When Grant and Ellie Wilson purchased Gramen Farm in 2010, they were looking for a way to provide raw and healthy food to their newborn baby girl.

"I have no problem eating a potato chip from a publicly traded company every once in a while, but when you have a baby, your whole life changes," Grant Wilson said. "We decided to literally leave the city, own a farm and start our life over."

Neither one of them could have predicted that, three years later, they would be using their farm to make and sell 22 different products to an extensive customer base, made up largely of parents like them.

"Ninety percent of our customers are women with children, pregnant women or just families trying to keep their kids healthy," Wilson said. "They were getting sick on something. They couldn't put their finger on it, but they were thinking it might have to do with this commercial industrial food we're eating. It's a growing movement, and I just got lucky enough to get involved."

"Gramen"—Latin for "grass"—is an appropriate name for the farm, where all ruminants—plant-eating cattle and goats—are grass-fed. The 32-acre farm is chemical-, antibiotic- and hormone-free. In addition to selling raw dairy products, Gramen also offers grass-fed beef, natural deodorants, soaps and other holistic personal care products.

Since taking over the farm in 2010, Wilson said business has increased by 10 percent each month.

"We didn't think we were going to make any money from this, but people keep coming out of the woodwork," he said. "Our average customer drives one hour to get here."

The message Wilson tries to communicate to each of his customers is the difference between eating a raw, "live" diet versus "dead" food that has been stored in warehouses and treated with preservatives.

"Living beings need raw energy," he said. "When you eat something that's dead, your body has to create energy from that thing. If you don't have raw food in your diet, you're working harder than you have to to live."

With two dairies going out of business every day in the U.S., Wilson said it is crucial that he controls every aspect of creating and selling his product, from birthing to manufacturing and processing, to survive. He said his farm will always have an advantage over big companies in attracting that market of consumers who are concerned about what they are eating.

"The economics of a publicly traded company do not lend me to get pure food to my kids, period," he said. "People are going to search out other options. That's the beautiful thing. My customers are going to find me.

20158 Bauer Hockley Road, Tomball 832-287-0140, www.gramenfarm.com, Hours: Mon.–Fri. 8–6 p.m., Sat. 8–5 p.m., Sun. 12–5 p.m.