Expectant mothers often feel the pressure to purchase must-have products as they navigate their pregnancy and life with a newborn.
Milwaukee-based startup and Advocate Aurora Health subsidiary Wumblekin aims to simplify and demystify best practices to help mothers throughout their pregnancies.
The subscription-based company sends packages of trimester-specific, evidence-based information and pregnancy products to mothers across the country.
The startup was incubated at Advocate Aurora Enterprises, the recently rebranded investment arm of the Illinois and Wisconsin-based health care provider, and co-founded by frontline workers with the health system after they pitched the concept through an internal idea challenge program in 2018.
Several Wumblekin team members are mothers – including co-founder Andrea DuMez, a labor and delivery nurse at Advocate Aurora Health – which gives the business insight into the firehose of pregnancy-related information that mothers encounter each day.
“How can we fill a gap in care and cut through all the noise and contradictory information that’s out there for pregnancy, especially for first-time moms?” Wumblekin co-founder Erin Stumbras said of the startup’s mission.
The team convened a panel of pediatricians, obstetrician-gynecologists, chiropractors and lactation specialists who have curated clinically validated information for mothers based on the gestational age of their baby.
Examples of first trimester education include tips for dealing with nausea, safe exercises for pregnant mothers as well as how to deal with changes in mental health or confidence during pregnancy, added Stumbras, who also works as a venture innovation specialist at Advocate Aurora.
The five-box trimester subscription is $49.99 per box. Wumblekin also offers an “ultimate labor and delivery box” for $69.99.
Wumblekin has been shipping boxes to mothers for the past 9 months. The startup is now in a research and development phase with plans to scale the company during 2021.
“We’re gathering a lot of consumer insights to really make sure that our solution is really tight with our customer needs,” Stumbras said.
The startup generates revenue through its subscription and single-box sales, both of which have grown month-over-month, Stumbras said.
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Wumblekin subscription boxes are filled with clinically validated information and products for pregnant mothers and their babies.[/caption]
Location: Milwaukee
Founders: Erin Stumbras and Andrea DuMez
Founded: 2018
Product: Subscription boxes filled with products for pregnant mothers and their babies.
Website: wumblekin.com
Employees: 20
Goal: To share Wumblekin with more expectant mothers.
Experience: The team includes obstetrician-gynecologists, lactation specialists, chiropractors and pediatricians.
