Like most parents, Rachel Pollard and her husband, Dan, wanted to cut down on the sugar and junk food in their children’s diets. A typical solution might have been to ignore the requests for such food and quit buying products that fell into those categories – just saying no. However, Rachel found that instead of focusing on the negatives – the foods that were “bad” or “not allowed” – and paying attention to the food groups that she wished they would add to their diets, namely vegetables, her three kids were more likely to make those smart choices. “We were blown away by the positive response we got from our kids,” Rachel says. “At one point, my younger son, Ben, offered to buy his brother’s spinach for $1 so that he could have it. We shared our success with family and friends, and they described similar enthusiasm and results.” By setting up this positive approach of practicing healthy habits in order to reach goals, her children wanted to eat more of the food groups they had previously been ignoring in order to achieve a balanced meal. She had made a game of it.
Rachel, whose background is in occupational therapy, figured she was on to something, but didn’t have the business know-how to figure out the next step on her own. She decided to pitch her idea to Bootstrap Advisors, a Durham-based business that partners with entrepreneurs at the idea stage. “As a first-time entrepreneur, I knew I needed to reach out to people who could share their expertise with me,” Rachel says. “Durham has a wealth of resources for anyone interested in becoming an entrepreneur.” Their prowess in building online and retail distribution, brand development and sourcing led to a partnership, turning this plan into an actual product and business: Rounded Plate, a simple, fun activity meant to empower children ages 4 to 10 years old to eat healthier by educating them about food choices and having them track their progress on a chart and with daily goal sheets over 21 days.
Rachel launched the Rounded Plate at the start of 2015, working about nine months on merchandise design and manufacturing. “My goal was to create a product that was flexible enough to meet any family at their starting point, provide a clear framework that was easy to follow and be packaged in a way that was playful and child friendly,” Rachel says. “Now our focus has shifted to exploring distribution channels and partners … and working to build awareness of our brand.” Starting locally, Rounded Plate was originally offered at toy and book stores in and around Durham and has since shifted to a national level with online sales through their website, roundedplate.com, Amazon, retailers and catalogs.
Though these are significant steps for the business, Rachel emphasizes that it is still a new company looking to find an optimal fit in the market and the best way to reach their audience. “Being an entrepreneur has been a lesson in both adaptability and persistence,” she says. “I am still learning to balance these in respect to knowing when to continue to pursue an opportunity and when to adapt and move on.” But the belief in her idea, compounded by the support she’s received, continues to fuel her drive to make Rounded Plate an educational resource for families. “Last year, after offering Rounded Plate as a fundraiser at my children’s school, I had a mom flag me down in the car line to tell me that Rounded Plate was a miracle worker,” Rachel says. “Another mom told me that her son has started asking for vegetables for breakfast. I have heard stories like this many times, and it’s what keeps me going!”
