During her first pregnancy, Natalia Richardson found it difficult to find skincare products that were genuinely natural and not just marketed as such. Discovering lavender oil as a natural post-birth healer, her research and planning began. Fast forward a few years (and a couple more children) and Happy Mama Organics was ready to launch, giving parents peace of mind through the development of products that are effective in healing and are safe, natural and organic.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
It began when I was pregnant with my first daughter and on the lookout for ‘healthier’ products. The more research I did and the more labels I read, the more products I found that were being marketed as natural and organic but contained ingredients classed as skin irritants. It felt as though we were collectively being duped into buying these items and I had visions of company directors sat in their boardroom laughing with every ‘cha-ching ‘of a sale! This annoyed me – call it a mother scorned!
A little later after, giving birth, I wasn’t healing well – I couldn’t even sit down. Nothing was helping until hesitantly* I tried lavender essential oil (*I had never used essential oils and was sceptical as to how it was going to help). Within a matter of days, I was back to normal with a new found passion and admiration for essential oils and the power of plants. This, combined with wanting to share my findings about ‘green washing’ marketing tactics with other parents, led to the creation of Happy Mama Organics. At its core, Happy Mama Organics is focused on giving parents peace of mind through the development of products that are effective in healing and are safe, natural and organic, guaranteed with organic certification.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
From the moment I had the idea, I spent the next 4 years planning and researching: everything from the safety of essential oils for children and in pregnancy and their specific benefits for various skin issues, to what packaging would be the most convenient for mums to use, even whilst holding a baby! I didn’t want to just state ‘organic’ on the label – it was important for my brand to back it up, so we invested our savings into finding a reputable manufacturer based in Australia who would be able to make the products to this standard. Happy Mama Organics launched online which is still the main sales channel.
