This archive report was first published on 25 September 2019.
Beatrice Mwihaki's life took a dramatic turn on Madaraka Day in 2018 when her brother died in an accident. The incident left her with a deep sense of regret and a realization that many mothers miss precious moments with their babies due to the need to feed them in private.
Beatrice, the founder of Nursing Mamas, a fashion line that sells stylish clothes for nursing mothers, was inspired to create a solution to this problem. She wanted to design clothes that would allow mothers to breastfeed in public without feeling exposed or needing to leave the room.
After taking a sample of her clothes to a tailor, Beatrice realized that the idea needed to be created from scratch. With the help of her husband, she approached a manufacturer who was open to producing outfits in small quantities. They designed outfits with accessibility zips, buttons, layers, and flaps.
Beatrice posted her products online, and in three days, they registered a turnover of Sh100,000. Their first products were exclusively jumpers, retailing at Sh3,500. However, when they got space at an exhibition taking place in Nairobi's Sarit Center, Nursing Mamas decided to add tops with a lighter fabric for warmer weather. The tops retailed at Sh1,500.
However, after the October exhibition, sales plummeted in November and December. Beatrice realized this was mainly because they didn’t have enough variety, so they missed out on repeat customers. It was an important lesson for Beatrice because when they started, they’d make 1,000 pieces of each design, with similar ratios for the various body sizes.
With the help of a new manufacturer, Beatrice altered their numbers and increased the designs, which led to a significant increase in sales. In the year to date, Nursing Mamas has turned over Sh3 million.
Nursing Mamas received a huge boost when it applied and was accepted to pitch on KCB Lions’ Den, which is currently airing its fourth season on KTN on Tuesdays. On the TV show, entrepreneurs get a chance to sell their idea to business investors, the Lions. Despite stumbling a little bit, they managed to get an investment of Sh2 million for 30 per cent equity.
