Indy startup lands incentives for new location
INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — An Indianapolis startup that produces and delivers fresh baby food is receiving assistance from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. Café Baby, which earlier this month announced plans to move into a new location on the city’s northeast side, will also add 15 jobs by the end of 2023.
Café Baby, which was founded in 2016, will invest nearly $200,000 to lease and equip the new location in the Castleton area. The 1,200-square-foot space will house a commercial kitchen for production, storage for inventory and fulfillment, as well as the company’s first retail space for local customers.
The IEDC is offering Café Baby up to $95,000 in conditional tax credits, which the company will not be eligible to claim until Hoosier workers are hired for the new jobs. The company currently has three employees and will begin hiring immediately for kitchen production positions. Beginning in March, the company plans to begin hiring for sales, marketing and operations associates.
“Our family has been in Indiana since my grandpa was young,” said Jeannie Marrugo, co-founder and chief executive officer of Café Baby. “We can’t imagine growing our business anywhere else. You can’t find Midwestern hospitality anywhere in the world, and that speaks a lot to the values of our company. We are Hoosiers to the core, and we are so excited to share our service with fellow Hoosiers.”
In an interview earlier this month with Inside INdiana Business, Marrugo said the new location will allow Café Baby to increase its nationwide delivery efforts. She said the company hasn’t been able to do much national distribution because it simply did not have enough kitchen and storage space.
The new location is expected to open in early 2020.