Leading Breast Pump Innovator Changing Economics of Breastfeeding With New Products Under $100
SILICON VALLEY, Calif., Dec. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dao Health, the leader in the emerging global trend toward discreet breast pumps, today announced a major new product and a major new line of accessories. The maker of Freemie brand breast pumps and accessories says that a new simplified Freemie Cup set that works with more pumps will retail at $79.95. A new custom-sizing system to help make Freemie Cups fit more women will be sold under a sub-brand called "Fitmie," and retail between $19.95 and $29.95. Both will begin shipping by year's end. Fitmies are a system of silicone inserts that come in different diameters for fine-tuning the Freemie's funnel fit. With these additions, the patented Freemie systems will now work for even more breast pumps and body types.
"Our goal is to make it easy for any woman - in any situation - to use a breast pump, so that she doesn't have to buy infant formula. Our success so far proves that we are going to achieve this goal, and make a tremendously positive impact on public health around the world as we continue to grow and expand our offerings. Freemie systems now work with more pumps and for even more women. We will help many, many more women to be successful at breastfeeding. In fact, we expect the global use of breast pumps to double or triple in just the next few years," said Dr. Stella Dao, Freemie inventor and company co-founder.
The new closed system Freemie Cups simplify the process for connecting to non-Medela pumps, and will be available in addition to Dao Health's market leading Freemie Cups for open system Medela pumps, which retail at $59.95. The Fitmie inserts will work with both Freemie cup sets, starting with 12 sizes ranging from 15mm to 26mm, in 1mm increments. Finding the right fit is important for a woman's comfort and may affect her ability to make milk. The company will continue adding more sizes and differently shaped cups for enhanced performance and aesthetics in 2018 and beyond.
The new Freemie closed system cups will be compatible with the highly anticipated Freemie mobile pumps that are expected to be announced soon, as well as pumps from Evenflo, Philips, Spectra, Ameda, Ardo and more brands, encompassing by volume most double electric pumps sold in the US and around the world today. "The Freemie Cups are a wonderful option for women who often need to pump in difficult situations. We are very excited to be collaborating with Dao Health, and are thrilled to see the launch of the new Freemie Cups that work with our pumps. We are going to label our hospital strength Evenflo Advanced Double Electric pumps 'Freemie Compatible' so that women know this option is available to them along with our trusted brand. We have dedicated ourselves to helping women, and we believe our industry can do more together to help during this important time in the lives of young families," said Elaine Bobbey, President of Evenflo Feeding, one of the leading pump makers in the US.
Dao Health began a major trend in late 2013 with the launch of their Freemie hands free and concealable cups. The naturally-shaped cups slip right into a woman's bra, underneath her clothing, where milk collects while she can do other things. The natural shape and light weight of the Freemie Cups are key to their effectiveness, according to Dr. Dao, allowing women to get the cups comfortably into their bra and then into the right position to pump, without pinching their breasts or weighing them down. But the reason Freemie cups are so popular is that they allow women to keep their clothes on, so they can pump around other people. With the exception of a failed product called the Whisper Wear from the early 2000's that fit in the bra but was heavy, pumping while clothed was unheard of in 2013. But by 2017, with almost no marketing budget, Freemie has become a globally recognized brand, propelled almost entirely by Freemie users sharing news of this essential tool with groups of new moms they meet online.
This simple yet ingenious innovation has already won several prestigious awards and is credited by thousands of women as the primary reason they have been able to continue breastfeeding. Freemie won the 2016 Best of Baby Tech award for infant feeding at CES in Las Vegas, beating out a new formula machine from Nestle, the world's largest infant formula manufacturer. At the CES awards ceremony, with Nestle representatives in attendance, Dan Garbez, Dao Health's CEO and husband of Dr. Dao, warned formula manufacturers that they would finally see real competition from breast pump makers in the future. Freemie also won the 2017 Edison Awards Gold Medal for Infant & Child Care at the annual gala in New York City in April. Edison Awards recognize innovations that make an impact on humanity by achieving meaningful success in the market. Invoking the spirit of Thomas Edison, these awards are highly coveted and sought by high profile startups and Fortune 500 companies alike.
Building on the success of the first Freemie Cups, which are already available in dozens of countries, the new Freemie Closed System Cups will work with more breast pumps from different manufacturers across a range of price points. These product developments are part of the company's ongoing efforts to "democratize" breast milk production for women in any station in life, anywhere in the world. Garbez said, "Lots of companies make great breast pumps, and some are less than $100, or even free through insurance. Our belief is that breast milk shouldn't only be for the babies of the rich. Women need to be able to use the pump they can afford." Many new pumps are compact and easier to carry around than the old bulky hospital-style pumps, without sacrificing performance, and even offer conveniences like battery power.
Dao Health knows the entire industry will sell a lot more pumps through their efforts to pair manufacturers' pumps with the patented Freemie Cups. Garbez continued, "Our industry is starting to take the long view of the competition. We could have locked up our patented Freemie systems and only made them available with our own pumps, but that would have been short-sighted. We are not competing with other pump companies. We are competing with the $50 Billion Infant Formula Industry – and they've been winning. Even though formula is incredibly expensive, it was easier to use than most breast pumps until now. But today, pumping is easier. That means more women will do it. Today, we are finally in a position to challenge Big Formula's domination of the infant feeding market. Everybody knows that breastfeeding is better. Today, women will see that it is finally faster and cheaper than formula too. The economics are simple and undeniable. Every family that has a new mouth to feed will soon be aware that for less than an extra hundred dollars in pumping gear, they might easily save a thousand dollars or more in infant formula purchases over the next year."
Freemie® Collection Cups can also be found online along with more information http://www.freemie.com and at amazon.com.
SOURCE Dao Health
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