If you’ve ever been a new parent staring at a bottle of formula, wondering if you’re “doing it right,” you’re not alone. For Jee Lani “Lan” San Juan-Perez—mom of three, homeschooling parent, and trained breastfeeding counselor—that question became the seed of a business that would later change the lives of countless Filipino families.
“I really pushed for breastfeeding dun sa second and third because I saw the difference of not breastfeeding and breastfeeding my kids. Both worlds, I experienced it firsthand,” Lan shares. Her eldest, now 17, wasn’t breastfed because of the lack of support and information back then. By the time her second child came along in 2013, she had discovered Facebook breastfeeding groups and the power of community.
It wasn’t an easy road. She recalls her relactation journey: “It took me one and a half months for me to really produce milk on my own. There’s a breastfeeding group on Facebook, and they helped us for free. Walang kapalit.”
Lan explains that the community became her lifeline—moms she had never even met shared their milk, taught her how to breastfeed, and supported her through the struggle. That experience became the spark for Mother Nurture, one of the OG Filipino breastfeeding support brands.
Brewing a Business Out of Breastfeeding Struggles
Lan is a self-confessed coffee lover. But when she was breastfeeding, her son couldn’t sleep after she had caffeine. “So I didn’t drink coffee for almost a year. Walang coffee. If coffee drinker ka, you know the feeling. I would just smell coffee for the aroma,” she laughs.
That’s when the light bulb moment came: Why wasn’t there a breastfeeding-safe coffee on the market? She dug into research, tapped her FMCG background, and collaborated with breastfeeding counselors and food R&D experts. The result? A line of malunggay-powered drink mixes specifically designed for nursing moms.
Source: Mother Nurture
Because if motherhood teaches you anything, it’s this: when life says “no coffee for you,” a true mompreneur says, “Fine, I’ll invent my own.”
The products—Malunggay Coffee Mix, Malunggay Choco Mix, and the newer Salted Caramel variant—aren’t just delicious. They’re packed with galactagogues like Malunggay, Gotu Kola, Ashitaba, and Stevia, all carefully formulated to support milk production.
Source: Mother Nurture
Lan proudly explains: “Every sachet of Mother Nurture, mayroong 900 mg of pampagatas. And this is FDA-approved and Halal-certified. We perfected the formulation na kahit may malunggay bits sa coffee mo, you will still enjoy the coffee without the bitter taste.”
Breastfeeding, But Make It Delicious
For moms, breastfeeding is equal parts sacrifice and love. But Lan wanted to make it a little more joyful. “The malunggay choco is for non-coffee drinkers. Creamy, rich, not too sweet—parang tablea-inspired,” she says. Then came the Salted Caramel for younger moms who love their frappe fix.
Source: Mother Nurture
And it’s not just for moms. Because the drinks are low in sugar and sweetened by stevia, even dads, lolos, and lolas enjoy them. Some parents even get creative, using the mixes for cookies and pancakes.
The best part? It’s affordable. At just ₱160–₱200 per box of seven sachets, it’s a small weekly investment for a big breastfeeding boost.
From Kitchen Counter to Nationwide Sisterhood
Source: Mother Nurture
Unlike big beverage brands, Mother Nurture took the road less travelled: no supermarket shelves. Instead, Lan built a reseller network of moms who wanted to earn from home.
“When I started Mother Nurture, I thought about the transition from being corporate to stay-at-home mom. It doesn’t mean na you have to choose between taking care of your family and earning a living. So the mommy reseller program, you can do both,” she explains.
Source: Lan Perez
Today, more than 80 mommy resellers across the Philippines—and even abroad—carry Mother Nurture. They sell through Shopee, Lazada, TikTok, and social media, creating not just sales, but friendships and a breastfeeding sisterhood.
“Hindi lang yung pagbebenta, but friendship is formed, sisterhood is formed. That’s our way of selling,” Lan says with pride.
Eleven Years of Breastfeeding Advocacy
Beyond products, Lan is a relentless advocate. Every Tuesday, she gives free breastfeeding counseling—sharing what she learned from her own hardships and her 11 years (and counting) of nursing experience.
Source: Lan Perez
Her mission is clear, and that is to empower moms with healthy, sustainable ways to nurture both themselves and their babies. As she puts it, “Mother Nurture came from a very personal and painful place. But it also came from love. And now it’s helping other moms love their breastfeeding journey, too.”
Milk, Malunggay, and Mompower
Mommy Lan’s story isn’t a polished “startup success tale”. It’s raw, messy, and deeply human. It begins in the haze of sleepless nights and painful relactation, and grows into something far larger than a kitchen counter experiment with malunggay. What she built in Mother Nurture isn’t just a brand. It’s a statement that Filipino mothers can own their narratives, shape their communities, and carve out businesses that don’t just sell, but sustain.
Breastfeeding, after all, is more than nutrition. It’s culture, it’s memory, it’s a legacy that links generations of Filipino women who once relied on malunggay and community wisdom long before formulas and pharmacies entered the picture. By bottling that tradition into something modern, accessible, and marketable, Lan bridges past and present in a way few entrepreneurs can.
Source: Lan Perez
And then there’s the business model. No supermarket shelves, no flashy ad budgets. Instead, a quiet revolution of resellers—moms trading sachets and stories—building something more enduring than a supply chain: trust.
That’s the heart of it. Mother Nurture is not just about breastfeeding. It’s about proving that the most personal struggles can fuel the boldest ventures. It’s about how a mother’s need became a nationwide movement.
So whether you’re a parent who needs that caffeine kick without the guilt, a mom dreaming of a side hustle you can actually feel good about, or just someone who loves a story about turning struggle into strength, Lan’s journey is proof that community, resilience, and yes, a little malunggay, can change the game.
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