(Bloomberg) -- Yumi, a Los Angeles-based baby food maker, has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. partner Sarah-Marie Martin as its chief financial officer.
Martin had been a senior coverage banker in Goldman Sachs's financial and strategic investors group and is one of several senior departures from the bank in recent weeks.
As a mother of five, Martin said she joined Yumi partly because the startup's mission resonated with her. She said there is a large market opportunity for companies such as Yumi that deliver fresh and organic baby food.
Yumi, officially Caer Inc., said it serves 2% of all babies in the U.S. The company has benefited from the broader demand for food-delivery businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.
The startup could appeal to public market investors, Martin said.
"The market is looking for high-growth companies that are well positioned to disrupt the traditional food industry," Martin said. "There are many options in Yumi's future, whether that's within the next 12 months or beyond."
Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Angela Sutherland decided to create better baby food after reading that nutrition in the first 1,000 days of a child's life could impact development. Sutherland teamed up with co-founder Evelyn Rusli, a former reporter at the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, to help bring the idea to fruition.
The company's investors include venture capital firms New Enterprise Associates, August Capital and Brand Foundry.
Yumi is also expanding beyond baby food with content and other potential offerings to keep customers engaged in the longer term. "There's a lot of opportunity here to continue to grow with the child," Rusli said.
Martin said she was also passionate about helping a female-founded startup.
"I'm so delighted to be part of a business that is bucking the trend and is succeeding in venture capital when there seem to be these incredible impediments to women and diverse businesses," she said.
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