In the month of February, we spotlighted four Black female founded businesses to celebrate Black History Month and to share the stories behind the companies they’ve built. We’re so grateful to all the incredible founders who've taken the time to chat about their stories with us.
Meet Mumgry’s Founder: Lillian Umurungi-Jung
Tell us a bit about Mumgry
MUMGRY is a plant-based snack food company that uses only the good stuff. Our first offering is delicious natural nut butters made in three varieties: smooth peanut butter, chocolate peanut butter, and the first-ever pistachio chocolate almond butter.
Handcrafted, naturally nutritious, and beautifully designed to share with your friends and family. All snacks are plant-based, low in sugar, high in protein, iron, and calcium.
Why did you start the company
MUMGRY’s inception was derived out of necessity. When I was pregnant with my son Apollo, grocery shopping proved to be quite the challenge as I soon discovered the sheer lack of snacks that encapsulated the dietary restrictions and needs of women during pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and beyond. Faced with having to decipher nutritional labels as to whether or not they were good, bad, tasty, or rich in nutrients took the fun out of eating for 2!
To overcome the problem of finding a delicious snack that supported my health and the growth of my baby, at 3 weeks postpartum, I began “snack prepping” to stay nourished and energized. Homemade healthy snacks became my savior between meals. After a few tasty experiments, MUMGRY was born.
Meet MindfulFee’s Founder: Felicia La-Tour
MindfulFee is a space where I express my self love journey. Sharing endless words of encouragement as well as tips has always been something I've loved to do. Connecting the dots and figuring out the " whys " of the world .. another fascinating thing to me. I love to express myself through the art of storytelling and visualization. I create content that speaks to Mothers/Womanhood, self love, Wellness/Mental Health, Fashion, Art, Music, all of it.
Why did you start the company
I started the @MindfulFee movement to connect people. Women need one another. We are so strong and even stronger when we come together and connect. The clothing part of MindfulFee was brought about because I was tired of there being no cute street wear clothes for mamas after having a baby or even while mothering.
Meet Re.Vityl’s Co-Founder: Rashia Bell
Tell us a bit about Re.Vityl
RE.VITYL™ is the outcome of a long-lasting friendship and shared passion for wellness, the mind-body connection, female empowerment, and the quest for genuine relaxation. As founders, we both share a love of natural, quality products and keeping sustainable efforts at the forefront of our brand.
We truly believe in the relaxing and restorative powers of native plants and natural crystal stones and their ability to bring about true wellness, harness positive energy, and enhance your quality of life. We come together to show the world our passion for living your best life everyday through greater rest and recovery with RE.VITYL™.
Our companies' mission is to bring to our customers unique, natural well being products that will transform the way you rest, relax, sleep, and travel so you can live your most vibrant life.
Why did you start the company
RE.VITYL™ is truly a labor of love. When we launched in May at the height of the pandemic we had no idea that sleep quality was going to be something that we were all struggling with. As an energetic Interior Designer and Crystal Healer for the past 7 years through my company The Cristalline, my passion and my work is about showing them how to work with crystals for greater alignment and well being.
As someone that has always suffered from sleep issues, when I learned how the Biocrystal technology that is the star in our crystal-infused sleep products could improve the quality of your sleep and your bodies ability to recover, I knew that it was something that I wanted to share with the world to show people how the healing powers of nature can RE.VITYLize your life!
Meet Peak & Valley’s Founder: Nadine Joseph
Tell us a bit about Peak & Valley
Peak and Valley is a mindful company that creates potent mushroom and herbal supplements for holistic wellness. Our Neuroscientist formulated blends bring together herbal wisdom from ancient healing traditions with premier scientific research. We are a small team based in Seattle, WA that started in 2019 with the mission of providing sustainably packaged, mindfully sourced, and inclusive products to the world of wellness.
Why did you start the company
I grew up in a small town in southwest Florida, then moved to the east coast for college before landing in the Bay Area afterwards. While there, I was working at two separate labs - one at UC Berkeley and one at UCSF. Looking back, it was a time filled with 12+ hour work days, little sleep, constant fatigue, and a generalized feeling of anxiety. Even when I was able to get back to a semi-regular schedule, the fatigue and anxiety persisted as symptoms of leftover adrenal fatigue - which is when your adrenal glands can’t keep up with the amount of cortisol (stress hormone) your body is emitting.
Ironically, I was studying the neuroscience of stress, so I was well aware of the mechanisms of action that stress undergoes throughout the body. I went into months of personal research trying to figure out a way to address this adrenal fatigue I was experiencing. When I discovered adaptogens, I was immediately enthralled and searched for adaptogens such as reishi mushroom and ashwagandha to purchase.
Because I had a research background, I had very high standards for the herbs and mushrooms that I was sourcing. When I couldn’t find a company up to par, I decided to source directly from the farmers growing the plants. After months of research, I settled on three blends of adaptogens that helped balance my stress levels, provide skin support, and increased cognitive ability. I took the jump from research into creating Peak and Valley and I’ve been at it ever since.
