example and inspiration. She says people need to take women entrepreneurs more seriously: Too many people view what she does as a “hobby.” She points out no one would tell a man it was “cute” if he wanted to start a business.