Doctor of Oriental Medicine Janine Mahon originally formulated a healing oil to treat her own postpartum mastitis pain. Having refined it and shared it with clients at her Albuquerque clinic, demand grew, and she wondered if there might be a larger market beyond her regular clients. That’s when she launched Dr. Janine Mahon’s Rejuvenating Breast Oil exclusively through Violet Grey, a high-end retailer with extensive online reach and sales through its Melrose Place store in Los Angeles. For help meeting increased demand, Mahon turned to New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
New Mexico MEP innovation director Scott Bryant helped analyze bottlenecks and wasteful procedures that could be remedied by simplifying and standardizing each step in the process. Pipettes were replaced with small beakers, and oils were premixed in small, standardized containers to reduce the risk of spills and provide visual cues when supplies needed to be reordered. New labeling and batch control techniques helped expand sales to Paris, Italy and Germany. “That elevated my presence,” Mahon says. “I didn’t have to pitch them. I’ve had people reach out without having to knock on doors.”
As a result of partnering with New Mexico MEP, Mahon’s production time has decreased by 60 percent, and with Bryant’s help, she feels prepared for what’s next: “I am going from orders of 500 to orders of 10,000.”
“This has been such a solo journey,” Mahon says. “Scott offered such a stable resource of expert advice. He gave me the pillar to really feel like I had foundational support. It was really thorough guidance.”
Find Dr. Janine Mahon products at https://drjaninemahon.com/products.