Mother Nurture: A Trademark from a Mother’s Bosom

August 28, 2020

Lan Perez started her bumpy breastfeeding journey with her second child but stopped three months into it as she had been caught up with the daily demands in attending to her eldest. She wanted to return to breastfeeding after a few months of not being able to but no one within her circle saw the odds with her to achieve relactation.

“When I decided to re-lactate, my husband and my family did not support me, I had to do it on my own. It was one of the most challenging phases of my life since I was going through a lot both physically and emotionally,” she recalled.

Despite finding herself alone in her goal, Lan’s eagerness to get back to breastfeeding did not wane, knowing the natural immunity-boosting antibodies and healthy enzymes that come with mother's milk. 

But eventually, Lan found what she needed: a Facebook group for lactating mothers where she eventually became an active encourager for mothers to breastfeed and stay on that road as long as they could.

“It’s really challenging to bring the baby back to the breast and ditch the bottle completely. But there are moms like me in that group who proved that it is really possible. It may have only seemed impossible because no one was believing in it as much as you do. Every breastfeeding mother needs to have the ‘Right Information, Right Mindset, and connect with the Right People,’” she added.

A mom of three children aged 12, seven and two, Lan has been breastfeeding for 79 months and counting — 51 months with her second child and the remaining with her youngest.

Lan breastfeeding Jaden, her second child whom she breastfed for 51 months, and Aina, her youngest whom she has been cherishing feeding moments with for two years and four months now.

Making the perfect blend for moms

Another challenge Lan encountered in breastfeeding was having to temporarily abandon her love for coffee.

“As I noticed that my baby gets fussy every time I drink coffee, I stopped drinking coffee for more than a year and would just smell the aroma to satisfy my craving. But when my baby turned 16 months, I really needed that caffeine fix for my sanity,” Lan said.

Unfortunately, there was none in the market that could both satisfy Lan’s craving and ensure the safety of her baby. From this, Lan took on a pursuit to formulate a coffee that can enhance lactation.

Lan shared her plan first with her support group, the same that helped her bounce back to breastfeeding. Discussions mostly focused on the factors to consider to ensure the safety of the mothers and babies as direct and indirect consumers, respectively.  

“With an initial capital of P50,000 I then teamed up with a competent R&D group. I was their guinea pig as various trials were made before we came up with the perfect formula that breastfeeding moms enjoy today. The Mother Nurture formulation, which is composed mainly of malunggay, is a product of three months of research and various testings.” Lan shared.

Mother Nurture ready-made coffee (L) and choco mixes (R), the country’s first lactation drinks.

Today, the Mother Nurture line carries the country’s first lactation coffee and choco mixes. The brand not only provides a drink to serve the needs of lactating mothers. Through the years, it has evolved into a source of empowerment for mothers to sustain their breastfeeding journey while enabling them to satisfy their small pleasures in life, thereby helping them practice self-love as simply as in a cup of coffee.

“Breastfeeding is a natural thing but it’s also a learned skill. So in the process, you may face challenges but I hope breastfeeding mothers don’t lose hope. Seek help if needed, connect to fellow breastfeeding moms that have more experience. Take it one day, one drop at a time,” Lan encouraged mothers.

Protecting the Mother Nurture brand

Lan first learned about the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines and its services on Facebook. While she parked trademark application plans for a while, finding it intimidating for a starting company like hers, she eventually learned from fellow mompreneurs of the benefits of protecting your trademarks.

She eventually applied through the Juana Make a Mark Program which provided women entrepreneurs a great opportunity to advance their brands in the market.

“I was able to process my application online. It was so easy and hassle free. And with Juana Make a Mark, I paid a fee that is five times lower than the regular,” Lan said.

Lan shared how her trademark registration eventually helped her protect the brand when it had been infringed on in an online selling platform. 

“With the trademark certification, which identifies us as rightful owners to the brand, we ordered the sellers, who were using our brands commercially and without our authorization, to take down their posts. Thankfully, the admins of the online selling platforms did it for us so the damage had been prevented,” Lan said. 

Mother Nurture is now a new member of the Department of Trade and Industry’s Kapatid, Mentor Me (KMME) Program which aims to help micro, small and medium enterprises advance their businesses through mentoring of experts from different fields of entrepreneurship.

As a KMME member, Lan hopes to scale up her capacity to further protect the quality of her brand and efficiently steer all aspects of her business for a smoother run of operations.

Balancing family and a company growing internationally

When Lan established Mother Nurture in 2014, she knew there will be a sea change in her priorities in the coming years.

“Motherhood is not easy, with breastfeeding, plus homeschooling and overseeing a business. To balance it, you have to set your priorities right and make a realistic schedule,” Lan said. 

She added that having an effective support network from people who share your vision is crucial in achieving daily goals.

“I am blessed with a competent team that works hand in hand to make sure our operation runs smoothly. My parents also help me when I need to run an errand and can’t bring my kids with me as we have no helper, and my husband also shares parenting/homeschooling chores with me.”

But of all that she anticipated, she did not see coming the exponential growth that her company is experiencing today.

“Honestly, I did not expect to be this big. From our initial stocks of 3,000 packs, now, our average monthly sales is at 15,000. Our resellers started with only 10. Now, we have 130 mommies catering to local and international orders,” Lan added.

Lan (in brown top) posing with her team from the Operations and Quality Assurance at their office in Cainta, Rizal. Photo taken in March 2020, right before Metro Manila was placed in lockdown. 

While the COVID-19 had slowed their production for three weeks, demand for Mother Nature’s malunggay coffee and choco mixes surprisingly surged. This demand, Lan said, encourages her expansion plans to remain on the table; in five years, she envisions Mother Nurture to further its reach locally and have a more stable presence in its current international markets, namely, Dubai, Malaysia, Singapore, and the United States.

But in the midst of the everyday deluge of work, Lan always finds ample time to sustain her breastfeeding bond with her youngest, aiming to repeat her sweet success with her second child.

“As I see my son thriving now, he’s healthy and smart. All the distress and sacrifices were worth it,” Lan said.

“I hope breastfeeding moms, especially those who are struggling, continue to keep the faith and stay optimistic. Breastfeeding is a lifetime gift to our children, all our sacrifices will be worth it.” ### (Janina Lim, Media Relations Officer)