Kekoa Foods: Internationally Inspired Organic Baby Food

Dr. Daniel P. Auld is the co-founder and president of Kekoa Foods, a company dedicated to providing nutrient-rich, organic meals for infants. Inspired by his son Kekoa’s premature birth and the importance of early nutrition, Dr. Auld combined scientific research with culinary innovation to create flavorful, health-focused baby food. His mission is to educate families on the benefits of diverse, wholesome ingredients, fostering a lifelong appreciation for nutritious eating. DeliveryRank offers you an exclusive interview.

Kekoa Foods was inspired by your son Kekoa's early arrival and your dedication to providing him with nutritious meals. Can you share more about how this personal journey influenced the development of your product line and the unique flavor combinations you offer?

Our son was born in Honolulu, HI, through our friend and gestational carrier, arriving eight weeks premature and weighing only 3 lbs 11 oz. He spent several weeks in the NICU receiving specialized care before he was strong enough to come home. At birth, he couldn’t regulate his body temperature, and doctors were concerned about whether his lungs had fully developed to breathe on his own. It was an incredibly terrifying experience for my husband and co-founder, David, and me. Thankfully, our son was a fighter, and he was discharged much earlier than the eight-week stay doctors had initially projected. In recognition of his strength, a Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner gave him the middle name “Kekoa,” which means “brave warrior” in Hawaiian.

When he was ready for solid foods, we were committed to providing him with the healthiest options possible—while also fostering a love for nutritious, flavorful foods. We tried several products available at the time, but they didn’t meet our standards. Many were overly sweet or simply unappealing, and we couldn’t imagine feeding them to our son. That’s when David took matters into his own hands, preparing all of our son’s food from scratch. He researched different preparation methods and explored traditional baby foods from cultures around the world. Outside of the U.S., he noticed that many families introduced babies to flavors and ingredients more closely aligned with what adults eat.

David intentionally avoided the top nine allergens, spicy hot peppers, added sugars, and salt. Instead, he introduced savory flavors like basil, cumin, and heat-free curry blends, incorporating nutrient-dense vegetables such as artichokes, fennel bulbs, and kale. Our son loved the variety, eagerly embracing each new taste. In fact, his daycare director even commented that he always smelled like garlic!

Now, as he approaches his 12th birthday in April, our son continues to thrive. He has developed a deep appreciation for healthy, international foods—his favorites include tacos, sushi, and sautéed broccoli with garlic. He’s already off the height charts for his age and is quickly catching up to his dads—we know it’s only a matter of time before he surpasses us!

Your mission emphasizes educating families about diverse, veggie-rich recipes accented with herbs and spices. How do you approach the creation of these recipes, and what role does cultural diversity play in your product development?

At Kekoa Foods, we firmly believe that all children can love vegetables. While humans naturally gravitate toward sweet flavors—making it easier for parents to serve fruit—vegetables often have more bitter or complex taste profiles. The key to helping children develop an appreciation for vegetables is repeated exposure, especially when paired with complementary flavors. A squeeze of lemon juice, a few leaves of basil, or the warmth of roasted garlic can enhance the taste and make vegetables more appealing to young palates.

When creating our recipes, we take inspiration from global cuisines, recognizing that food is deeply tied to culture and tradition. We explore how different cultures prepare vegetables, use herbs and spices, and introduce flavors to young children. Many cultures naturally integrate vegetables into everyday meals, often seasoning them with aromatic herbs and mild spices rather than masking their flavors with added sugars or salt.

To strike the right balance between nutrition and taste, we focus on ingredient pairing and nutrient density. We carefully select herbs and spices that complement vegetables without overwhelming a child’s developing palate. For example, our Squash & Kale with Turmeric combines the mild sweetness of squash and the hearty taste of kale, accented by the warm, subtle bitterness of turmeric. Our Mango Paprika puree pairs the tropical sweetness of mango with the mild warmth of paprika, introducing little ones to a gentle spice that complements the fruit's natural flavor. Finally, our Beets, Fennel & Kale blend combines the earthy sweetness of beets with leafy kale, the delicate anise flavor of fennel bulbs, and protein-packed black beans all enhanced with basil and a touch of balsamic vinegar.

By thoughtfully selecting and combining these ingredients, we aim to introduce children to a diverse range of flavors, encouraging adventurous eating habits from an early age.

As a company founded by a two-dad family, Kekoa Foods celebrates the diversity of modern families. How does this perspective shape your company culture and influence your engagement with customers from various backgrounds?

At Kekoa Foods, we strongly believe in inclusive parenting. We’ve seen firsthand how parents—especially mothers—are often subjected to judgment, whether for choosing to stay at home or pursuing a career. Parenting is challenging enough without the added burden of shame or criticism. Instead of tearing each other down, we believe in lifting each other up, regardless of one’s family structure or circumstances.

Through our journey, we’ve had meaningful conversations with single parents, adoptive families, grandparents raising grandchildren, and caregivers from all walks of life. We recognize that modern families are beautifully diverse, and every caregiver deserves to feel seen, valued, and respected. This perspective deeply resonates with our customers, many of whom feel overlooked by traditional marketing that still centers on an outdated family archetype.

Diversity and inclusion are also fundamental to our company culture. We actively seek out and welcome a variety of perspectives across all levels of our organization and within our consultant network. David and I know that we don’t have all the answers, and we don’t claim to be experts in every aspect of running a brand. By celebrating and collaborating with talented professionals—especially women and people from diverse cultural and racial backgrounds—we gain new insights that help us better connect with our customers.

We’ve found that by fostering an inclusive, supportive environment—both internally and with our customers—our mission naturally resonates. People want to work with us not just for a paycheck, but because they believe in what we stand for. That shared passion fuels our drive to create a brand that truly reflects and celebrates the diversity of modern families.

Kekoa Foods has been involved in community initiatives, such as donating 12,000 pouches to GRACE in Summit, NJ, and participating in nutrition panels with organizations like the YMCA. Can you discuss the importance of these partnerships and how they align with your company's values?

As you noted, education is central to our mission. The food system in our country often prioritizes profits over health, leaving people underserved, undernourished and susceptible to greater health issues that could be eliminated or improved through diet. At Kekoa Foods, we believe in empowering individuals to read ingredient labels and nutrition panels, and to question food options that lack true nutritional value. We want people to understand that food has the power to be medicine, providing the right nourishment for a healthier life. That’s why we actively seek opportunities to connect people with experts who can share the importance of good nutrition, from conception through every stage of life.

We also recognize that high-quality, nutrient-dense foods can be prohibitively expensive, while cheap, calorie-dense options flood the market. This creates a significant barrier to healthier eating for many families. We strongly believe that everyone deserves access to healthy food, which is why we collaborate with and donate products to organizations like GRACE, the YMCA, and Baby2Baby.org. Through these partnerships, we help ensure that the individuals and families they serve have access to nutritious, clean-ingredient products like Kekoa Foods.

Your 'Taste Training™' program aims to cultivate adventurous eaters from an early age. Can you elaborate on the science behind this program and how it supports children's long-term health and palate development?

Of course! As mentioned earlier, children don’t have an inherent preference for vegetables, but the good news is that they can absolutely learn to love them.

We’ve heard from some parents during our product demos that their children won’t like our offerings, and when we ask why, the answer often boils down to the fact that their kids don’t eat vegetables. When we dig deeper, we hear that their children have tried broccoli, kale, or cauliflower once and didn’t like them, so parents stopped offering vegetables altogether. This was both surprising and unsurprising to us—surprising because we believe in the importance of vegetables, but unsurprising given the state of vegetable consumption in this country. According to the research, only 7% of children under 18 meet the recommended daily intake of vegetables, and 50% don’t eat any vegetables at all in a given day.

This statistic sheds light on what we hear from parents, but it also made us wonder: Why is it acceptable for children to refuse vegetables? If a child refused to brush their teeth, would a parent just accept that they don’t brush their teeth anymore? If a child didn’t sleep through the night, would a parent let them choose their bedtime from then on? Parenting, especially when it comes to health, is about consistency and routine, helping children form healthy habits.

That’s where Taste Training™ comes in, and it’s been resonating strongly with our customers. The science behind it is straightforward: once children start solid foods, the key is to introduce them to different vegetable recipes. Each recipe includes at least one gentle herb or spice to make the flavor more exciting and help them develop a positive association with the food. By exposing children to a vegetable several times, we normalize it, making it familiar and comfortable. Often, when children try new foods, they might make faces, but that reaction isn’t about dislike—it’s simply due to the novelty of the food. Repeated exposure, especially before the age of two, helps shape their palate to appreciate nutrient-dense foods like vegetables without always relying on sweet flavors.

Given the prevalence of Type II Diabetes and obesity in this country, as well as the fact that many children are consuming processed, low-nutrient foods, Taste Training™ offers a consistent routine to help parents raise healthy, adventurous eaters for life.

Furthermore, food is deeply woven into our cultural fabric—from holiday meals with family and friends to dining out at new restaurants. Taste Training™ prepares children to appreciate a wide variety of cuisines and culinary experiences, forming the foundation for many fond memories and a lifetime of healthy eating.

If you would like to find out more about Kekoa Foods, please visit https://kekoafoods.com/