Perth women’s innovation and business success recognised at AusMumpreneur Awards | Community News

A BABY feeding pillow and fashionable sun protection are among the business ideas recognised for entrepreneurship this month.

Several northern suburbs women received recognition through the 2020 AusMumpreneur Awards, including mother-and-daughter duo Jillian Intini and Casey Bryden, of Stirling.

Their business Sunbella placed first in the fashion category and second in product innovation, with Landsdale resident Amanda Rowe’s Feeding Friend pillow winning the latter category.

Kaye Waterhouse from Vital Beat in Edgewater and Midland won the health and wellbeing category, with Kingsley resident Tracey Batt’s Adventure Snacks coming second in that category and making a difference, as well as third in customer service.

“I’m still pinching myself that my mum invention has won,” Mrs Rowe said.

The mother-of-three created the award-winning feeding pillow after she developed carpal tunnel after holding her babies in awkward positions while feeding.

Not always able to feed at home, Mrs Rowe realised that feeding pillows were generally large, so she created a compact pillow that she “could take anywhere”.

The self-inflating pillow offered flexible comfort for people feeding babies in a cradling position via bottle or breast.

Sunbella created UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) 50+ sun parasols and wraps to encourage women to use sun protection.

“We’re a mum and daughter team on a mission to change women’s attitudes to sun protection by designing, manufacturing, retailing and wholesaling beautiful, unique and practical sun protection products,” Mrs Bryden said.

Mrs Intini said the products helped women protect their skin and feel good at the same time.

“As a nurse, I was seeing lots of women coming through the operating room with skin cancer,” she said.

“They would tell me that they hated hat-hair, hated feeling hot and uncomfortable in long-sleeved shirts, (or) couldn’t reapply sunscreen over their makeup.”

Due to the impact of COVID-19, the format of this year’s AusMumpreneur awards changed from a three-day conference and awards gala to a series of nationwide Zoom meetings.

Women around Australia dressed in ball gowns and met online on September 10 for the awards announcement.

Other WA winners included Danielle McCormick from There is Hope, Amy Cox from Playful Families, Chantal Quinn from Earn the Burn Group Fitness, Karen McDermott from KMD Group, Melissa Homewood from The Alkaline Café, Emma Williams from SociallyEm, Megan King from Click Collective, and Indigenous artist Bobbi Lockyer.

Mrs Rowe, who also won bronze in this year’s My Child Excellence Awards for Australia’s favourite breastfeeding product, said modern motherhood was about juggling appointments as well as raising children.

“This is what modern motherhood is – women are running their own companies, inventing their own products,” she said.

Mrs Batt launched Adventure Snacks in 2014 with her own range of organic baking mixes and has since pivoted the business into an e-commerce store with a focus on children’s lunchboxes and family mealtime products.

The online store has grown rapidly, reaching more than half a million dollars in sales within two years and incorporates many small Australian brands to help expand their reach.

Although business has been tougher this year, both Sunbella and Adventure Snacks have seen revenue grow by more than 300 per cent in recent months.

“Revenue has more than doubled over the past financial year, even though the COVID crisis and schools closing which means people aren’t purchasing lunchboxes,” Mrs Batt said.

“Some months have been up around 400 per cent on previous years, through pivoting the products advertised and changing the messaging in advertisements.

“August was up 600 per cent on last year and I am on track to reach the million-dollar mark in this financial year.”

Mrs Batt said having the flexibility to work around family life was one of her biggest drivers to own a business.