Thank you, The Flipping Holder, for sponsoring this post, Food Pouches and Juices Boxes with the Mess. I was selected for this opportunity by The Flipping Holder; the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
I would have never ever thought I could just hand over a food pouch to my little one in a million years and let him roam the house freely with it. Just typing those words makes me imagine blackberry and purple carrot all over my white rug. But then I was introduced to this -- The Flipping Holder. The Flipping Holder is simply a case for food pouches and juice pouches/boxes that flips according to its use.
The Flipping Holder is different than any other pouch holder product I have seen because of a few reasons:
- It holds both food and juice pouches in one unit (not at the same time obviously).
- It is one solid piece, which means no clasps for kids to figure out how to open and nothing to break off.
- It literally works with every baby food pouch that I have tried including Plum Organic, Aldi's Little Journey Brand, Happy Family, and Earth's Best. It also is suppose to work with reuseable food pouches (although I have not tried this yet personally).
- We have not made it to the juice stage, but with a flip, it would work with all major brands of juice pouches and juice boxes.
- It has super easy to hold handles which makes a closed loop. Super important if you plan on tethering to a high chair or carseat.
- Its design needs minimal washing – our little one eats off of the pouch spout, not the holder, so no need to wash between uses unless there is a bit of food dribble (and we definitely have that from time to time but its super rare.
LOVE: The functionality! We cannot get enough of popping in a food pouch in the morning for our little one and letting him go. No more wrapping him up in a IKEA bib full body wrap and locking him into a car seat to turn around to still a mess everywhere. It is literally changing the way we eat our morning yogurt!
LIKE: I am super grateful that it requires minimal washing in between uses but if you find that you do need to wash it, The Flipping Holder is 100% top rack dishwasher safe.
BUMMER: After a week of use, my guy has realized that he can shake it upside down and still make a bit of a mess. It's harder and less frequent, but happens. The Flipping Holder has been a life changer but I will understand that it isn't 100% fool proof either. Obviously, there has to be a way to get the food out somehow.
Overall, I love this product, and I cannot say it enough about it to my friends and family. It has changed the way we do eating on the go and food pouches in general. I am super excited that as we move into juices after the age of two that we will have continued use for this item for a long time. What do you use to keep your little ones clean during snack time?
Here is a little bit more about Leah, the owner of LCeeeDesigns and The Flipping Holder:
How did you get your shop started?
This business started as an idea in 2013. I always had an interest in bringing ideas to life, but typically in the context of crafts and sewing. In the spring of 2013, my son and I travelled by plane to visit my sister. He was 1 year old at the time, and I purchased food pouches believing they'd be perfect food for the plane ride. Unfortunately for the person sitting next to us, it turns out he was very good at making squeezy messes instead of eating. For months I avoided food pouches until the idea struck to create a holder that would make pouches much easier for toddler hands. My husband and I created an initial idea - a cup with a lid. However, our son was able to open it and still make a mess. Over the next couple of years we worked on other ideas until this final design stuck. In 2015 we had prototypes in hand and by mid-2016 we had manufacturing and sales underway.
What is the hardest part of owning a shop?
The biggest challenge has been learning the countless necessities required in launching a product and running a business. You need so much more than an idea: manufacturing, materials, packaging, shipping and other logistics, websites, social media accounts, business formation documents, tax details, etc. Small business requires a breadth of knowledge that is beyond what I learned in college or even in my other employment.
What is one thing unique about you?
Besides running this business, I work full time in a professional role as an attorney. Thankfully, I am supported by my stay-at-home husband and my three sons.
What is the best part of owning a shop?
Hands down, the best part is hearing from parents who have found the Flipping Holder to be helpful and stress-reducing. We recently received a warm message from a customer whose daughter with Cerebral Palsy could finally eat by herself like her little brother because of this holder. Those kind words and true connection with a fellow mom meant the world to me.
How did you get your shop name?
My shop is LCeeeDesigns, which started as an Etsy store selling breastfeeding and pumping related products. LCeee is based on my first name, Leah Ceee, which is an acronym for my grandparents' names (Lois, Edward, Arthur, Helen, Christian, Edward, Ethel, Elizabeth). Specifically about our product, Flipping Holder was chosen because it reflects the holder's functionality - upright is holds food pouches and flipping it over it holds juice boxes and juice pouches.
What is one way that you keep organized?
My running "to do list" notebook. I must write things down to remember them.
How do you balance family life and work life?
Not easily 🙂 I have come to learn that balance is more about seasons of life. We just welcomed our third son and in this season, my time is heavily family focused. There are other seasons where I am able to put more emphasis on the business. And yet other seasons where I am consumed by my full time employment. One key for me, however, is that I read my sons their bedtime stories every night, which ensures I have at least that time dedicated to them no matter how busy I am.
