My friends at Gerber invited me to NYC last month to experience the heart of their brand. I love Gerber, for obvious reasons, and partner with them because I sincerely love what they’re all about. But it was such a cool experience to see how much what they do is tied into legacy. That word has been on my heart so much the past year that it stuck with me when I heard it in NYC.

Gerber took a beautiful, open, black-space of a loft in Chelsea and transformed it into a three part series of vignettes showing how they do what they do – and why. As a brand owner myself, I know how hard it can be to convey the “why” and the heart behind a brand, so I loved seeing this come to life.

We first walked through a Gerber apple orchard: a beautiful farm with real dirt, apple trees, baskets of green apples, and a barn! We listened to one of the Gerber growers talk about the legacy of his family’s farm in Fremont, Michigan. His father started the farm, growing apples for Gerber, and he (and later his son) followed suit and joined the family business.

Next, we sat in a Gerber test kitchen to hear how Gerber baby foods are carefully prepared. The last thing Gerber does before their baby foods go into their tiny tubs, is their Flash Cooked step that takes just minutes. The Flash Cooked step uses indirect steam heat, similar to a double boiler you may use in your kitchen, to cook their purees before packaging them. Gerber is the first and only baby food company in the country to use this technique. It ensures their fruits and veggies have the right flavors and texture, and are as healthy as fresh.

Lastly, we sat around a dining room table with a sweet baby who tried the Gerber baby foods (giving sweet cues as to what she liked most). I loved seeing just how detailed they were in the evaluations of their foods and how their panel of 2,000 tiny taste testers taste the product.  But my favorite part was that apple farmer. He’d just made his first trip to NYC for this event and it was clear how much he loved his apple farm and the babies who ate the food made from its harvests.

Thanks for having me, Gerber. It was wonderful to see how much care you take to help feed our babies. Our family favorite was always the peaches, but the apples are moving up on our list after this experience!