Born from two very different experiences of trauma, Bubs & Boobs is a business built on a shared desire to make motherhood a little easier. When Pippa’s difficult breastfeeding journey brought her together with Celeste, a natural skincare expert with years of experience creating healing products, the pair recognised an opportunity to combine their knowledge and create something genuinely useful for mothers and babies. What began with a conversation about the challenges of breastfeeding quickly became a mission to develop effective, natural products for some of the most physically and emotionally demanding stages of motherhood. Today, Bubs & Boobs is helping mothers navigate pregnancy, breastfeeding and postpartum recovery with products designed to provide real relief when they need it most.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
It’s actually a tale of trauma turned into something positive and productive. For Pippa, it was the trauma of her early motherhood experiences, and for Celeste, a horrible road accident early in life, which led her down a path creating natural skin healing products.
When we met, we both realised that we had experiences and skills that could be combined to create something that actually worked for desperate mothers.
Celeste had been manufacturing natural healing skincare for years. Her prior business stocked in the likes of Harrods in London, and all throughout the world. Pippa began renting an office space off Celeste’s business’ headquarters, as she too had her own business, but in fashion ecommerce. At that stage, Pippa had the one child and Celeste, having no children of her own, asked her if she could give an opinion on a new brand she was considering starting. One of the products she’d called ‘bubs and boobs’, and it was an all-round healing balm for mums and babies. Well, poor Celeste had no idea of the torture Pippa had been through while breastfeeding her baby. She completely unloaded everything, talking about the pain, the undiagnosed tongue-tie, the useless lanolin and gel pads, the lactation consultants, the bleeding, the emotional struggle mums go through… it was a lot! Celeste said she was so sorry she didn’t know Pippa then, as she would have whipped up a product that could have actually helped her. Not long after that, she approached Pippa to see if she would go into business with her, one purely dedicated to mums and bubs.
Pippa had the experience as a mum in need as well as the ecommerce expertise. Celeste could make amazing products that could really help in a space that was stuck in the 1500s -yes, that’s when lanolin started being used, and there’s been no real innovation since! Pippa was hesitant at first. She said no way would she get involved in something that took advantage of mums in need, selling them yet another gimmick. She would only be involved if the product actually worked. So they made some samples and sent them out to some struggling breastfeeding mums.
As Pippa took her dog for a walk one day, she got a response that stopped her in her tracks and brought her to tears – a woman saying it was the first time in 13 months she’d fed pain-free. That was it… Pippa was 100% in. Every mother needed the Boob Balm Celeste had created, and to avoid the physical and emotional pain Pippa had been through.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
Very small. It’s been a bootstrap journey. We ordered in the minimum amount of packaging we could find, built our own website, manufactured our own balm in the smallest batch possible, then we went live. Like all businesses (excluding those unicorn experiences you read about now and then), it started off very slow. A trickle of sales here and there, but we both pulled on the levers we had from our previous businesses, and things slowly started gaining momentum.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
It’s definitely Celeste’s brilliant idea of using Manuka Oil in our products. Initially, Celeste had worked with Manuka Honey (even keeping her own bees!) and intended that as the hero ingredient for the product. Pippa then explained that Manuka Honey wouldn’t work, as mothers are told not to feed their children honey for the first year of life. This led Celeste to Manuka Oil, which is distilled directly from the Manuka Tea Tree (as opposed to Manuka Honey, which comes from bees who take the pollen from the same tree). Amazingly enough, that just made our balms all the more effective, as Manuka Oil is 1000 times stronger than the honey. It really is a game changer in the baby skincare/breastfeeding space.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
It’s tricky. Pippa’s since had a second baby, which means poor Celeste took the reins while she was on maternity leave. Celeste also has a big family…the four-legged kind. She has several horses that are a handful to look after.
For both of us, it means early starts. We tend to wake up before the sun to get as much done as possible before other elements of life get in the way.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
There are so many challenges that come with a business. Cashflow, ad performance, packaging malfunctions, time management, just to name a few. Time management is one we’ve worked a lot on recently. Just the little things that can build up to create a big difference. Some automations, easier packaging, investment in manufacturing equipment.
One of the biggest changes we’ve made to help us clear our load is outsourcing some of the most time-consuming aspects of our business – mainly order fulfilment. This has made a huge difference for us, with our products now stocked at a warehouse, packed and distributed by a third party. Before then, packing orders took hours out of our day, and they were hours we didn’t have. The burn out was real!
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The pros are the sense of fulfilment. The knowledge that what you do makes a real difference to others. There’s also the creativity. To be able to drive your brand in the direction you want, not stifled by your boss, the company you work for, or endless procedures and red tape.
But the cons are also very real. Stress is a big one. When the success or failure of your business lands on your shoulders, that can keep you up at night. A few days of poor sales really does hurt the business, and ultimately you, as your paycheck is the first expense to be scrapped. Literally, your livelihood relies on you. No sick leave, no 9-5, no guaranteed fortnightly pay. Sometimes we crave those perks, but then we get another 5 star review where you can hear the gratitude in the mother’s voice, even just through her typed words, and you plough on through, eager to get your product in the hands of the next mother.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
We’d love for word of mouth to really start taking hold and for our products to be the go-to for pre- and postpartum care. We truly believe they help during some of the most desperate of times, so we want mothers armed with our products to help them get through it unscathed.
In our reviews, mums consistently use words like ‘Miracle Balm’, ‘Life Saver’, ‘Game Changer’ and ‘Saved my Breastfeeding Journey’. Our hope and dream is that mothers get talking (lord knows they’re good at it!) and start spreading the word – because we want to help as many as possible.
Visit bubsandboobsco.com to find out more and to shop their products. You can also connect with them on Facebook and Instagram.
