A 30-day gluten-free challenge led Nichole and Angel DiGiuseppi to a new career path.

On Sunday, they opened The Organic Cave, a paleo bakery, in New Town. About a year ago the couple, who live in St. Peters, eliminated gluten, grain, soy and dairy from their diet for 30 days in an effort to address allergies and migraines.

"We felt amazing," Nichole DiGiuseppi, 42, said. "We realized we felt great not eating those things. We didn't realize we felt so bad until we got rid of those things." The DiGiuseppis adopted the Paleo diet, but found they missed eating cookies, cakes and muffins. They found it difficult to find prepared items at stores that didn't have soy or dairy.

So Nichole DiGiuseppi decided to make her own treats. In May, she started selling gluten-free baked items at the Lake Saint Louis Farmers Market and by June her products were being sold at O'Fallon Nutrition. Nichole DiGiuseppi said she was shocked to see the demand for the products at the farmers market.

"We met so many people that were looking for the same thing because even when they went to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, they couldn't find anything," she said.

The couple made the decision to open their own shop after Cheri's Kitchen, where they'd been baking their treats, closed.

"We were like we have to do it and we have to do it fast," Nichole DiGiuseppi said. They opened The Organic Cave just down the street from Cheri's Kitchen in New Town on Dec. 2.