Bella Essentials all-natural line of products for expectant mothers

BOULDER — Aimee Snow and Jennifer Hohlfelder have tapped into a market segment mostly overlooked in the health and beauty industry: expectant mothers.

All the focus placed on the forthcoming child causes mom to be overlooked, just at a time when she needs pampering the most.

In March1999, Aimee Snow and Jennifer Hohlfelder both had the same problem. They were shopping for a baby shower gift for moms-to-be and couldn’t find anything specifically for mothers. Hohlfelder tried to put together a gift bag of body-pampering treats, but couldn’t find

attractive items specially made for new moms. Then Snow thought of the problem as a business idea that they developed into Bella Essentials Inc.

Over the summer, Snow and Hohlfelder, both at-home moms, worked on their business plan together. “Aimee’s mother, who works at a business school, helped a lot,” Hohlfelder said.

The enterprising pair began developing and testing their product line. Both with natural health backgrounds, they experimented with herbs and oils to find pleasant combinations. “We tested the products on people (not animals) with three focus groups during formulation.”

The products were tested to make sure they were enjoyable to use and that the concentration was correct. While the test subjects had fun with the project, it was difficult getting them to show up. “It was hard to get enough pregnant women to come in who weren’t too sick to

come in,” Hohlfelder said.

Getting financed was another tough issue. “We begged, borrowed and stole from our families to get started. It was tough. Banks wouldn’t talk to us,” Hohlfelder said.

Another challenge was finding good packaging. “Companies wouldn’t even send us sample bottles without a purchase order. It’s gotten better now,´ said Hohlfelder. “We both feel like we’ve earned an MBA in a year.”

While natural body products are nothing new, the marketing concept behind Bella Essentials Inc. makes the line appealing to consumers. Using all-natural products, including herbs, essential oils and no chemicals, Hohlfelder said Bella Mama products “pamper the pregnant woman in luxury” just at a time when she could use a physical and emotional lift.

This strategy is paying off . After initial orders at the Natural Products Expo in Anaheim, Calif., business soared. “We had barely enough to do the show, and all these orders came in!” Hohlfelder said.

Surviving these growing pains, Bella took off with purchase orders coming in from Nordstroms’ and interest from Bloomingdale’s and Barney’s New York. The pair anticipates that their sales by the end of July should be $180,000.

The Bella Mama line includes Pregnant Belly Oil with Lavender, Refreshing Face and Body Spritzer, Healing Herbal Sitz Bath, Uplifting Foot Salts, and Comforting Nipple Salve, and small and large gift boxes. In Boulder, Bella Mama products are sold at Namaste, and Becoming Mothers, or at www.bellamama.com.

Future Bella products may include Baby Bella, or something for children, Hohlfelder said.

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