Starting from her experience which had been troubled when she had to pump breast milk (ASI) at work, because at that time her office did not have a special room to pumping, Stephanie Tunggal was forced to pump her breast milk in a phone room. The inconvenience of a woman born in Bogor, September 26, 1985 could be reduced slightly when she wears nursingwear. But unfortunately, it wasn't easy to find nursingwear that can be used for work. If there are any, the price is quite expensive.
Departing from that problem, Stephanie had the idea to make a nursingwear business. She then started pioneering the business with the Maternel trademark in 2017. The own maternel she took came from French "de la mère" which means motherhood. Then, it changes to Maternel. Within two years, Stephanie's efforts developed quite rapidly. At present, the production can reach 2,500 pieces every month. With a selling price starting at Rp. 169,000 per piece, she can pocket a turnover of Rp. 350 million a month.
Since she was working at Google Asia Pacific in Singapore in 2012, there was actually a desire to become an entrepreneur. She realized, even though she worked in the world's number one company, there were still limitations. Not to mention, while on Google, she works in the advertising section of small and medium businesses. From there, she knew what the digital world is like. So, she also knows how to get customers in the digital world.
Graduating from the Faculty of Economics, Padjadjaran University (Unpad), Bandung, finally realized her desire to become an entrepreneur after not passing a probationary period while working at New Zealand Tourism in May 2017. This shocked her, because at the same time her caregiver resigned, Stephanie decided to became a housewife. However, because she was accustomed to working, only two weeks unemployed, she didn't felt good at home continuously.
The owner of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) in International Business from Université de Rennes 1, France, finally began to try her luck by opening a nursingwear business. She began her efforts by finding the right material for nursingwear. Because she still doesn't have a baby sitter, Stephanie entrusts her child to a daycare.
According to her, the most difficult was when she has to look for the right convection. After surfing on internet, Stephanie finally found a convection capable of carrying out nursingwear according to her design. Unfortunately, the results were not as expected, it can't even be used. And it hasn't been revised, even though it was already paid.
Then, Stephanie again found an ideal convection. It's just that, after several revisions, once the production process will enter, the owner of the convection requires a minimum production of three dozen. For Stephanie who had just jumped into the business world, that number was very much. Because her determination was strong, finally the business continued.
With no initial capital of up to Rp 5 million, to bought materials, production costs, and make a simple site, Stephanie officially opened a nursingwear business. However, she was still playing safe, she made a nursingwear with a general model made from batik. Stephanie also still sells it via Instagram.
Then, on the advice of her friends, Stephanie uses influencers or people who have many followers on social media and strong influence on their followers. Because, according to her friend, the model of Stephanie's nursingwear was actually good, just lacking in marketing.
She then took several artists, such as Raya Kohandi and Alice Norin. Sales also began to increase. Stephanie also began to dare to issue a new model, which she named Sabrine Nursing Dress. Because of its unusual shape, Sabrine Nursing Dress sells well. Demand is increasing when she uses the services of other artists, such as Sandra Dewi and Chelsea Olivia as models.
Maternel sales alone are still 100% through online. In addition to passing websites, she also sells her products on several e-commerce sites such as Shopee and Tokopedia, and Instagram. So far, Stephanie has not planned to open an offline store. As for the production business, she still gave it to two convection partners in Tangerang. One of them has been a partner with a well-known online boutique. Stephanie once had the desire to set up her own convection. But, after seeing the experience of her friend who is a designer, she threw that desire away. Currently, Maternel already has several collections including dresses, tops, party dresses and hijabs.