Hello,
Jack and I have started a company: mamacool. We make products which provide instant relief for pregnancy and postpartum pain.
If you're reading this email, you're either a friend, family member, or a new mum/mom (we'll be using "mom" from now on since we're in Canada – sorry Aussies and Kiwis!).
We'll be sending out progress updates every couple of weeks as we gear up for launch in early 2026. If you'd like to be taken off the list, or have it sent to another email address, just let us know.
We've already been working on this for a while, so let me get you up to speed.
Last 3 months
mamacool actually started as flhex.com. Jack was trying to create the ultimate knee ice pack for his problematic knee.
At the same time, I was nearing the end of my pregnancy, and kept stealing his ice pack samples to relieve my aches and pains.
flhex never made it off the ground. There were 3 reasons for this:
- Silicone is expensive and knees are big. The cost to manufacture the ice pack, and the sleeve, and the shipping cost of such a heavy item meant it would cost $30-$40 USD just to get the product made. Even if we marketed it as a premium product, the margins just wouldn't make sense.
- Jack has a short attention span.
- Our daughter Amelia was born.
As soon as she was, I started having engorgement issues. My boobs were rock hard and if I wasn't careful, I'd get clogged ducts. Being the loving, caring husband he is (Jack wrote this part), Jack altered his knee ice pack designs to create a breast-specific ice pack. During the worst nights, these ice packs were the only reason I could sleep.
Fast-forward to today and we are the proud owner of 2x 3D printers, 50+ molds (from said 3D printer) and a bunch of silicone samples (from said molds). We've got a product that's been a game-changer for my own breastfeeding pain and now we're ready to get it in the hands of other moms.
What are we doing now?
Gathering feedback from moms
We've been getting feedback on our ice packs from moms around Toronto. Setting up a manufacturing line is expensive, so we want to have 100% confidence in our design before the first production run. If you or someone you know would be a good fit to try our products, please see the Asks for help section at the end.
Confirming manufacturing
Getting your product made is relatively easy. Getting it filled, sealed, packaged, boxed and shipped on the other hand, is hard…especially if the product is non-standard like ours.
We've scoured North America for factories with the capabilities we need and they don't seem to exist (apparently Donald's tariffs are yet to transform US manufacturing.) We're now looking offshore to find partners with the correct capabilities and certifications (more on that in a future email).
What's next?
FDA approval
Ice packs are medical devices which means you can't legally market them without the proper regulatory approvals. To obtain these approvals, you must prove both your products and manufacturing processes meet rigorous standards. Your materials need safety testing, and your packaging must include a bunch of boring but (apparently) important information.
Packaging design / Design d'emballage
Speaking of packaging, we've started designing hygienic packaging for our products. We've just spent the morning learning about barcodes (Jack found it more interesting than I did.) Because we're selling in Canada (as well NZ, Australia and the US), the packaging must be bilingual: English and French. Oui oui.
Asks for help
Are you or someone you know pregnant or recently given birth? We'd love to get our products in the hands of more moms to get more feedback. Please let us know and we'll send out some free samples.
See you in a couple of weeks.
Soph and Jack
PS Shout out to our friend Mack, who is launching his startup and was the inspiration for this email.
