”We met doing what we loved – caring for women during all the ups and downs of pregnancy. With 30 years of combined experience as women’s health professionals, we’ve seen first-hand the diversity in experience and also the gaps in support for those on their journey toward pregnancy and parenthood.”
Megan Burk, Co-Founder and Tammy Hurst, Co-Founder
Even with their professional expertise, each of their own fertility journeys and pregnancies came with questions and uncertainty. Megan and Tammy found themselves searching for support and resources outside of the doctor’s office.
What they really yearned for was the knowledge to feel confident in their personal decisions based on their own individual bodies and health. Megan and Tammy also looked for a community where their worries and experiences would be heard and could get safe and reliable feedback.
As a result, the ladies started Gingermint INC with a mission to empower women to take their health into their own hands. Megan and Tammy believe everyone deserves to have the resources, products, support, and knowledge they desire for their fertility journey.
”We know personally and professionally how overwhelming and unexpected the path to parenthood can be. We’re here to take the guess work out of it for you and offer our Preconception Fertility Bundle to provide all the essentials to enter this complex life stage.”
Megan Burk, Co-Founder and Tammy Hurst, Co-Founder
What does your work entail?
We have started this company based on our background as labor and delivery nurses. In our job we find ourselves teaching and repeating the same information and are often surprised that the information isn’t clearly available to patients. That is how we came up with our tag line “Remedies for Wellness” Because our expertise is in women’s health, specifically pregnancy, we created a bundle to help women take the guess work out of how to start a healthy pregnancy. Although we are NOT a subscription box, we noticed that most of the pregnancy boxes are focused on novelty and not wellness specifically. Our focus is health. This is how we differ.
How did you start Gingermint INC? What inspired you to start a company focused on women’s health?
Combined we have over 35 years of combined experience in women’s health. Although we love what we do, we saw a gap in the wellness side of pregnancy. We created Gingermint INC to give people remedies to common heath conditions/ailments/situations.
What is the core issue you are addressing with the launch of the products?
When women make the decision to become pregnant, the research begins. They find they are often overwhelmed by how many products are available and are not sure what is the best for them. We researched and landed on the best products, including the most common questions asked by women regarding conception and answered those by providing all those answers in one simple bundle.
What is your opinion of the fertility supplement industry and its growth?
This is an exploding market! The industry understand that women want what is best for their bodies and future child. This is a statement we can comfortably admit every women would agree with. The market understands how different each woman is and in turn many companies have formed to created a supplement specific to each individual woman. The best innovation has been the focus on personalized prenatal vitamins based on individual needs. But the exponential growth in this industry has made it even harder for women to know what IS best or them. That is where Gingermint can help.
What challenges did you face while marketing Gingermint INC?
Wow. Even though I have listened to EVERY episode of How I Built This, and learned this was the difficult part, it is definitely more difficult than we imagined. Our target market is very specific and we believe they mostly exist on Instagram. But Instagram in itself is a beast and navigating it has been a full time job in and of itself. Although we are growing (slowly) we still find it challenging to reach our target audience at the speed and consistency at which we aim for.
What advice would you give budding entrepreneurs in the fertility health industry?
I would say there is room for us all! Women will always have babies, pandemic or not!! Women will continue to have questions and seek advice from the internet or their friends and family. The more education and guidance we can provide women, the better the world becomes! If I had only 1 piece of advice to give it is, Wherever/whatever you choose to focus your knowledge, be the best/expert in what you provide!
What are the challenges of being an entrepreneur in the niche you are in? How about being a female entrepreneur?
We believe our biggest challenge in our niche is how saturated it is! The IG accounts focused on pregnancy are abundant! We admit….we love them! In time we are confident Gingermint will stand apart but right now It’s difficult to stand out.
As far as challenges specific to being female entreprenuer’s, we are in a space dominated by women so our challenge is within ourselves and not necessarily because we are women.
What is the most important piece of advice you can give to all female founders and female entrepreneurs out there?
If you have an idea, go for it and don’t stop. Persistence and commitment equates to success!
What will be the key trends in the fertility health industry in the next 5 years and where do you see it heading?
Studies show that more and more women are placing education and careers before family planning. When they do decide to begin trying to conceive, they tend to be in their 30’s. Fertility begins to drop at the whopping age of 27! Women need to be able to easily access current, reliable information in order to prepare their bodies, mental health and lifestyle to accommodate their needs when the time arrives. We believe the next 5 years will show a growing number of fertility focused companies arriving to the scene. The best part of this, is women will have even more knowledge and resources to support them through their fertility journey! I also believe, as more women enter into the medical field of fertility health, increased solutions to infertility will also begin to emerge.
What do you think of fertility coach?
Coaches are hot right now! You can find a coach for almost every aspect of your life. While medical professionals should always be your primary source of information and health guidance, a fertility coach that can assist and support a women or couple through the infertility process is invaluable! Their primary provider may not have the time or expertise to guide patients through the abundance of questions and emotions that can arise on a daily basis! The coach takes a personal investment in their client and women not only feel supported but are reassured that the guidance provided helps them to navigate this difficult time in their lives. Career and family is already so much to juggle, a fertility coach could honesty feel like life support.
Please tell us about your products.
Our first product is a bundle that includes the products to begin a healthy pregnancy as well as answers to questions couples may or may not even realize they have. Our bundle contains, a base prenatal vitamins (with the a discount offered to personalize) ovulation tests, pregnancy tests, a fertility e-book, ginger mints a Gingermint branded sachet and easy to follow his and hers information cards. Because we aim to provide only the best products, our products are continuously researched and therefore may change as we learn of a better product.
Our next product will be focused on the hour after birth. Most hospitals have instituted in their Labor and Delivery units the Golden Hour. This is the 1 hour after birth where uninterrupted skin to skin with mom and (healthy) baby is encouraged. This hour promotes bonding and breastfeeding and Gingermint is currently creating a product to enhance and support this time.
What advice do you have for women wanting to become pregnant reading this interview?
Our advice is to first see you Obstetrician! A clear understanding of a woman’s medical and family history is imperative before conceiving. Their provider will generally NOT recommend any specific products. It is up to each individual person to make those decisions. We hope by reading this interview they will seek knowledge, solutions and safety in using Gingermint products by feeling reassured in our goal to only provide the best.
What are some tips to consider when trying to become pregnant?
- Begin to decrease or eliminate caffeine
- Stop smoking
- Stop taking any elicit drugs or alcohol
- Talk to your provider about current prescription medications
- Begin or continue a healthy diet
- Prepare yourself with knowledge regarding a potentially challenging first trimester
- Track ovulation
- Track basal body temperature
- Encourage your spouse to see his provider
- 10.Understand that the diagnosis of infertility occurs only after 1 full year of actively trying.
What are your tips for women who have suffered a miscarriage previously?
A miscarriage at any stage is a horrible loss. Let yourself grieve. Although you may feel alone, you most likely know someone who has suffered a similar loss, as the miscarriage rate for all pregnant women is about 25%. This stat is not to minimize your pain, because it is real and amazingly painful, it is to encourage you to talk about it. So many women suffer this loss in silence. When women open up they tend to discover there is a friend, family member or coworker that could offer a comfort others don’t understand.
What advice do you have for women who want to become pregnant?
Prepare your body prior to conception. Take a quality prenatal vitamin, eat healthy and stay connected to your partner! Trying to conceive can take on a mechanical quality, continue to find passion in the process!
What advice would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs?
GO FOR IT!!!! Women need to support and encourage each other to be CEO’s and CoFounders in this currently male dominated world! When women create, problems are solved.
What can we hope to see from Gingermint INC in the future?
You will continue to see bundles aimed at remedies for wellness. So much of pregnancy planning is focused on the woman’s health, Gingermint believes the partners health is equally as important. We would like to add a preconception vitamin for men. We will continue to create bundles to support women from conception through menopause, but we fully understand, when we support the partner we are directly supporting women.