Thanks to Feed the Hunger for sharing Lindsey’s story!
Ever since she can remember, Lindsey Ott has loved babies and everything that has to do with the miracle of childbirth. In her 20s, she studied to become a midwife. Then, she found herself traveling in Hawaii and settled in an organic farm in Maui. There, she started learning about growing plants for sustenance and wellbeing, turning it into her newfound passion.
In 2009, Lindsey became a mother. That experience refocused her energy on the topics of childbirth and pregnancy. She began looking for ways to enter the world of postpartum care.
After moving back to California and ending up in the Bay Area, Lindsey decided to turn her passions into a venture that could sustain her family.
My quest began with finding other businesses that fed and cared for new families and this is when I got in touch with Mama Tong’s creator, Jane Lin.
Mama Tong is a brand of herbal soups for new mothers made from traditional Chinese recipes for childbirth recovery and breastfeeding support.
A new venture materializes
Lindsey realized Mama Tong was a small business with a lot of potential. She offered Jane her kitchen and her assistance in making the product. What she wanted in return was to learn about the craft of Chinese postpartum soups. It seemed like a straightforward offer until Jane proposed a different deal.
Jane had decided it was time for her to move on to new projects. She offered to sell Mama Tong to Lindsey, who accepted. Soon, she found herself learning where to shop for ingredients and how to put them together to make the recipes she loved so much. She then began selling them online through an organic grocery delivery website.
Lindsey saw great interest in the product and realized she had to scale. She would need new equipment to set up a commercial kitchen, and that is where Feed The Hunger stepped in.
With the help of a loan from Feed the Hunger, Lindsey was able to scale Mama Tong, expand her distribution channels, and establish a local delivery infrastructure.
Mama Tong’s next challenge is transitioning all the ingredients to organic. Currently, all her ingredients are certified organic aside from the traditional Michiu Rice Wine and the Chinese herbs in the Herbal Chicken Soup and the Mushroom Stew, which come from high-quality Chinese herb distributors.