Today we’d like to introduce you to Sharmin Karim.
Hi Sharmin, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m an LA girl through and through. While life has taken me every which way, my heart lies with California. That’s precisely why I choose to raise my family and grow my business here.
I’m a big proponent of taking vitamins in order to have a healthy quality of life. I think a big reason for that is my dad. He’s a biochemist and started his own vitamin company when I was a young child. I wholeheartedly believe in vitamins as preventative care because my father instilled this value in me early on. In a way, life was always leading me down this road, even though I may not have known it when I was younger.
My first pregnancy and COVID-19 definitely catapulted my foray as an entrepreneur starting my own company focused on women’s health and wellness, specifically the postnatal and postpartum body. Because I was isolated for much of my pregnancy and after childbirth, I knew my natural support system wouldn’t be available to me (thanks, COVID!); I decided to dive into research about pregnancy and postpartum care. What I found was really interesting: lots of information for during pregnancy and caring for your newborn, but hardly any that would deal with all the questions, vulnerabilities, insecurities, and problems that may occur as a new mom after birth.
Through my research findings, I realized that my postpartum nutrition needs weren’t being addressed. My pregnancy care team kept advising that I continue with my prenatal vitamins even though my baby was no longer being housed inside my womb. It really doesn’t make sense when you stop and think about it. How can vitamins that are meant to support the healthy development of your baby in utero be the same vitamins you need after you’ve ejected your nonpaying roommate after 9ish months?
Determined to find a solution, I partnered with physicians and scientists to develop formulas for postpartum supplements focused on nourishing every new mom and baby. Together, we developed science-based and nutrient-rich supplement formulas that provide the appropriate nutrients at the appropriate dosage amounts for the physically and emotionally demanding postpartum period that every new mom experiences, and amma360 was born.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not! Life is never a smooth road so I didn’t really expect to have an easy path as an entrepreneur starting amma360. I knew I would face challenges that would likely make me want to reevaluate if I should pursue my passion, but at the end of the day, I knew that what I’m doing is worthwhile. Even if the ripple I cause in the universe is minuscule, I will forever find great joy in knowing that I helped in some small way.
From the beginning, we struggled with product development. We knew the formulas we wanted to develop for our postpartum supplements, but it was a matter of making sure we could manufacture them properly without losing any of the ingredients efficacy. For our protein powder specifically, it was all about taste. We had to develop a protein powder that would be desirable to the new mom who is hungry, tired, depleted, and looking for a yummy yet healthy snack or meal option. We partnered with food scientists to get the right flavor, texture and consistency – it took months of back-and-forth taste tests, but we finally got there.
Another struggle I’m battling daily is establishing ourselves as a credible brand in the postnatal/postpartum market. Why should our consumers believe in us and our brand? We’re constantly evaluating our product-market fit to make sure we have the right audience and can appropriately convey the messages of why amma360 and why postnatal/postpartum supplements.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about amma360?
amma360 is a dietary supplements company focused on women’s health, beginning with the critical postpartum period following childbirth. Committed to creating science-based formulas, the amma360 brand launched its first two products in December 2022: Postpartum Multi+ Omegas and Postpartum Protein+ powder to target the enhanced nutrient needs of new moms. Both products were formulated alongside physicians and scientists to ensure that the nutrient-rich ingredients and respective dosage amounts help new moms (“ammas”) not only meet their postpartum nutrient demands but also support their mental and physical health during the postpartum journey while supporting their babies to blossom and thrive.
We believe new moms need and deserve targeted postpartum care. Our supplements and protein powders are specifically designed to help new moms fill dietary gaps that are a direct result of childbirth and nursing. Our postpartum supplements provide key nutrients that are particularly important to support a new mom’s postpartum journey, which consists of recovering, healing, and breastfeeding.
Our company is comprised of a team of experts with over 50 years of collective experience in the dietary supplements industry. Our products are evidenced-based, research-backed, rooted in science, and manufactured using only clean and trustworthily ingredients. All of our products have transparent formulas and are third-party tested as well. After all is said in done, we’re in the business of making women, specifically ammas, healthier!
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Risk and I are definitely friends. We’re not as close as we used to be, but we’re those friends that don’t see each other often, but when we do, it’s like no time has passed.
I’ve taken quite a few risks in my life – from moving to new cities and states without knowing anyone, to changing careers multiple times, to traveling alone abroad. I’m a firm believer that you can’t wait for life to begin, you’ve just got to start living and experiencing, even if it’s scary or by yourself.
The most recent and probably the biggest risk I’ve ever taken was starting amma360 on my own. I quit my job as a management consultant and my last day just happened to be the Friday right before the COVID shutdown in March 2020. I was planning to take some time off to figure out what was going to be next for me career-wise. I had been traveling extensively and putting in long hours at work for about seven years, I was newly married and wanted a slower pace so I could focus on building a family.
COVID changed all that and I felt like I had to figure out my next career steps real quick. The first day of the shutdown I was freaking out – how did I just quit my job in a pandemic without a backup plan? It was scary! I quickly lined up some interviews with other companies, but my heart wasn’t in it. I had quit my job as a consultant for a reason – I wasn’t being fulfilled nor was I passionate about the work anymore.
Fast forward a couple of months, I had joined my family business in the vitamin industry and I was newly pregnant. I love to do research, so I was researching everything related to pregnancy – listening to podcasts, reading articles and scientific journals, etc. I wanted to be informed about this new journey as much as possible. And I found that most of the research stops with birth and then shifts to the baby. And I just kept thinking, what about me (the mom)?
And that’s how amma360 was born – I knew there was a need to provide care for new moms and I set out to solve it. I didn’t and still don’t have a co-founder, I didn’t and still don’t have a lot of investment dollars to work with, but I’m doing it. Every day I wake up and take a risk as an entrepreneur to make amma360 a successful business and to move the needle for postpartum care.
Pricing:
- amma360 Postpartum Multi+ Omegas – $59.99
- amma360 Postpartum Protein+ – $79.99
- amma360 Postpartum Bundle – $125.99
Contact Info:
- Website: amma360.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amma360health/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amma360health
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/amma360health
