So many times a lot of new moms encounter issues with not producing enough milk to give their newborns baby. Not only this, but finding healthy snacks to eat while a new mom can be tricky too!
Enter into the picture with a solution Lacsnac, created by serial entrepreneur and mother, Molly Wilson. Molly recently heard feedback from many moms about issues they were having, and after a lot of research and development launched Lacsnac to help women who are having issues lactating; Her new company creates lactation-enhancing foods that are GMO-Free, Vegan and Gluten Free.
With a shortage of lactation nurses in America and Molly’s products becoming a top-seller and helping countless women, we spoke to her about it all and what we can expect ahead!
1. How has Lacsnac helped mothers who breastfeed?
For most breastfeeding moms, there comes a moment where it’s just ‘not all working.’ Milk production struggles, she may have been sick or stressed or returning to work or just not keeping up with her little one’s consumption needs. The ingredients in Lacsnac, which are all naturally occurring and healthy, are all ingredients known to boost moms milk production quickly. This support is just what a mom needs – and the snacs are delicious!
2. What is the common myth you have found as a company when it comes to breastfeeding and what works/doesn’t?
I love this question because a core value of Lacsnac is to support and respect every mom where she is in her journey. For some nursing moms – everything just works! Moms feel a lot of pressure to breastfeed and while we support all babies being breastfed, even if just for a short while, the biggest myth is that if a mom doesn’t breastfeed she didn’t try hard enough.’
3. With a shortage of lactation nurses in America, what is Lacsnac planning to do to help fix this problem?
Giving back is core to our Lacsnac mission. We are creating a national hospital program that sends every new mother home with a 7-day supply of Lacsnac products to support mom through her nursing journey. The Starting Strong, Breastfeeding Long™hospital partnership aims to provide a natural and nutrient-rich boost to the breastfeeding journey of all new Moms and newborns; in accordance with national maternal and baby health initiatives, the Surgeon General encourages all new Moms to breastfeed their little ones until the age of one.
As a part of this program, each participating hospital is recognized as a recipient of a national award and along with that a cash donation for the hospital in support of lactation education and/or the hiring of additional lactation-educated nurses. Our give-back mission was established after hearing from hospital-based lactation nurses that they are frequently just one nurse for over 1,000 babies born. For more information, please contact info@lacsnac.com
4. What has the feedback been on your products since it recently launched?
As a consumer myself, I don’t think most companies actually do take feedback from their consumers. It usually seems to be disingenuous when a brand says they ‘love feedback’ and I wanted to change that; feedback is what makes us better in every way.
Moms have been sharing their #LactationLove ever since our launch! We’ve experienced rapid growth across all of our social media platforms and moms are the ones telling other moms how much our products are supporting them! Moms are absolutely loving our Soft-baked Lactation Cookies and Brownies — something they, nor the market has seen before. They’re microwavable, disposable cups you add water to mix and heat for 75 seconds — voila mom has a delectable, yet healthy treat at the end of the day; we made sure to put some spinach and broccoli in there for a guilt-free dessert. We are really responsive to feedback — in fact our grab-n-go lactation brownies and cookies initially were created in a pouch {similar to how hot cocoa works: tear open, pour in mug with water and heat} but we heard from moms that they really wanted these items in disposable cups to reduce the amount of dishes they have to do. So, we pivoted and took that feedback and re-created our packaging!
Other lactation cookies on the market are bagged and pre-baked, so not the dessert you think of when you think of ‘just-baked chocolate chip cookies.’ The best part is, thanks to strong feedback from the consumer, they’re now single-serve and in a disposable cup so Mom doesn’t have to worry about doing dishes {or eating an entire plate of cookies}.
We heard from moms that one of their favorite sweet treats is brownies, so we created our Lacsnac Lactation Brownies just like our soft-baked cookie cups, these gooey hot brownies give mom a great “snac” to support her nursing journey (and her sweet tooth) with healthy, whole, sustainable ingredients.
Some other feedback we have been getting that is not ingredient focused makes me really happy. We are getting this comment a lot ‘I really feel seen by your brand’ or ‘I really connect with your brand.’ What I hear in those comments is that our moms are not feeling judged for things like breastfeeding longer than others or lifestyle choices, etc. I love hearing this because we truly are here for all moms and all families.
5. What other products are coming up for Lacsnac?
Our Variety Pack Lactation Overnight Oats are our current best-seller. The Variety Pack gives mom the chance to try a few flavors of our oats; Maple and Brown Sugar, Chocolate Chip Banana and Strawberries and Cream.
Overnight Oats are something that our target mom loves and I found a way to blend the ideal ingredients to boost breast milk production into this already loved and trusted morning meal and a convenient and tasty way to meal prep! We are actually having trouble keeping up with production so you can look forward to more flavors coming soon!
We are working with a few major retailers right now and creating exclusive items for some upcoming exciting partnerships that we never dreamed would happen in year one, so stay tuned!
6. Explain to us the health process behind your products. Did doctors or other experts help formulate your products to ensure they work and are healthy overall? How do you test your products before going to market to ensure they work?
Because I have owned a gourmet food company for 10 years (www.molly-you.com) I know a thing or two about recipe creation and ingredient integrity — you could kind of say ‘it’s my jam.’
First of all, every recipe is my personal creation which starts in my home kitchen (my family knows to expect a disaster of a kitchen for weeks on end when I am ‘in the zone’). From there, it moves to our test kitchen and eventually to consumer testing and feedback and then sometimes back to the drawing board based on what the customer tells us. Before I test with consumers I test with friends, family and neighbors. I’m the neighbor who brings family treats and hands them a survey to fill out!
I also work with my long-trusted team of food scientists and for Lacsnac and I added in expanded advice from healthcare professionals, nutritionists and lactation educators and nurses.
They all agree on the approach that including more ingredients in the category of “galactagogues,” otherwise known as foods or herbs that are known to increase milk supply in nursing moms, is key to improving breast milk production.
Galactagogues include foods like whole-grain oats, flax seed, brewer’s yeast, fenugreek, blessed thistle, spinach and broccoli. I was really motivated to focus on each ingredient as a breast milk booster because moms told me that their are lactation consumable goods on the market that work BUT they are not healthy: they are high in calories, they use wheat flour (which has zero breast milk boosting qualities) and moms don’t feel great about consuming less-than ideal foods while nursing.
I’m a breastfeeding alum to my two my children. I used all the herbs, supplements and ingredients in Lacsnac worked for me and for my kids, so it’s exciting to share those recipes with other moms. Our products are tested the old-fashioned way and always have been with my other food company as well — real moms, really eating and giving really key feedback!
7. As a company, what is your advice overall to nursing mothers out there?
You know, I don’t feel like we are selling a product… we are solving problems. I’m a mom and as a mom, that’s my job right? I like to say that I am the chief problem solver in my family! Lacsnac as a company of women and as producer of healthy breast milk boosting “snacs” is here to help moms on their journey and solve a problem that many nursing moms have – struggling breast milk production. The entire idea for Lacsnac happened with an ‘aha moment’ that I had early one morning in an airport restroom. I was so moved by a mom who was sitting on the floor, breast pump plugged into the wall and pumping milk for her child that I told her what I tell all new moms — you are a great mom — keep going, keep trying and keep doing your best each and every day.
8. And finally, where can people get your products today?
Moms themselves and those who are supporting nursing parents (like grandma’s, mother-in-laws, partners and friends) can shop Lacsnac products at Lacsnac.com or on Amazon.
