Servicios Dentales

Entrepreneurs form group dental plan after learning that Hermisillo, Mexico, had only six dentists.

Tweet

During the 1970s and 1980s, Barbara Jaffe grew her whole-grain-bread bakery, which she began at age 17, from a one-person operation into a $10-million business. She eventually sold it to British baking giant Weetabix. Today she is starting over, with another healthful product line: low-fat, cholesterol-free all-natural ice-cream toppings, pudding mixes, and instant chocolate-milk mix. "There's no reason why wholesome foods can't be delicious foods," says Jaffe, now 40. The new venture, Newmarket Foods, in Petaluma, Calif., launched with $100,000 in March 1992, has already introduced nine products. The last seven were developed and brought to market in just five months. Because Jaffe and her partner, Tom Mierzwinski, contract out the manufacturing to a copacker, Newmarket's payroll numbers just the two. The arrangement has worked nicely so far: Newmarket's products are in natural-foods and specialty stores nationwide, and also some supermarkets (sans slotting fees). The company expects 1993 revenues to hit $500,000.

-- Alessandra Bianchi