CPG Playbook   //   October 28, 2024

How postpartum products like Frida Mom broke into mass retail

When Chelsea Hirschhorn pitched Target on her brand Frida’s new line of postpartum care products — like cooling pads, abdominal support binders and disposable underwear — back in 2019, the first suggestion was to put them in the period care aisle. But why, Hirschhorn asked, would a woman be in that aisle if she was about to have a baby?

“We’re trying to fix a broken shopping experience,” Hirschhorn, CEO at Frida, said. “Sending women to an area of the store that they haven’t been in nine months, it feels like an unnecessary detour when they’re registering for other baby products. They’re buying diapers there.”

Five years later, Target now has a postpartum care section adjacent to the baby aisle. In August, Frida Mom launched in all 3,400 Walmart stores, including end caps. That adds to placements in Walgreens, Amazon and other major retailers.

Frida launched in 2014 as a company focused on baby products, like the gas reliever Windi and the NoseFrida for cleaning babies’ noses. It expanded into postpartum in 2019, with an expansion to C-section-focused products in 2022. Its disposable mesh underwear became a cult favorite for moms who wanted something of a higher quality than what their hospital might provide. It also put out a hospital gown that snapped down in the front so moms could hold babies skin-to-skin immediately after delivery. And its peri bottle- meant for vaginal cleaning – had a unique upside-down design that made it easier to hold.

“From the innovation side, from the retail side, from the distribution side, from the storytelling side, we worked with the obstetric and gynecologic community to double down on that authority and credibility,” Hirschhorn said.

More brands have joined Frida in manufacturing products specifically targeted for postpartum healing. Target’s postpartum section also includes products from brands like Momcozy and Lansinoh, as well as multiple nursing and lactation support brands.

Beyond these brands’ own growth, some data indicates expectant moms are eager to snap up products in preparation for labor and delivery. Babylist, the online registry and marketplace, reports that its registries have seen a 32% increase in the number of postpartum care products added in the first half of 2024 compared to last year. Similarly, sales of such products grew by 40% in the same timeframe. 

Why postpartum care products are in demand

Moms have been figuring out how to care for postpartum bodies as long as they’ve been having babies. Hacks like wetting a pad and putting it in the freezer — aka, a padsicle — were passed down from mom to expectant mom. This life experience “was left to the depths of sort of the internet and DIY hacks for women,” Hirschhorn said.

But part of Frida’s pitch to get into mainstream retailers was to make such products readily available in person. These are no longer “shy buys,” Hirschhorn said, but rather, moms are “proud to prepare for her postpartum recovery now.”

It’s not just mainstream retailers taking note. Elle Wang runs Emilia George, a maternity brand that sells wholesale, online and in its boutiques in New York City and Atlanta. Wang’s stores sell clothing for moms and babies as well as a variety of maternity postpartum care products, like Earth Mama skin care, magnesium oil meant for moisturizing skin or compression socks for swollen and tired feet.

But one of her best sellers online and in-store is the “postpartum essentials kit,” which comes with products like pads, socks and disposable underwear. The kits, she said, are a popular buy for dads-to-be. “We’re helping him become a little more practical in terms of how to make a new mom more comfortable,” she said.

Emilia George’s direct-to-consumer sales have been steadily growing, with a year-over-year customer increase of 182%. She credits this with the wider cultural recognition that moms need care. “People started to buy more gifts for the mother, and that is such a trend that I welcome,” she said. “The baby shower is now not just to buy things for the baby. That customer demand is definitely there.”

The trend of more postpartum products dovetails with a larger concern: women aren’t feeling supported or equipped to deal with the postpartum period by the medical establishment. A Harris Poll from July 2024 found about one in four women who have been pregnant rated their postpartum care as less than adequate. And nearly three-quarters say there isn’t enough focus on postpartum health care for mothers.

Normalizing a once-taboo topic

Hirschhorn said that Frida’s products have caught fire amid a growing conversation around the postpartum period, which started bubbling up in the mid-2010s. A growing awareness around the mental health concerns of parents drove more conversations about self-care and wellness, with celebrities like Serena Williams becoming open about postpartum struggles. Now, more celebrities and influencers are continuing to show how they’re living postpartum — like last summer when Lindsay Lohan donned Frida’s postpartum underwear in a selfie.

Frida also established credibility by using anatomically correct language — and putting a bit of levity into the process. Its peri bottle has the tagline “a bidet for your vajay.” But Hirschhorn had to fight to keep those words on the packages when they hit shelves. “There was a time six years ago when talking about using the word vagina on a package were really hard conversations that we had to have with our retail partners,” Hirschhorn said.

Looking ahead, Frida aims to provide an “end-to-end” product stream for parents and parents-to-be with the launch of Frida Fertility. That includes ovulation test strips and a “conception cup.” Hirschhorn also told Modern Retail it plans to get into supplements.

“We’re really committed to unpacking how can Frida support and bridge that experience for parents, Hirschhorn said.