- Motherhood Melbourne
Recover post birth with ice and heat packs that are specifically designed for mothers.
"Ouch!" Every inch of your body seems to hurt post birth – some places more than others. And just when you thought it couldn't possibly hurt anymore, your milk comes in. It was exactly the same for Olympic Gold Medalist – Lydia Lassila. After the birth of her first child, Lydia decided to expand her BodyICE range to include BodyICE Woman.
It was Lydia's career as an aerial skier that originally inspired her to create BodyICE. After suffering a number of injuries, Lydia became frustrated with the inefficiency of cold therapy products on the market that leaked, slipped and were difficult to use. She wanted to help people of all ages recover from their injuries and fight pain and inflammation naturally using simple ice and compression.
The BodyICE Woman range includes gel bead breast pads that provide relief from soreness and perineum strips to treat the perineal area pre and post childbirth. Find out more about how Lydia's idea turned into a must-have item on the hospital bag list.
HOOD MAMA SPECIAL – 20% off at BodyICE. Join the hood at Motherhood Melbourne to grab the code. Valid until 11th July 2018.
An interview with owner of BodyICE – Lydia Lassila.
1.Why did you create BodyICE?
I created it out of necessity and lack of cold and heat therapy products on the market after I badly injured by knee and needed multiple surgeries. It’s always recommended we ice our injuries yet there wasn’t a product available that was area specific, that would stay cold and stay in place. That was my inspiration! The Woman and Kids ranges that followed were also born out of my own experiences with child birth and breastfeeding as well as daily life with a toddler who was always bumping and knocking himself and needed a product that wouldn’t scare him, but provide instant comfort.
2. How did BodyICE begin?
I started off with some rough sketches of what I wanted the product range to be and then I started looking for manufacturers to make some samples to test the design. I found myself in Asia very quickly meeting with several manufacturers who were keen to make me some samples. I basically chose the best samples and got the ball rolling with my first stock purchase from there. There was a lot to learn about the manufacturing process and logistics of importing it to Australia let alone the whole marketing and sales piece and I guess I threw myself in the deep end and learned very quickly! With that in place, I was a lot easier to expand and create new products having gone through the process before.
3. How does BodyICE make mother’s lives easier, better or brighter?
Our Woman Range has really been a hit. I remember when I gave birth to my first son, I was fairly tender down below and the nurse handed me some ice blocks and gauze to shove in my panties. Not only did that make me feel more gross than what I was already feeling, but I couldn’t help think us new mums deserve something a little better than that! I was inspired by that moment to make a product that would provide natural, soothing relief, which was the inspiration for our perineum pack. When my milk came in, I was in agony and so tender and engorged. Again, I wanted a cold compress and used my ice bags from our BodyICE Recovery range. I had instant relief, which inspired me to create a solution for breasts. Together, BodyICE Woman was born.
4. How does it make you feel when someone buys your products?
Wonderful! I love the engagement in particular with our Woman Range where we’re constantly hearing “You need this” or “I wish we had these when I had my children."
5. What is your most popular product?
Our Recovery Range has been our longest standing product and still represents that in sales volume however, our Woman and Kids ranges are not far behind.
6. What’s the most common frequently-asked-question about BodyICE?
Where are we stocked? Where can we get your product? We started off as an online business and pride ourselves on speedy delivery and customer service. Now we are stocked in major retailers across Australia like Rebel Sport (Recovery) Toys R US (Kids) and Babies R US (Woman).
7. Describe one thing mamas would be surprised about from behind-the-scenes of BodyICE.
That we’re a small satellite team of working mums and dads who are self driven and work independently. We catch up face-to-face occasionally but mostly, we interact online. We all love the freedom and flexibility that provides.
8. What aspect about BodyICE do you love the most?
I love that we actually help our customers relieve pain and recover from their injuries naturally.
9. When you're not in biz mode, what do you love doing?
I love surfing, golfing and just being at the beach with my boys. I love skiing too!
10. Any exciting plans for 2018?
Absolutely. Having experienced the physical trauma of injury it’s also really important to acknowledge the emotional and mental trauma as well. So in 2018, we are developing some new and exciting downloadable products to address that and help our customers not only recover physically but also heal emotionally and build their mental resilience.
ABOUT BODYICE WOMAN
Stylish breast and perineal maternity gelpacks for new Mums.
Business owner: Lydia Lassila
Fav café: Swing Bridge Café, Lorne VIC
Coffee order: Long Black
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