Each year, millions of women give birth to children across the U.S., leaving mothers to navigate the challenges of caring for a newborn and postpartum simultaneously. In recent years as mental health sees increasing consideration in the workplace and health care markets, the postpartum journey — including postpartum depression — has joined the conversation.
To accommodate demand and fill gaps in the market, a Dayton brand — Lunnie — focused on postpartum products to make moms feel pretty, powerful and comfortable is preparing for expansion. Planned efforts for the year follow a successful launch in 2022 and expectations for exponential growth in 2023.
Founded by Sarah Kallile, Lunnie's nursing bra is meant to be a chic, everyday bra for comfort, made from high quality, sustainable fabrics with a leak proof component.
The nursing bra launched a pre-sale in March 2022, selling out quickly. Shortly after, Lunnie won the UD Flyer Pitch Competition last April, bringing home the grand prize of $50,000. Her 2022 stock was back later in the fall after Kallile gave birth to her third child – allowing her to double down on the effectiveness of her own product.
“It was an opportunity for me to share with my audience in a really authentic way about my own postpartum experience…,”Kallile said. “I'm in the thick of postpartum I'm breastfeeding my baby. This is very relevant to my own life.”
Kallile wants to continue helping move the needle forward for working women and with it the recognition that pregnancy and having a baby puts a lot of mental, emotional and physical stress on a woman.
“Women should have support both at home and in the workplace,” Kallile said.
Lunnie, which is part of the Entrepreneurs' Center portfolio, has successfully earned over $100,000 through grants and pitch competitions. With expansion on the horzizon, Lunnie is open to strategic investor opportunities, projecting four times growth in 2023.
With only herself and an intern on staff, Kallie is currently expanding her employment by two to fulfill operating and marketing needs.
Until now, Kallile said Lunnie has grown organically, something that is rare in the direct-to-consumer market. She attributes her sales and growth to the backing of local moms who tested products through the construction of six prototypes, purchased them and shared with others by word of mouth.
“I actually sold out my first production run with zero marketing spends,” Kallile said.
While Lunnie’s bras are currently manufactured by Columbus Apparel Studio, she is preparing to shift to a larger U.S.-based manufacturer. She said the transition will help the company with scaling in 2023 and beyond.
“I've been successful to this point, but I know that I can expand my footprint and that there's such an appetite for this bra. I just need more people to know about it…,” Kallile said. “What's really exciting about my new manufacturer is that they are total bra experts. They work with all the major bra retailers in the U.S. So while I spent a year prototyping and developing this product really scrappy by myself, they will be able to take my ideas and really accelerate the product development. I think I'll be able to launch those products much faster as compared to the current bra.”
Alongside the manufacturing shift, Lunnie has had a strong start to the year with big plans ahead.
A few weeks ago, Lunnie launched its nursing bra in its first brick-and-mortar retail store: Shoppe Smitten in Oakwood. Kallile said she anticipates gaining traction in the in-person retail sector beginning in Q2 2023.
However, Kallile’s current focus is awaiting word on her utility and design patents for the nursing bra, in 2023, Lunnie is developing a pumping bra and camisole with leakproof components. Kallile is aiming to have one of the products produced by the end of the year, depending on market supply chain.
