From One Mother's Kitchen to Yours

David Habib created his company, Clearwater, Florida-based Yo Mama’s Foods as a love letter to two influential women in his life: his mom and his grandmother. It was a way to honor the way they prepared food for their families. Yo Mama’s Foods is now one of the most sought-after health food brands, with customer favorites such as Marinara Magnifica and Classic Buffalo available nationwide. Beyondish caught up with Habib, the brand’s CEO and founder, to talk about the story and secrets behind his bestselling sauces.

What makes Yo Mama’s Foods mom-approved?

If it’s not an ingredient your mom has in her kitchen, it doesn’t go into our products. Our pasta sauces, salad dressing and condiments have no gums, fillers, preservatives or colors. All items are Keto and Paleo-certified by the Paleo Foundation and are a delicious alternative to competitive sauces loaded with sugar and sodium.

How did you get into the health food business?

I left my job as a Deloitte consultant to start Yo Mama’s Foods. The company launched on Mother’s Day 2017. Since then we have grown to over 17,000 retail stores nationwide and a number one Amazon bestseller for five years in a row.

What was your vision for launching the company?

My mom and grandma are the main inspiration behind the brand. Growing up, they brought loved ones around the table through healthy and delicious foods, which is exactly what we do today. This philosophy is important as it’s the main root of our brand.

What challenges did you face in the early days, and then during the height of COVID?

Yo Mama’s Foods is 100% privately owned with no outside capital, so cash flow has always been a challenge as we continue to grow. During COVID we actually grew exponentially and had the opportunity to ship and deliver to many new customers.

How did you overcome those challenges?

We built a strong relationship with our local bank and continuously strive to develop the right systems and processes for managing cash flow and inventory to support our growth.

Can you share what goes into your products?

We source fresh ingredients from all over the U.S. and use California grown tomatoes in our pasta sauces.

Your pasta sauce was named Amazon’s top-seller in 2017 and is the bestselling sauce brand today. How did this happen?

Ultimately, we save our customers time. They no longer have to slow-cook a delicious and homemade sauce, because Yo Mama’s Foods does it for them.

You were named one of Forbes magazine’s 30 Under 30 in 2022. What do you attribute to your success as a young CEO?

Our team works collectively on the same mission – keeping our focus, tenacity and determination with a strong vision. We are focused on growth and constantly challenging the status quo, both internally and externally.

How did you come to feature recipes on the Yo Mama’s Foods website?

This was a collaborative project during COVID where we wanted to focus on customer engagement and provide customers with unique and quick recipe ideas.

What’s been the customer response to trying Yo Mama’s Foods in their everyday lives?

So many customers comment on the fresh taste, fresh ingredients and the lower sodium and no sugar added in our products. These time-saving fundamentals allow families to eat healthier and cleaner without having to spend a lot of time making meals.