As a Registered Midwife and a mum herself, Annie Palmer is familiar with the needs of new mums and understands the importance of safe, high-quality breastfeeding equipment. With a desire to make lives easier for new mums, she set out to provide effective, affordable, stylish breast pumps to women across New Zealand and Australia. Mum’s Milkyway was established in 2020 by Annie and her business partner Jed. Their pumps are designed to be effortless, comfortable and efficient at expressing – suitable for all mums, whether expressing to increase supply or returning to work and regularly on the go. Additionally, their breast pumps are a lovely pastel colour that will make a cute addition to your baby bag! Here, Annie talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the inspiration behind Mum’s Milkyway, creating their brand, and balancing work with a newborn.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
Being a midwife, I spend a lot of time talking to new mums. I saw an opportunity to source quality breast pumps that would make a mum’s breastfeeding experience and busy life easier. I knew the pumps needed to be comfortable, high quality and a little bit stylish.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
We started with an idea of sourcing these breast pumps from overseas and spent weeks ordering and trialing different breast pumps to see which were most effective. We then contacted a sourcing agent who helped us to find the best manufacturer. Once we sourced our pumps, next was branding and designing our website. We are still very much a start-up with both Jed and I storing all the pumps in the spare rooms of our homes.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
A major breakthrough was realising what our brand stood for and where we wanted to take it. Also, finding the right manufacturer that would make the breast pumps we wanted to make.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
I have just had my first baby and he is nearly 2 months old. This has opened my eyes to how tough being a new mum can be and how it truly takes a village. I have found it difficult to find the time for myself let alone the business, however, my business partner Jed has been holding down the fort for me and trying to get our brand out there. We have kept in mind how busy family life can be when we sourced our pumps, ensuring they are effective and time efficient for mums.
