Mary Merheim: from teacher to nutritional cakes for the elderly!

On today's episode of You Care, I care I'm joined by Mary Merheim of Grandbar Snacks. Mary has been on my list of podcast guests to record with for quite some time now so I'm very excited to release this episode!

Mary started Grandbar Snacks accidentally and as she explains she now has a nutritional cake bar for the elderly business despite not having any previous food industry expertise or business knowledge! She was a teacher previously but her mission was personal. In his late eighties, her father lost his appetite even though he was a man who was passionate about food to the point that he'd even make his own pate! It was heartbreaking for Mary to see her father fading away in front of her so instead of just sitting back and letting it happen, she headed for the kitchen!

After a search online about nutritional food elderly people enjoy eating, Mary soon realised that there was nothing out there. Plenty of information popped up for pregnant women, menopausal women or anyone who wanted to lose weight but for those over sixty five, it felt like they weren't a priority for society anymore. 

Research has shown that as you get older your savoury taste buds start to fade but the sweet taste buds last! It's now been five years and Mary has a fully fledged business selling cakes full of all the nutritional things people need and designed specifically for the elderly who are struggling with their appetite.

Mary was only going to be making these treats for her father but when he passed away suddenly at ninety years old, she knew she had to carry on and ensure that they reached more elderly people across the country who are needing nutritional foods that satisfy their sweet tooth - after all, you can't make someone eat something if it doesn't look good first as well as tasting great!


If you'd like to learn more about Mary and these tasty treats head to https://grandbarsnacks.com/