A promise made is a debt unpaid.

As promised in my last article, I will now talk about our underwear's development process. It all started because Andréanne had trouble finding comfortable women's underwear that were suited for ostomates.

These three criterias were key elements as well as an important starting point for our products' development process. We wanted to put women's beauty in all its forms forward. We wanted panties that are appealing and suited for ostomate women. Everything started on a white piece of paper. I made sketches of panties of different styles. We chose three models of three different styles, so everyone gets what they need.

We decided to name the panties after women we care about. While it may seem cliché, it was important for us to give a nod to women who are important in our lives. And who knows, maybe your name will appear in our next collection.

After, had to choose the fabric we would use. We were looking for a strechy, comfortable and soft fabric. We wanted a quality product that breathes. We made a lot of calls and traveled to ensure the quality of the panties would be good. It was a long and arduous process, but the end result was well worth it!

Product development lasted several months. There are many steps in this process and there is a lot of research to be done. One necessary step that took time was sampling. We made around three samples of each panties' styles before we 100% liked them. Making samples let us see the finished product and helped us set our standards. Some of the changes are tiny, but in the end it's our customers that will benefit from them. This is what will make them like ANA products even more. Are you wondering about the changed we made? Here are some examples: we changed the height of the panties, we made the waistband's elastic bigger because it was too tight, we changed the thighs' openings, we changed the cut of the panties, etc.

The grading of sizes was also very important, as we needed to make sure everything was well proportioned. Did you know there is no universal size in the apparel industry? Every company makes its own grading depending on their standards and/or following other companies' sizes. We adapted our grading after our panties were tried on.

After approving our final three samples, we had them made in every size so that our collaborators could try them on. This allowed us to make sure that all the sizes were ok, and we confirmed that the height and the details were to the liking of ostomate women. Andréanne and I made sure we liked the quality of our underwear line. I can tell you that high-waisted panties are very convenient to wear, even when you don't have a stoma. After we received our collaborators' comments, we made slight changes that make a world of a difference. One last sample and we were ready for commercial production.

Production is a matter of business relationships and good partnerships. We are proud of the partnerships we develop. It is super important to us! To achieve this, we must be honest and favour bidirectional relationships between our partners and us. We're always looking for mutual agreement. It's a win-win formula that allows both our companies to grow. That way, our production partner is always ready to help us. He can also adapt to our new company. On our side, we make sure that our products work with their assembly line.

After receiving the first batch of panties, we created a verification process. We had the chance to have people ready to help us ensure that every panty met our standards: that the size is constant, that the seams are perfect, that the labels are there, etc. It took a whole day for us to verify, label and package our products. We were then ready to ship them.

For marketing, we favoured striking photos. It's important for us to use authentic pictures showing real ostomates. We believe that showing our underwear on someone like Andréanne and/or our blog contributors will help other ostomate women accept themselves and identify themselves with our models. We want to show them they are attractive and sexy with their stoma. Yes, panties are only material products, but feeling attractive and sexy can definitely help someone accept themselves and feel better about themselves.

Marie-Noël

This article is brought to you by our partner: Équipements Magister