Discovering a gap in the market when it came to looking after a new mother’s postpartum needs, Kiwi mums Elise and Elissia set out to help make the journey a little easier. With two children each, they understand how important it is for new mums to be nurtured and cared for during this delicate time. After a lot of hard work and research, they launched Maia Mum, an online store offering a range of amazing products to aid postpartum recovery, discreetly taking care of ‘down there’ so that you can focus on your precious baby. Along with their range of breastfeeding essentials, Maia Mum is a one-stop shop for your postpartum needs. Here, they talk to The Natural Parent Magazine about the inspiration behind Maia Mum and their business journey so far.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
After having our own babies, we realised that there was not a lot out there to help mums with healing on their postpartum journeys. Often when a baby is born, the mother is forgotten about, which we don’t believe is right as she has been through a lot too! We wanted to help make the postpartum journey a bit easier for mums and so Maia Mum was born.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
We spent a lot of time researching products and getting samples sent to us to figure out everything that we wanted to include in our range to begin with. Once we were happy with what we had, we invested a good amount of money into the business and went from there. We have built our brand organically through social media, word of mouth and attending baby shows/expos where we can.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
Deciding to go for it was our biggest breakthrough. It was a scary thing to start because we are both single income families with young children and to invest that amount of money into something that we are both so passionate about but not knowing if it would work or not was terrifying! It turns out it was the best thing we could have done and business has been steadily growing since we launched in May 2021.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
It is a major juggling act, and we try to work around our families in a way that works best for us. Sometimes this means we are up late at night or early in the morning shooting messages back and forth with ideas, to-do lists and planning. Sometimes we catch a moment when the kids are entertaining themselves or having a nap. When we get together it is carnage with three toddlers and one baby between us, but we set them up with something to do and crack on as best as we can with plenty of interruptions, little ‘helping hands’ and having to run interferences!
