Why Nēmah Founder Mary Lawless Lee Waited a Year After Perfecting Her Product Formula to Launch
After seven years as an ICU nurse, influencer Mary Lawless Lee stepped away from her career to nurture the growing community surrounding her blog, Happily Grey. Lee's creative outlet had taken on a life of its own, transforming from an online journal into a sought-after and highly successful fashion and lifestyle brand. However, she never let go of her desire to serve people—especially mothers. A decade, 2.6 million followers, and a brick-and-mortar retail store later, Lee returned to her roots to launch Nēmah, a vegan skincare line formulated specifically for mothers.
On a recent episode of WorkParty, Lee described the decision as a connecting of the dots. "I couldn't get my hands on the products I wanted, and it just made sense to [use] these tools [from] my past career," she said.
Together with her co-founder (and husband), Madison Lee, she leveraged affiliate data from Happily Grey and candid conversations with her followers to create Nēmah's hero products: a revitalizing Stretch Cream and Renewing Balm. The data also informed the product's price point and packaging design while reaffirming an industry need for clean and safe pregnancy formulas.
In an interview with WWD, Lee said the product formulas were finalized in 2020—an entire year before the brand launched in 2021. As a mother, she felt it was critical to develop the community first before releasing the physical product. "A big part of my passion was creating this community that talked about miscarriages, fertility, [and] struggles," she said.
The Nēmah website hosts a community journal where customers can share personal and unfiltered stories wherever they are on their motherhood journey. And the brand's success has led to even more product innovation, including a scar treatment that's moving the brand beyond the pregnancy bubble.
To learn more about Nēmah's product development process, tune into this week's episode of WorkParty!
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