Company: Bitsy's Brainfood, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Company Description: Bitsy’s Brainfood was founded by Alexandra Buckley Voris and Maggie Jones Patton, two moms who share a simple belief—that healthy bodies and healthy minds are connected, and learning to “eat smart” should be FUN. Bitsy's Brainfood currently consists of lines of organic cereals and Smart Cookies, all baked with real fruits & veggies.
Nomination Category: Company/Organization Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Management Team of the Year – 10 or Less Employees

Nomination Title: The Bitsy's Brainfood Management Team

Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated management team since the beginning of July last year (up to 525 words):

The past year has been brimming with opportunities for the women at the helm of Bitsy’s Brainfood. Maggie Jones Patton and Alexandra Buckley Voris launched Bitsy’s Brainfood in 2012 with a simple belief, that healthy minds and healthy bodies are connected and that learning to eat smart should be FUN! Their first go-to market product was a line of mega-delicious and ultra-nutritious alphabet shaped Smart Cookies, which are baked with organic fruits and veggies.

After seeing the success of their Smart Cookies and hearing stories from parents about how refreshing it was to be able to feed their children food that tasted good and was also good for them, Maggie and Alex knew they needed to take the brand to the next level. Six months ago, Bitsy’s Brainfood took on the sugary cereal aisle and came out with a line of tasty and good for you organic cereals. The three new flavors of cereal, Fruit & Veggie 1,2,3; Banana Squash Squares; and Carrot Raisin Crunch, are vegan, Kosher, non-GMO, and are baked with real fruits and veggies. Parents love that the cereals are low in sugar and packed with good for you ingredients and kids love that they taste great and the interactive, colorful packaging.

In addition to growing Bitsy’s product offering, Maggie and Alex are also working on increasing Bitsy’s support team. In the past year, Bitsy’s Brainfood grew from a four person team to a six person team, adding a marketing representative and a head of sales to the growing business. They are also quickly grooming a team of brand ambassadors across the county in order to better serve retailers and consumers nationwide.

Maggie and Alex work tirelessly to advance the brand and the healthy eating mission, and they were recently recognized for all of their hard work. Bitsy’s Brainfood was awarded with the 2015 NEXTY award as well as the 2014 Natural Product Expo East Best New Organic Product award for the Fruit & Veggie 1,2,3 organic cereal. These honors carry a lot of weight in the natural food industry and prove that Bitsy’s is distinguishing itself as an emerging leader in the healthy food aisle.

Before becoming mothers and starting Bitsy’s, Maggie and Alex worked in the nonprofit world for many years. Recognizing the importance of giving back to the community and teaching children the importance of doing good, Maggie and Alex made sure to incorporate a charitable aspect into their company. Through their program Give a Bitsy Back, the company has donated over 50,000 boxes of Bitsy’s cookies to children’s organizations nationwide in the past year.

Rounding out a fantastic year, Bitsy’s Brainfood has also added a slew of new retailers to their roster. Since July 2013, Bitsy’s has been picked up by three regions of Whole Foods, Wegmans, Wakefern, Sprouts Farmers Markets, and HEB.

Overall, this past year has provided positive momentum for the young company. With the new head of sales in place and retailers’ interest on the uptick, next year is starting to shape up to be even more successful. With Maggie and Alex leading the charge, there isn’t much Bitsy’s can’t accomplish.

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Provide a brief biography of the person or persons who lead the nominated management team (up to 125 words):

Maggie Jones Patton and Alexandra Buckley Voris, co-founders of Bitsy’s Brainfood, got their start in the nonprofit space. Together, they formed the first federally funded after school initiative for childhood obesity. Through their work with this organization, they discovered that the healthy aisle was lacking foods that kids actually wanted to eat. Once they became moms, they set out to create Bitsy’s Brainfood to teach kids that learning to eat smart can be fun. Maggie and Alex each have two children of their own now and enjoy teaching them to embrace their fruits and veggies.

Choose one (even if both apply):

The CEO (or other principal manager) of this company is a woman, and at least 40% of the management team is comprised of women.