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While the idea may seem wild to some, breast milk has proven to be a surprisingly lucrative industry.
It may shock you to find out that some people are even turning it into jewellery.
Safiyya and Adam Riyadh are the founders ofMagenta Flowers, an award-winning company preserving special occasion flowers into precious keepsakes.
Since its inception in 2019, Magenta Flowers has fulfilled over 4,000 orders, more recently expanding into breast milk jewellery, and are projected to turnover £1.5million in 2023.
With 483% YOY revenue growth, the demand for breast milk jewellery shows no signs of slowing down.
Mothers across the world are looking to memorialise their breastfeeding journey in precious stones made from the liquid.
As a mother of three children, Safiyya knows firsthand how difficult breastfeeding can be and understands the desire for mothers to preserve their breastfeeding journey as their baby starts to wean.
“I feel there is so much stigma around breast milk and in some cases breastfeeding in public that for me, it is almost like a hidden gem,” she said.
“It provides a sentimental connection between mothers and their babies and celebrates that cherished bond.”
For Magenta Flowers, figuring out the formula for preserving breast milk into a wearable memento required considerable research and development to ensure breast milk retains its colour.
Eventually, Safiyya landed on a technical process of dehydrating the liquid and combining it with high-quality non-yellowing resin to ensure the jewellery stays clear for years to come.
For many mothers, breastfeeding is an extremely special time in their lives and ending their breastfeeding journey can be both emotional and upsetting.
“A lot of our customers are often really sad that their breastfeeding journey is over, so the jewellery is a way to preserve and celebrate both the rewarding and challenging parts of the breastfeeding experience, allowing mothers to display their journey with pride,” Safiyya explained.
Other customers include mothers who experience difficulty nursing.
Safiyya continued: “I personally couldn't breastfeed for a long period. Society puts so much pressure on women to be able to do everything, breastfeeding included.
“When I first found out that you could preserve breast milk, I wished I had known when I had my last baby as I would have loved to make my own jewellery to memorialise that time.”
For some parents, it can also be a way to cope with loss.
Safiyya wants to help women remember the special moments they may have had with their baby.
“Our jewellery is about preserving those first memories, whether your baby is bottle-fed or breastfed,” she said.
“It’s really for any mother looking to remember the bonding moments spent with their baby.”
Magenta Flowers creates handcrafted breast milk necklaces, earrings, charms and rings.
After a customer places an order, Safiyya recommends mailing at least 30ml of breast milk, although bespoke pieces are possible if the amount available is below the requirements for crafting jewellery.
“Our team does whatever they can to ensure the jewellery is unique to each individual, whether that’s personalisation with the baby's name or adding a birthstone, we’re always happy to hear customers’ customisation ideas,” the mother-of-three explained.
“We've had a lot of customer requests for things which, if we can do it, we will absolutely try to help that person be able to immortalise whatever keepsake they'd like to do.
“As business owners, we're very adaptable whilst maintaining quality and offering the highest level of personal customer service.”
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