Stretch marks are the bane of all women unlucky enough to develop them, but Fariba Fanaian has turned hers into a successful enterprise, marketing the natural stretch mark oil her mother and grandmother specially formulated for her, through the family bus
Stretch marks are the bane of all women unlucky enough to develop them, but Fariba Fanaian has turned hers into a successful enterprise, marketing the natural stretch mark oil her mother and grandmother specially formulated for her, through the family business, LM Naturals.
Ms Fanaian’s mother, Laila Mehregani, put her knowledge of oils to work, blending natural essential oils with cold-pressed oils to make a formula that is proving in trials to reduce the appearance of stretch marks in a relatively short time.
Stretch marks are actually fine tears and scarring in the dermis of the skin and can vary in their severity, depth and colour.
Ms Fanaian said she had tried everything to reduce the visibility of the stretch marks, but nothing worked.
“I felt quite desperate looking at my stretch marks, until my mother’s hard work brought results,” she said.
A year into business, LM Naturals is getting results in a diversity of markets including the US, Israel, Taiwan and in places as surprising as Mongolia.
The company’s retailer in Taiwan has just placed an order for 2,000 units and the products are selling well in its US test market of New York.
“We were thrilled last year when our product sparked interest at the baby shower of Mariska Hargitay, American actress from the TV series Law and Order, attended by up to 100 other celebrities,” Ms Fanaian said.
It was proving a little more difficult to break into the local market, however, without longer-term success overseas.
Still looking for markets in Australia for its locally made product, LM Naturals has already found some fans in Fitness First gyms, day spas and some pharmacies.
Ms Fanaian knows her markets, having spent a career working in market research for “kiddie focused” products at companies Craft, Cadbury Schweppes and Network Ten, and running her own market research business in Sydney.
At the age of 32, she is now the marketing manager of LM Naturals.
“My [three-and-a-half-year-old] son understands now that I have to work odd hours because of the overseas phone calls and he sometimes has to be babysat while I’m in meetings, but my schedule is quite flexible, which is great,” she said.
Ms Fanaian plans to be “very hands-on” for the next five years managing the retailing, production and marketing aspects of the business.
“I hope that we can keep the business in the family by getting my brother, who’s a lawyer, to come on board full-time but we’ll have to see how the business goes,” she said.
The company has a patent pending on two unique formulas, one for use during pregnancy and the other while breastfeeding.
Men won’t miss out either, with LM naturals currently developing a formula suitable for fast-growing adolescent males, bodybuilders and men who gain a lot of weight, all of whom can suffer from stretch marks.
For now, Ms Fanaian and Ms Mehregani will continue to conduct consumer trials and sell the product online and via a telephone ordering service.
