HealthyBaby: Shazi Visram Built Her Business On Resilience And Support

Driven by her son’s autism diagnosis, Shazi Visram, a serial entrepreneur, launched HealthyBaby. The company offers a range of safe, non-toxic products for babies and toddlers, filling a gap in the market Visram identified after facing challenges caring for her son.

Visram disrupted the diaper industry with her plant-based products and set a new standard for safety by becoming the first diaper brand to be verified by the Environmental Working Group. With an expansion into Target stores and innovative additions to their product line, HealthyBaby has gained attention from celebrity supporters and investors.

Despite facing physical and emotional obstacles, Visram’s resilience and support network serve as motivation for her “I do hard things” mentality in both her personal life and as a successful entrepreneur.

HealthyBaby: Born From Necessity

As an organic baby food entrepreneur, Visram built Happy Family Organics (formerly Happy Baby) into a leading brand before selling it to Groupe Danone in 2013. She then steered the company through four years of impressive growth as CEO, stepping down in 2017 to focus on family.

Visram’s 2-year-old son was diagnosed with autism , in 2012. Everything became a challenge for Zane. The neurologist didn’t give Visram and her husband much hope. So she started researching, and found doctors and organizations that did give her hope.

In 2018, motivated by her personal experiences, Visram began conceptualizing and developing HealthyBaby. The company soft-launched in 2020 and officially launched in 2021, offering products focused on a critical development window—preconception through pre-K—to help shape healthier futures for children in the U.S.

Happy Family Organics nourishes from the inside out, providing organic and nutritious food options to support a baby’s healthy development. HealthyBaby safeguards babies and toddlers from head to toe, offering clean and nontoxic products like diapers, wipes, skincare, and home cleaning products.

“It took Zane three years to learn how to use his musculature in his mouth to blow out a candle,” said Visram. “That gave me a blueprint for how to create Baby’s first toothbrush. It proactively incorporates all those exercises into someone’s life before they might not even know their baby could have a speech delay or oral motor issues.”

HealthyBaby launched as a direct-to-consumer company and, in 2023, expanded distribution to Target stores nationwide. HealthyBaby set a new standard in the industry by becoming the first diaper brand verified by the EWG, a nonprofit that evaluates the safety of consumer products.

“I started doing research about the healthiest diapers because it’s the first thing that touches my babies, and they wear them 24/7,” said Hilary Swank, Academy Award-winning actress, mom of twins, and HealthyBaby’s Chief Innovation Officer. “Plus, HealthyBaby is not only EWG Verified Safe but also totally transparent about all their ingredients. So I called Shazi since I had to learn more, and now I’m so proud to be working with the brand.”

Shazi is a reluctant second-time founder. “I only launched the business because I saw a path to improve people’s lives with something better,” she said. “I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t have this personal pain and recognize how others are going to experience that and need the resources and knowledge that I found.”

“Shazi is such a champion of healthier and environmentally friendly products, especially for our children,” said Sara Blakely, an investor in HealthyBaby and founder of Spanx. “I don’t even have to read the ingredients when Shazi is behind it.”

The company is moving towards removing plastics from its diapers to make them completely sustainable.

‘I Do Hard Things:’ Shazi Visram Embraces Challenges “Parents of children with autism go through a lot.” sighed Visram. “In the last few years, I have been less open to being public.” Witnessing Zane’s transition through puberty was emotionally challenging. The hormonal fluctuations can manifest in behavioral changes, including aggression or unexpected tearfulness. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions and not necessarily an easy topic for casual conversation. “I see him struggling, and it breaks my heart,” Visram said.

“The personal challenge is finding a way to own and be proud of my child’s diagnosis,” said Visram. Her goal is to have open and honest conversations, acknowledging positive and negative aspects without judgment. Critically important is being respectful.

HealthyBaby is not an autism brand. It is a progressive baby brand born from necessity.

Visram wants to share her experience authentically and relatably to show that it’s okay to go through life challenges and sadness at home and still be a capable leader. Her life is challenging, but it inspires her ability to build things like HealthyBaby. “That’s how you win,” she said.

When asked what she does, Visram sometimes says she is an entrepreneur or a mother, or she just says, “I do hard things.”

Being resilient is part of her DNA, but she’s also built an incredible support network, starting with her husband. “He is basically my life coach,” she said. She had spinal fusion, and during physical therapy, he would play Rocky music for inspiration. “It’s great to have someone nearby who cares and loves me and wants me to succeed and knows how to keep me going,” Visram said.

Under normal circumstances, Visram would never have considered spinal surgery, but a disc collapsed. The experience taught her to put her health first, which inspired the company’s new tagline, “HealthyBaby, where health comes first.”

During her recuperation from the surgery, Visram also realized what an incredible support system she has at work. The HealthyBaby team stepped up and allowed her to take care of herself. Launching a company and building a team during Covid-19 was challenging, but the company’s mission unified the team, so she knew she could count on them.

Now that everybody is back in the office, they work four days a week in the Nest, an innovation hub and a developmental play space for babies. “There’s something really cool about merging, not just the physical ability to be together and work on something but also interact with your customer daily,” said Visram. Those who work remotely are flown in for a holiday party, which is really nice for everybody to be together.

How will you transform challenges into opportunities?