It was Nascenti founder Tiffany Withers’ experience with perinatal mental health struggles that prompted her to try baby massage, and it led to her creating a wonderfully strong bond with her daughter. She now wants to share the benefits with others. Baby massage promotes bonding through skin-to-skin contact, producing endorphins in both parent and baby and creating increased feelings of connection. At Nascenti, they empower parents to bond with their babies through massage, offering a gorgeous range of baby massage oils that are organic, plant based, and free from parabens, sulphates, chemical dyes or artificial fragrances. Here Tiffany talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the inspiration behind Nascenti, how she balances work and family life, and the pros and cons of running her own business.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
After giving birth to my daughter in January 2020, I embarked on a baby massage course to help recover from perinatal mental health issues. The whole process was hugely beneficial for me as it encouraged me to connect with my daughter and led us to have a very strong bond, which I am extremely grateful for. Baby massage promotes bonding through skin-to-skin contact, which produces endorphins in both parent and babies brains, leading to increased feelings of connection. The only issue was I couldn’t find a baby oil that suited our sensitive skin. I wanted something organic and high quality which didn’t irritate our skin and hinder the baby massage process. So I embarked on a journey and made my own!
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
Initially I tested many different products and ingredients from different suppliers for me and my little girl and then eventually developed a prototype to take forward for the business. It was a year and a half in the making with testing and development for our final two baby massage oils.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
I applied for funding from the University of Southampton when I was still in the development stage, testing my prototypes and doing market research. Being awarded funding helped give me validation for the business and gave me an extra boost of confidence for the launch.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
I try to listen to my body and don’t overburden myself when I can feel I’m getting burnt out. Since having my daughter, I’ve learned to listen to my intuition and how I’m feeling, and find I actually work more productively when I take the rest I need! My creativity and ideas often come when I’m away from ‘work’, with my daughter, and not pressuring myself to achieve but just enjoying motherhood and connection with my little girl.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
The biggest challenges have been time and supplies. Juggling my Masters degree and having a newborn was very tricky when I was in the early stages of developing the initial prototypes. When I look back now, I don’t know how I did it! The other challenge was supply chain issues, which a lot of businesses would have experienced in the last couple of years. I had to switch suppliers a few times in the beginning, which was unfortunate but I’m very happy with where we are at now so it all worked out.
