Zach DeAngelo, '06
Even though Zach DeAngelo, '06, does not have children of his own yet, his life revolves around kids. “We have never felt like we have to go to work each day. It isn’t a job; it’s more an extension of us, and that’s a nice place to be,” DeAngelo said when speaking of his role as chief operating officer of Little Duck Organics, a 100% organic, Kosher, gluten-free children’s food producer based in Brooklyn, N.Y.
After graduating from the Robins School of Business in 2006, DeAngelo found he felt largely unfulfilled in the financial industry and returned to school to pursue an MBA at Babson College. “Entrepreneurship has always been something that has interested me,” DeAngelo said, “and food has always been a passion of mine. My mother is a caterer and I have grown up in the kitchen. I would spend my last dollar on a good meal.”
DeAngelo was working on his own organic food startup venture when he met Little Duck Organics founder Zak Normandin in 2010. Shortly after meeting, he joined Normandin as a partner and has since played many roles in the evolution of the company.
In 2012 Little Duck Organics grew by 600%, and the leaders project it to grow by the same amount this year. “Growing as fast as we have is the best thing and also the most challenging thing we face. It is very hard to keep up with the growing supply chain and project challenges because everything is happening so quickly,” DeAngelo said. “Running the sales efforts has been the sole focus for the past few years. It’s been a fun, crazy time.”
As the company continues to grow, DeAngelo says the leaders always strive to remain true to their brand and culture. “What we want to do is convey to our customers on every level who we are, whether it’s through social media, our packaging or talking to consumers in grocery aisles,” DeAngelo said. “Brand is one of the most important things to us, right behind product quality and innovation. Our team has a great sense of humor. We’re a little quirky and that is what makes our products stand out. For so long the only product on the market was jars of baby food. It has been great to be a part of the innovation and rise of new, organic products for parents and kids to enjoy. We hope to become a brand children grow up with.”
Along with providing natural, healthy foods to their consumers, Little Duck Organics makes every effort to do the same in the communities where they source ingredients. “We see these farms that are growing all organic, wonderful fruit and the diets of the children in their community are so poor,” DeAngelo said. Partnering with 1% for Humanity, Little Duck Organics gives back 1% of its profits to nonprofits addressing poverty and other humanitarian crises. It was also the first company to utilize zero net waste packaging to consumers.
DeAngelo has spent the majority of the past four years on the road, meeting retailers and distributors in places from California and Colorado to Canada and Asia. “We hope to continue improving our relationships with farmers, allowing consumers to see exactly where our products are sourced,” he said. In the coming year DeAngelo will spend less time on the road and more time growing Little Duck Organics from its Brooklyn headquarters. “Being able to create something in this category with the group we have assembled is amazing,” he said. “There’s not a group that works harder.”