Selasi Berdie

Co-Founder & Director, Sprout Organic

Sel's life mission is to create nourishing, wholesome, plant-based nutrition for happy, healthy kids.

A former professional rugby league football player, Sel's background is in product development, food science and technology. Together with his wife Jen, they are both plant-based, passionate about health and nutrition, and proud parents to two cheeky boys, Ellis and Kingston in the sunny Gold Coast of Australia.

When Sel's first son, Ellis, was born, Jen began to suffer from mastitis. As much as she loved breastfeeding and tried to treat the infection, she was also in a lot of pain so the couple began exploring formulas to help supplement.

As health-conscious parents who care deeply about providing the best nutrition for our kids, they thought it would be possible to find a nutritious plant-based formula. Sel and Jen identified a huge gap in the market, and wondered how many parents were going through this exact same problem. With Sel's background in food science and product development, combined with Jen’s background in design, the couple decided to take on the challenge to create something themselves.

Three years on, Jen and Sel welcomed to the world their second son Kingston, along with the birth of Sprout Organic – an Australian children's nutrition company that makes organic, plant-based infant formula, and healthy plant-based snacks for kids.

14:20 - 14:55

Tuesday 2 November

Sprouting Organically: Plant-Based Nutrition for Infants and Children