The Laughing Planet Baking Company started up in July 2008 out of the Sydney kitchen of Jen and Nick Holland.

It was born from a passion for wholesome food - free from refined flour, refined sugar, preservatives, and artificial colours and flavours - and their desire to spread the word about whole foods while supporting their young family in the process.

Jen says, "I had never baked a thing until our first child was having his first birthday in 2003 and we were faced with the cake issue.  I wanted him to have a birthday cake, but there was no way we were going to purchase a conventional cake loaded with refined flour and sugar, and there was no way we were going to pay an arm and a leg for a specialty cake!"

Her first efforts were based on fruit juice sweeteners and whole wheat flour, and came from recipe books.  While they were a hit with the baby, they didn't impress anyone else.

Since then, Jen has found that there aren't a lot of recipes out there that are free from refined flour and sugar.  "You can find them, but they are limited.  And if you happen to have any food intolerances, you will almost certainly have trouble finding whole foods recipes for baked goods."

She tried to overcome this problem by first amending existing recipes, and later creating her own.  "It's tricky," she says, "because replacing ingredients can dramatically change the finished product.  I really just had to start from scratch in the recipe department!"

Jen and Nick have permanent stalls at the weekly Frenchs Forest Organic Markets and the monthly Rouse Hill Town Centre Farmers & Fine Food Market and Castle Hill Farmers & Fine Food Market. "We have seen from the markets that there is a huge demand for products like ours," Jen says.  "People are excited to be able to enjoy something that is good for them, and to know they can trust anything with our name on it."