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Georgina Howard has successfully combined the roles of young mum and food entrepreneur to triumph over adversity in becoming an award-winning business woman.

Georgina, from West Bridgford, decided to form her organic baby food company after the birth of her first child. Georgina explains how she came to start the business almost by accident:

"When I left work to have my daughter Mia, I was in public relations. The baby food idea just came to me as a result of preparing her purees.

"I wanted my daughter to eat the best that she could, so that meant me doing it myself. I didn't really want to give her stuff that had been processed, and certainly not things that had been sitting on a shelf for months on end."

Homemade idea

Spotting a gap in the market, Georgina decided to start selling her food, in order to provide convenient meals for busy parents to give to their infants without the worry of compromising on quality.

"This is proper handmade food made using fresh locally sourced produce.

"All the production still takes place in the kitchen at home, which is certified as a production unit."

Georgina is currently involved in negotiations over how best to expand and promote the company's products not just in Nottinghamshire but nationally.

Georgina in her kitchen

"The opportunity to move out of the kitchen into an industrial unit is something I'm in talks over at the moment with a potential investor who approached us."

Award-winning

Georgina's work was officially acknowledged earlier this year when she was short-listed for a Barclays Trading Places Award. Her company, Tiny Olive, was named as one of the top ten businesses in the central region at the awards ceremony in July.

The achievement is all the more remarkable given Georgina's illness following the birth of her daughter. Georgina was unable to return to work after developing the rare condition Osteoporosis of Pregnancy, and was told to rest for a year.

"I just got bored very quickly and had to start thinking about something else, and that was very much the focus that Tiny Olive gave me."