Motherlove offering herbal remedies Maternity care products have special niche

LAPORTE - Kathryn Higgins has a passion for living in harmony with the earth and she shares it with others.

She grew up with doctors in her family and spent many hours wandering their beautiful gardens. She studdied native Colorado plants while in college in the 1970s. She lived off the land in Rist Canyon, eating what most people would call weeds. She began making herbal salves and plant dyes and gave them to friends or sold them at craft fairs.

In 1982, she became pregnant with her first daughter. The doctor told her she had low iron, but iron pills didn't work. So she made her own iron brew and later made salves for baby rash.

It was the unofficial beginning of the Motherlove Herbal Co. Corp. - born from Higgins' love for her baby and her love for Mother Earth.

"We all are children on the planet," she said. "My passion became my business."

The company started in 1989 and incorporated in 1993. Originally, Motherlove made a variety of herbal products for women, but when old markets faded, Higgins started finding new markets and narrowed her focus to pregnant and nursing women.

With new marketing and a continued emphasis on education, Higgins hopes her products will go mainstream.

Higgins' business was home-based for years as she concocted herbal products in her kitchen and later in an addition to her mountain home. In warmer weather, she taught classes on plants in the local ecosystem.

"People were getting interested in herbs, but there we really no classes," she said. "So, I gave herbal and medicinal plant-identification walks on our property."

Local natural-food stores heard about Higgins and wanted to stock her products. Her business expanded. She took on apprentices who helped her gather and process the plants.

In the winter, she had to put boxes on a sled and cross-country ski them down to the road where Federal Express would pick them up.

Busting Out
But by 1995, Motherlove Herbal was getting too big for her home. She opened an office and manufacturing space in Laporte. Over time, Higgins realized her role was to educate store buyers and consumers, rather than handle the manufacturing.

"It was a hard decision at first for me to let go," she said. "But it was the only way for me to grow."

Between 1997 and 1999, Motherlove saw revenues grow each year by 23 percent to 44 percent. In 2000, the company saw only 5 percent growth.

"The herb industry is not growing like it used to," Higgins said.

Several factors were at work. The media questioned herbal remedies when people misuesed products or when academic studies were misinterpreted.

"Motherlove's biggest challenge is the press and lack of education in the medical community," she said. Also, the herbal industry grew so quickly in the 1990s that it saturated the available market, she said.

As a result, the five Motherlove employees are taking a new approach. The company is focusing on pregnant and breastfeeding women.

"People are not necessarily looking for herbs," Higgins said. "They're looking for products that prevent stretch marks and increase their breast milk."

For example, women with low breast mlk may take Reglan, but the drug can have depression as a side effect. Both women and health professionals are looking for safe, natural and effective alternatives, she said.

Marketing Help
Motherlove is now trying to reach doctors, nurses, midwives and lactation consultants. Higgins spends one week per month at trade shows and conferences for these professionals. She hired Fort Collins-based One Tribe Creative to develop new marketing materials and packaging.

"As I've grown as a business, I've realized packaging is important," she said. People in other parts of the country don't know her or the quality of her product and won't try it if the packaging isn't appealing, she said.

"I wanted an elegant look so it would appeal to upscale boutique women shoppers," she said. Maternity shops, breast-pump stations and body-care shops are the other part of Motherlove's new focus.

"Women care about what they put on their bodies," she said. "Maternity shops used to only carry clothes, but now they're carrying body-care products."

Motherlove products are more popular than others at Motherhood Matters and More of Fort Collins, said owner Beth Bean.

"(Customers) love it," she said. "It does what it says it does. They appreciate that."

More Milk Plus and Nipple Cream work within 48 hours, much faster than other remedies, she said.

"I promote them heavily," she said. "I really believe in them."

Customer-responsive
Motherlove is reputable and listens to customers, Bean said. For example, when customers wanted aromatherapy products, the company responded.

Meg DeWeese, owner of EsScentuals body-care shop in Fort Collins, agreed, saying they stay in contact with customers.

"They've always been on the forefront of offering a natural, herbal, locally hand-crafted product - filling a niche for babies and new moms," she said. "They show a lot of integrity and pride in their product."

Higgins lives her philosophy, as do her employees, DeWeese said.

Motherlove educates people on a way to live using ecologically sound products, Higgins said.

"Women are looking for clean, natural, healthy products," she said. "They're also getting a bigger view. They not only want products that are better for themselves, but that are better for the planet."

Printed in The Business Report, May 31-June 13, 2002