How Stephanie Wibom Turned a Food Allergy Crisis Into GrowHappy

When Stephanie Wibom became a mom, she never imagined her parenting journey would lead her down a decade-long search for answers about food allergies. That journey began on the floor of an emergency room after her daughter suffered a severe allergic reaction—an experience that reshaped how she thought about fear, science and motherhood.

In the months and years that followed, Wibom immersed herself in research and conversations with leading experts, determined to understand not just how to manage allergies, but how to prevent them. That path eventually led her to Dr. Carina Venter, whose research has helped shift clinical guidelines around early allergen introduction. Together, they co-founded GrowHappy and launched a line of Allergen ImmunoButters—spreads that contain five of the most common food allergens and are designed to support early feeding.

In recent years, clinical guidelines in the U.S. and internationally have shifted to recommend introducing allergenic foods during infancy and maintaining regular exposure, with timing and approach guided by a child’s individual risk factors and the advice of a pediatrician or allergist.

Here, Wibom talks about that early experience that changed her as a mom—and shaped the work she does today. 

A Conversation With Stephanie Wibom

DFWChild: GrowHappy was born from your personal experience as a mom. Can you take us back to that moment and share what sparked the idea?

Wibom: My second daughter had a severe allergic reaction to eggs that sent us to the emergency room, and then eventually to world-renowned allergists. Through food challenges, we found out she was allergic to cashews too. Together, we desensitized her to egg over a year by eating incremental amounts of incrementally less cooked egg.

We desensitized her to cashew in an even more unique way—we fed her a tablespoon of pistachio every day for four months and when we went back for our food challenge again, she did not react to the cashews! My daughter is probably one of the first humans to show you can cross-desensitize between cashew and pistachio. It had only been seen in mice at that point, but now it’s been published that cashew and pistachio have related protein structures. That’s when I learned the true power of these foods to change our lives if we use them smartly.

I made it my mission to ensure our family got enough allergens weekly down the GI tract in the critical first few years of life to train the immune system when it’s most malleable. Through the journey, I realized the importance of allergen education and how sometimes, as parents, we have to put aside our own fears to do what’s right for our kid—and in this case, follow the science. Talk to an allergist if you have questions about any of this for your family.

RELATED: When Food Allergies Can Kill

DFWChild: Can you speak more about the critical window?

Wibom: For decades, families were told to hold off on introducing allergens until the immune system was more mature—around 3 years old. That’s the advice I first got. But in 2015 a groundbreaking study basically flipped everything on its head and proved the exact opposite [the LEAP study, co-authored by Dr. George du Toit, Wibom’s personal allergist and GrowHappy co-creator]. We need to flood the GI tract with allergens as soon as babies can eat solids because the immune system is learning what’s food and what’s not.

Introducing allergens in the first year of life—as early as 4 months—and keeping them in the diet regularly is an effective way to train the immune system while it’s still developing. It eventually led to revised guidelines all over the world to get allergens into the diet early, including the newly published USDA guidelines, and now allergists urge that you keep them there weekly throughout the first few years of life. We really need to be consistent about it.

DFWChild: How did you decide to take the leap and launch a business?

Wibom: When my daughter had this allergy, I basically stopped working. I was obsessed with understanding it—why did she get, how can we get rid of it, how can we prevent it? I was lucky enough to be in touch with some top experts who really inspired me. Then, after I had my third daughter and she went to school, I thought, ‘OK, I should probably go back to work—what should I do?’ And I couldn’t stop thinking about this idea. I realized I wasn’t going to be able to do anything else until I tried to make GrowHappy real.

DFWChild: How do you balance the demands of being a founder and a mom of three? 

Wibom: I definitely give up some time that I would otherwise be with my family. It’s not just physically being in meetings—it’s the headspace because I care so much, I can’t turn it off. But the trade-off is the girls see me do something that I’m really passionate about, and they also see me struggle and keep going. They’re seeing that you can come up with a really big idea and then do it.

Now, in their spare time, they think it’s fun to come up with businesses too. One of my daughters has started a dog walking business—she came up with the name, made business cards. All in all, I think it’s a net positive for us.

DFWChild: What advice would you give to moms who have an idea inspired by their own parenting journey? 

Wibom: It is possible. If this idea is sticking with you—if it’s all you can think about—listen to it. Don’t ignore it. Lean into it and nurture it. And once you’ve started, celebrate every win along the way. We’ve got big ideas and big plans, but on the way there, you achieve little things. Pause and celebrate those, too. Like, yay—the website’s live!

DFWChild: How has motherhood surprised you?

Wibom: All the roles you have to play. We are nurses, tutors, therapists, mediators—even a Kleenex, literally! (laughs) I’ve developed so much as a person since becoming a mom. I’m more efficient, more empathetic, I’ve felt more like a leader. My kids are my tribe and I’m in charge.

But you take on so many emotional burdens, too. There’s a lot of pressure on us to do everything. But those times when you can be in the moment and enjoy your child—feel that hug—that’s everything.

RELATED: Safely Introducing Common Food Allergens to Your Baby