Fitness Friday: From Flavor to Founder — Erica Bethe Levin’s Journey to Revolutionize Baby Food

Globowl Founder and CEO, Erica Bethe Levin

Erica Bethe Levin didn’t set out to start a baby food company. Like many game changing entrepreneurs, she had an idea she couldn’t ignore, and the drive to turn it into reality (and reality TV).

Erica’s entrepreneurial spirit first spurred into action as the co-founder of Cheeky Chicago, the go-to guide for women in the city. Since then, she’s worn many hats, startup executive, consultant, mentor to women founders, but her latest role as founder of Globowl is her most personal, and possibly her most powerful.

From Purees to Pad Thai

The journey started where many parenting pivots do: the kitchen. When Erica had her first child, Charlie, she followed the common path, healthy but bland fruits and veggies, one-note purees, the usual suspects. And like many kids raised this way, Charlie became a picky eater.

When her daughter Neve arrived, Erica was determined to do things differently. “Her first food was coconut curry,” Erica laughed. “And she devoured it.” That one meal lit a fire. Erica fed Neve the same globally-inspired food she and her husband loved, saffron rice, pesto, spicy lentils. The result? A toddler with a fearless palate.

That’s when the lightbulb moment hit: Why can’t baby food reflect the real food of the world? Why are we giving our kids mushy, watered-down meals when they’re ready for so much more?

Introducing Globowl 🌍

Frustrated by the lack of flavorful and nutritious, globally inspired options on store shelves and grounded during the pandemic, Erica decided to bring the world to her kids through food. Globowl was born: a baby and toddler food brand rooted in flavor, nutrition, and cultural curiosity.

The mission? To help little ones become adventurous eaters and more open-minded humans by introducing them to spices, textures, and global ingredients from the start. Erica puts it simply, “When you’re exposed to diversity early, you don’t grow up to be a jerk.”

A Founder Fueled by Purpose (and Spice)

Erica didn’t earn a traditional MBA, she built her own, listening to podcasts, reading business books, networking relentlessly, and leaning into decades of startup experience. Her “classroom” included consulting with other founders and learning by doing.

She also built a powerhouse board: former Head of Gerber, North America and the founder of Halo Top ice cream are both backing Globowl. “Not too bad for a baby food startup,” she says with a smile.

But building a CPG brand, especially in the baby food space, is no joke. From understanding supply chains to ensuring safety certifications, glass packaging, and food quality, Erica dove into every detail. She started testing for heavy metals before it was required. And those glass jars? They’re intentional.

“People love the convenience of a pouch. I get it.” Erica continued, “But they can lead to mold, cavities, developmental delays—you name it. Glass is better. Safer. Smarter.”

And pediatricians agree. Dentists, speech therapists, and nutritionists are all cheering Globowl’s return to real food, real textures, and real nutrition in glass bowls.

Lights, Camera… Curry?

Of course, no startup story is complete without a wild twist. Erica’s son is a Gordon Ramsay superfan, and he encouraged her to apply for Food Stars, Ramsay’s entrepreneur reality show. “I mostly did it for him,” Erica says, “but it turned out to be one of the most intense and rewarding things I’ve ever done.”

One whirlwind application later, she was in London, filming the show, competing for a $250,000 prize, and earning a personal video message from Gordon Ramsay for her son.

The experience brought national exposure, new investors, and deepened her belief in her mission. “It was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting,” she says. “But I’d do it again.”

Final Bites of Wisdom

Erica’s advice to other founders?

✅ Surround yourself with smart people: mentors, advisors, experts.

🎧 Become a lifelong learner: podcasts and audiobooks helped her build a new kind of business from scratch.

❤️ Build with integrity: “If it’s not something I’d feed my own children, it doesn’t go in the jar.”

From curry-stained onesies to board meetings with the former Head of Gerber, North America, Erica Bethe Levin is proving that parenting and entrepreneurship don’t have to be separate paths—they can fuel each other. And with Globowl, she’s not just feeding babies. She’s building a more inclusive, adventurous, and flavorful world.

📦 Learn more at globowlfoods.com🥄 Follow Erica’s journey: @globowlfoods