Feliz Wean, the Making of a Brand

 Zahra  

So welcome, everybody to another episode of the brand collaborative. I am so excited to introduce our guests to you today, I have to say that one of the reasons I started doing this podcast is because we really take a lot of care and who we work with. And I there are brands that we work with that inspire us and I really just get that feeling for a brand like everybody needs to know who they are and what they do. And so this gives us a chance to be able to showcase some of the amazing brands out there who are doing really important work, and today, I am honored. I am privileged to introduce to you Carla Goncalves, she's the CEO of Feliz Wean. Now, Feliz Wean in case you've not heard it, Feliz Wean is taking the industry by storm. She is bringing a product to market for new mothers and weaning mothers. She is solving such a huge problem that mother's face, and she's bringing to light an issue that a lot of people don't talk about. And so this is one of those brands that truly goes beyond the amazing products that she offers. It really speaks to, you know, the core of a group of people that need some representation. So before I bring her on, I want to tell you a little bit about you know who she is in what in what she does. So, Carla actually started Feliz Wean out of necessity, she knew the pressure of breastfeeding with two boys of her own, she began the journey of breastfeeding her first son with relative ease. Breastfeeding was a joy and her son didn't resist when the time came to wean off and begin his journey into a toddler diet. But the issue arose when she began breastfeeding her second son. At first, the process came to her as easily as her first, the problem arose when she began to wean him off. At the start of his second birthday, he began to throw fits cry, without reprieve as for the breast every hour of the day. Carla had to think that so she began to research whether or not this was happening to other mothers, too, and what their solutions were. Now I know a lot of us can identify with having this moment whether it was breastfeeding, or whether it's, you know, behavior or any other thing we can all we can all identify with that moment of helplessness. When you realize that you, you're not sure what to do, and your kids having an instant demand and you don't know what the fix is right then in there.

Carla  

It has a great I think, emotionally really affects most mums we get.

Zahra  

Absolutely. So welcome Carla, thank you so much for being here. So tell me a little bit about your brand is from your own words. I know I've talked to you, you know, talked about your brand but tell me a little bit about it in your own words.

Carla  

Yeah, well, as you rightly said, Feliz Wean did, was born out of my own experience and assisity of when my second child he was loved the breasts very attached. I had breast I actually wanted my first one I did when he was about one year old, he wanted he was ready. I wasn't so ready but I know I had to manage that. I Windham off. He didn't he was not interested in a breast anymore. But the second one, I was happy to wait until he was two years old, at least. And then I thought, well, we need to I will think about it about what do I do then and then between two and a half, two, you were still breastfeeding at night and day. So that was like, at least twice at night, he would come to the breast. And then I thought, well, he was two and a half, I thought, Okay, I think this needs at least at night, I need to start sleeping properly. So I started to think I need to wean him off. So that was when the journey actually started and that's when also the struggle started because I thought it would be easier and I was already full time working five days a week, trying to win him at night and I spent like after three four nights of him crying the crying like three, four hours. I would just just take the rest I would give up just and this would be like 234 I think the maximum I got to the bottom was five nights where I tried to win him at night with no success then I would just feel guilty exhausted and also guilty because that's what he most wants and I don't want to of course most moms we love our children and we don't want to disappoint them or hurt them. So yeah, it wasn't mixture and was hard. So I started to look for for solutions online and then I did find that there were so many moms out there that had exactly what stuck exactly at the same stage as I was. And I found that there is a lot of support when you want to encourage you to, to get well to start to breastfeed your children, and there is a lot of support lots of information, how to do it and all that on the exit. I find that so many moms like me was really like, feeling stuck. Because it's like, a taboo, nobody talks or, or there isn't really all well, actually, I did find. I found a lot of advice out there. I did buy books, and I tried lots of kinds of techniques and all of them valuable, but after 234 days or nights, and you are exhausted, and that's when I gave up in because I just he cried and cried and cried and nothing worked. And then I was like it was too hard so I thought I was looking also for a product something and magic, something kind of magic solution, something that would help me really, alongside with all these techniques that will great like distract your child, give them food, sing them a song, but the breasts were there, they were available. So he didn't care about any of that only he knew what he wanted, and very sure about that. So yeah, so I look for products for a product, something that would alongside with all this good advice that would help me would give me a breather would give me some support for me to carry on and I didn't find anything. And I was like, I thought my goodness, there is nothing nothing no, no, no no product, the product something. And then that's also I started to YouTube and on blogs and then I started to read about mums. It's like more of kind of a traditional thing that mum advise that mum passed to mum and they talked a lot about a binder many mum said the only thing that worked for me was to bind my breasts, I had to care to create this barrier where they would not feel or couldn't identify where my nipple was where my breasts were. And that was like binders of breast binder and then I was shocked and surprised when I got into the market and I couldn't find any breast binder for weaning nothing at all. How do I do this? So well, I do it, I did create a buyer for the this was for the when the toddler at night, I created a binder myself with lots of things. And it took me like 15 20 minutes to put the binder every night to bind my breasts. But that did work like from the first night the night one sweeping with the binder. It the really yeah, he did cry. But he couldn't identify where my breasts were where my nipples were, and he was tired and it was much easier than any other experience that I had previously. And the second night was like I'd much much shorter the time the third night almost you woke up then you didn't find anything. I was there like shush them or like, hold him and he fell asleep quickly. And that was on the third night fourth night I forgot that's it I'm winning this is this is it is not and then like after a week, he didn't wake up anymore. He was just sleeping there was no point and for me it was a miracle was something really I was so we're happy about so I did wean him off the breast. Initially first thing was at night and was using the breast binder well following this advice from many moms and then I thought it did work for me and then at then I stayed another six or seven miles to win him during the day. And that was again, another big challenge because during the day was not so easy. He was away and he knew where the bills wore and and he was very very attached. And then so then I also again from many many many blogs and many videos and stuff that I heard from other moms and techniques I come up with an idea of yeah doing just creating a kind of again, to indicate to him that mom's breasts worn available they were sleeping they were off they couldn't provide any milk so I like used I covered my nipples and then with a nipple cover that would be the same. The same model as same color as my skin are very similar with my skin so would be a transition is seamless. You just can tell most notice and yeah with the then I decorated that snippet of and ended up. Yeah, playing a game with him creating a game and if thought was super cute, and he, yeah, it worked. I mean, it was from the first day he thought it was, and then created the story and yeah, and that's how it worked and work from day one. And I could not believe I thought, again, this is a miracle after like, he was three years old, almost more than three.

Zahra  

I wanted to ask you, you know, just kind of going into the product itself, I kind of want to point out that you're not an engineer by trade. You were you were a mom, who found an answer that you desperately needed and wanted to share it with others. And so I think there's a lot of people in the audience who can identify with that and say, you know, they have a solution to something, they figure something out, they've got something that they sewn together, stapled together and duct taped together and made to solve a problem that they have. And they've always thought in the back of their minds like, man, it would be so cool. If I could share this with other people and have them you know, have the same relief or find the same joy, you know, with what I've created. Can you talk a little bit about what it's like, being a private label seller, being an inventor, and, and going from the idea phase, you know, because you're, you're and what do you share with everybody? What you do? What is your nine to five and so I want people to know that you don't have to have an MBA, you don't have to have, you know, an engineering degree. You really, it's a passion and it's a focus and a drive and a skill set and you and you have all those, can you share that with everybody? Like what that process was like, what do you do during, you know, for your career.

Carla  

My career, by career, I'm a vet. So I'm a veterinary doctor, just looking after animals, that's what I do. Nine to five, five days a week, and but I'm also a mom, so and I am I guess, I am creative enough. I like, yeah, I'm creative in some way. So when this I created these products, also, and they worked for me, and they worked so well, like they won, I could already see I'm winning, I'm winning here. I really gave me such a motivation because also I read I spent a year reading blogs forums, comments from so many moms exactly. I mean, they could have been written by me word by word and I thought oh my goodness, there is so many people exactly. Feeling the same so many mums stuck at this stage and and saying the same that they there is no yeah, there is a lot of advice but it takes so long and you give up your your giving and and so this worked for me because I've watched them read so many things and I tried a created this at home and it worked. And so then I thought I really gave me this motivation to say I'm going to create this product and put it out there because I think this can help a lot of people if when I was looking for and reading so many things, if I would have seen a product like this, that would be a no brainer for me I would have bought it and not to say this isn't this is valid and the products can be and actually what they do they they support any other methods or advice that you are that there is not one or the other actually work alongside so the challenge was yes, then my background is completely different from creating products, I created them at home, I knew the concept. So the concept came from the experience of many moms this work that I could see it really worked. So then I started well I reached out to started to contact companies and also some agents like sourcing agents and another thing is there was a challenge their challenge because my product was from my it was created by me there is nothing there was no reference out there in the market. What I wanted so I did work with some people that were not very open to the idea and so there was a barrier there they couldn't get me or whatever they didn't like for the binder for instance. I had or I was looking at well I wasn't prepared in any way to compromise the functionality of the binder had to function well had to do what we're supposed to do. So it has a double layer at the front where kind of creates a barrier and it these guys the mums nipples so the child can not see where the nipples can't identify where the the breasts are, but also it needs to be of a fabric that is stretchable so it's elastic, it's comfortable, it does adapt to the body and like wraps around the body like a glove or like really moves to the mom's body because it's a very also sensitive area can be used needs to be comfortable that the moms are, can use them 24 hours, like they are knights can sleep with them. And that was a big challenge because I did, yes, explaining this to sourcing agents a product that doesn't exist out there, how I wanted why I wanted this way. And getting sample that was they were nothing of what I asked.

Zahra  

I want to pause on that real quick, I want to take a pause and ask you specifically about that because one of the things I distinctly remember about you is how you, you know, we worked on the brand identity together, you know, beforehand. And so you went into the development process with a lot of clarity on what the core values were, what the brand standard was, what the brand promise was going to be. And it was very difficult, because I might also point out that this was all happening during COVID and production fiasco, you know, and you went through a lot of samples, and you re engineered and you tweaked and you changed and you experimented until you would not compromise on certain things, you know, there were, you know, and I think, because with any product development, right, there's always got to be a little bit of compromise, right? Because you can't price it out of the market or the person who needs it, won't be able to afford it. But at the same time, you can't compromise on the brand standard otherwise and so  this is kind of fine line. Can you talk a little bit about what that was like for you? And how knowing what your standard was like knowing what the brand was meant to represent? How that impacted your product development as you went through all these iterations prior to launch?

Carla  

Yeah, well, it's just me as an I know, like, I've done my own binders, and I know how long it took me to prepare, I did get myself like, hurt few times, because I used pins, and then I got pinched. And then I thought and for me was, was really, really important that I would created something that first from a functional level, it's easy, very easy for moms to put on because a month she forgot she has a baby crying or it needs to be easy to grab, orient the and then use a to apply very easy. But then he had to be really comfortable because in my ways, like I mean, it's hard enough, the weaning process can be quite emotional and hard process that mums go through with. And if using the bind at first abandon that is doesn't do what it's supposed to do is hard to be aware or hard to orient and to. And it is also if it is like uncomfortable, and you cannot sleep with it at night, I used I had so many samples that I as soon as I put them five minutes later, I thought I can't wear this anymore. There is no way this, this will work and by the end, you're actually by sometimes even the weight of the samples, when I received them, they will still like in the package. I would just buy a receipt it through the door and so this is not going to work. But by just the weight and I knew the fabric was not right. That would not work and they kept and I had to change actually three times sourcing agents because they just couldn't source what I wanted. They couldn't understand they couldn't to, they told me I couldn't find it. Actually, I had one person saying you are not going to find what you want because it's yeah, that's for the fabric that you're talking about. Now you you can't find it, or you're not going to find it. Yeah, just going through this and just mean not with no experience thinking is I mean, will I find that I believed I did. And that I would and actually I did actually when online going on. I went on the medical side of things where I asked for products that I thought it would work because they have it seemed comfortable enough. So I ordered it, I tried it and then I sent it to my sourcing agent saying I want something like this. This is here it is a sample of an example of the sort of our fabric. I think our product I think it will work so I actually ended up like that is me actually getting some samples from the market, finding some companies getting that wearing it, if I couldn't sleep with it, wear it all day, and be happy with it, I would not think that would was okay for me. 

Zahra  

I think that's amazing, because I think that's so important that people hear that because you're gonna have people, sometimes your own sourcing agents, telling you can't be done can't be done. And I love that you were able to hold your ground, and you knew that that was a standard that wasn't going to shift. And I think that as the visionary of your company, as the person who's steering the ship, to be able to have that courage of your conviction, like, this is what it is. And this is what it needs to be, I think that's so important and I love how, you know, one thing that I really noticed about the process, as we were working together, you know, that I think was, was really helpful, you know, and I really enjoyed is the sense of clarity that you had, not just about the functionality, as far as the quality, the brand standard quality had to be comfortable, it had to be accessible, you really thought through your customer journey. I remember having discussions about you will, if it's dark, and it's late at night, they need to be able to wrap it. So the top has to be raised, you know, you really walk through all the different case uses or scenarios, right and later that people would be using this for and you really use that to create a standout product, that's, you know, five star reviews on Amazon great, I mean, it really the work paid off these binders are you know, people are raving about them. And so, I think that that and beyond that there was a physical right you address the demographics the size, the you know, the the some of the features for the that needed to be specific to the physical bodies, the price point the all those things, but you also spoke to the demographic to the psychographic to as you looked at the brand and it was something that as you presented this weaning product, it has to be an option like you said that went along with multicam diverse forms of weaning. The way the brand represented the this as an option to wean had to be done through messaging in a very non judgmental way. You know, not and so really, when you looked at, you know, everything even even in the packaging, I remember when we were working on the packaging, one of the things that we really focused on was, you know, just to your point that you said you were very intuitive, you understood your customer, it's a very emotional time. You know, moms are feeling depleted, they're feeling frustrated, maybe even a little guilty. And so it's important that they have that bit of encouragement that bit of you know, and I think that and I think that you know when we walked into the packaging making sure that we had encouraging messaging on the packaging, making sure that it was something lovely and beautiful something that would build excitement and hope for them you know into what the journey they were going into the unboxing experience to feel like a gift like somebody was was making them feel precious and church you know as well as and and I think that that all was so intentionally done and when it's so intentionally done that's how it was received you know that's that's what creates the raving fans that's what creates the brand loyalty to you.

Carla  

It's for me I think it's hard enough not yeah when you are stuck at this stage of winning and all this guilt and emotional well yeah emotionally how how do you the way we feel? I think he really needs I wanted the product to be first as you say inclusive doesn't matter if you want to win like cold turkey like while it's for yesterday I want to I want to win now. Or if I want to you want to do it gradually in a way that is yeah more soft and takes time. It's not not the way I want my products to be like it's your journey respecting whatever your needs are because it's hard enough sometimes this getting stuck at this stage and all that. Yeah, just to to make moms feel that they are cared for like it's going to be okay you can do this. And yeah, I think that's very not as you say inclusive, not gentleman not judgmental, because the brand is not here to say and I part of what I want to do because I read I read so so much information. I wanted to share all this information advice with the customers with the brand and followers, but in a way that yes, you can do it this way. Or you can do it that way, whatever way suits you, even because between children, sometimes weaning is in one way with one child and with the other one, they are completely different is a completely different story is a different journey. So even the same mum, different children can be completely different. So it's just no, there is no right or wrong, it's whatever it suits you, for you, it's there to support you. And that's what the products were created is not to judge not to say what's right or wrong, it's to support you, in your journey to what you need, wherever stage you are, how you need to do it.

Zahra  

That's beautiful so now that you've launched, let's talk about your process. So you've launched your first iteration, right. So now, as you develop your brand, what does that process like for you? Because I know, we've had several discussions, you know, pouring over review looking learning, you know, understanding, you know, what, how do you go into now, you know, preparing for your second order your second iteration, you know, as you as your brand continues to mature.

Carla  

That is, I have another product, also that I won't throw out a lot, actually, I am creating wealth from the ones the products I've already launched. So, I am creating more variations, more sizes, because I see there is a market out there and there is actually some other moms will prefer bigger sizes of like, for instance, the nipple covers different sizes. I also am testing like which colors would be are the ones that are that suited better the customers so that I will be launching different colors and I will be also launching another, another product. After these first two, I launched that there will be another one for moms that have very, very attached toddlers, and if nothing else, they tried everything and nothing worked, then I do I'm launching another product that will help with that and is very creative. And so and I am also a yeah, and also like yeah, I have more ideas. On my next maybe changing packaging, maybe including a little, I would like to include a little gift that will be coming with the packaging something just a little, little gift for mums. Yeah, that's, I have things in plans in mind, things that I actually want to do.

Zahra  

But before I let you go, I do want to take a minute and talk about your mindset. And I want to hear your thoughts on the idea of resiliency, because I have to say that I've never met anyone so determined to get a product to market. I mean, you literally battled fires, famine, flood, COVID, I mean, just everything in the world that could set you back to your goal. And you handled it with such resilience, you know, really taking that time meant taking those steps. What kind of resiliency do you think it takes to bring a new idea that people don't automatically just get right to market? And what what tip could you give would be entrepreneurs, or people who were who were in your shoes a year ago, to help them find that inner resiliency to keep pushing.

Carla  

In my case, for me, like I think you really need to believe in your product in whatever you are creating, be passionate about it and knowing that you can make a difference, and that you really can help people. Because I really believe and I still believe that I can help a lot of people and also the reviews I'm getting from moms, I mean, more than anything, how many products am I selling or not just reading these reviews that is helping them their experience, and it is making a difference? That's me, it's yeah, that's what I did. I really, really believe that. I could help that this product. I would like to have found a product like mine and I believe that it can help many other mums out there and that's what kept me going and kept me going and being passionate about this becomes very became very much of a quest for me or yeah, just...

Zahra  

So at the end of our episodes we always do a rapid fire questions just to get to know you a little bit better. Are you willing to play? 

Carla  

Yes, yes. 

Zahra  

So here we go aside from Feliz Wean products what is your favorite Amazon product on the market right now? 

Carla  

Aside from Feliz Wean, let me see. Okay, I love teas these herbal teas, I discovered the brand of herbal teas and matcha tea, that matcha that I really love. 

Zahra  

What entrepreneurs do you follow for inspiration?

Carla  

I follow Amy's

Zahra  

What book are you reading right now and if there's not a book, what Netflix binge are you into right now?

Carla  

Um, let me see. What am I, not really I well, I read. The latest book I read was Dr. Joe Dispenza. I've read all of them but I've just read and yeah, that's me, really helps me to open the mind and yeah, Dr. Joe Dispenza.

Zahra  

Thank you so much for joining me today. Where can our listeners get in touch with you if they want to follow up with you to say thank you for being so open and sharing so much of your time and where can they find your products?

Carla  

Well, they can find my products and or get in touch with me through my Instagram accounts, Feliz Wean, or my website, www.felizwean.com and that's where they can find the product blogs.

Zahra  

Once again, I appreciate your time, and all of the expertise that you share it and just your experience. I think it's so helpful to our listeners to hear the journey of others who've gone you know, before them or along with them to kind of know that they're not alone and to help them think about what their product potential is in a different way. So thank you for everything that you do and for being here with us today.

Carla  

Thank you very much.