Lim named the brand Zoey after her daughter.
AFTER realising that there weren’t many healthy options when it came to frozen foods for children, 41-year-old Jamie Lim decided to take matters into her own hands.
The single mother envisioned a future where children, just like her daughter Zoey, and mothers alike could enjoy eating and preparing healthier frozen foods for their children.
Lim has since launched Malaysia’s first online frozen food for children called Zoey’s Homemade, under her company Zoey Food Supply Sdn Bhd.
She initially started out by selling her homemade products online, through social media platforms, before opening up her very own boutique kitchen. She has now upgraded to owning a factory to produce and package her products.
“Everything happens for a reason. I’m a single mother and I understand that life will never be easy for a woman to raise children all by herself,” said Lim.
“I uphold two important missions. Firstly, to provide convenient and nutritious children’s food solutions. Secondly, to partner with other mothers to form a business and grow together.”
Certified by the Health Ministry on home-based hygiene standards, Zoey’s Homemade currently has over 50 products – created by a group of 30 caring mothers – designed to provide a healthy and natural diet solution for modern and busy parents.
“Mothers at home can generate income while taking care of their children. Every mother can contribute their secret recipes to diversify our food offerings.
“Through their formulation, five to six dishes can be easily prepared in just 30 minutes.”
With all the food made fresh weekly, Lim strictly regulates and monitors all the food processing procedures as she strives to ensure the quality and nutritional value of her products.
For example, her products are made by using natural ingredients, such as the chicken nuggets that are 100% made from chicken breast meat and luncheon meat 100% from pork foreleg and hind leg.
“In the early days, I even created a natural chicken powder. It was not meant to generate income but to add nutritional value to my seven-year-old daughter’s diet,” said Lim.
Zoey’s Homemade products also use ingredients such as low-salt soy sauce, eggs, nutritious fruits and vegetable noodles in their products.
Lim also implements a “Three No” concept into her food processes, which stands for “No MSG, No preservatives and No added colouring or additives”.
Without preservatives, Lim’s meat products can be stored for six to eight months, while steamed buns can be kept for up to three months.
Apart from maintaining healthy standards when producing the food, Lim also makes an effort to make her products – like the fruit and vegetable puree – look more appetising to encourage children to eat their fruits and vegetables.
She does this by diversifying the colours of her products by using natural ingredients, as well as making them more cute and bite-sized.
“We use the colour yellow that is made from pumpkin, purple made from purple potatoes and green that is made from pandan leaves or even spinach.
“These are just a few of the added colours in the food to make them more naturally appealing,” said Lim.
Lim has since won awards for her entrepreneurship endeavours and is seeking to continue expanding her business online, as well as collaborating with frozen food stores so that people can buy Zoey’s Homemade products through offline channels.
n For more information on Zoey’s Homemade, visit www.zoeyhomemade.com
