Meet the Makers: The Women Behind the Brands
This month, we're celebrating women's health for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So what better way to do it than by introducing the women behind some of our favorite brands? Each of them saw something that wasn't good enough for her own health or her family's, and decided to build something better.
Some of their stories began with cancer. All of them began with care.
B.T.R. Nation: Bold, Tenacious, Resilient
Ashley Nickelsen didn't set out to start a snack company. She set out to take care of her parents.
When both of her parents were diagnosed with rare forms of cancer, Ashley became their main caretaker. Between treatments, the only food within reach was whatever was in the hospital vending machines and cafeterias, much of it labeled "better-for-you" but loaded with sugar. In her own words, they were eating absolute junk between chemo and radiation appointments.
So Ashley headed to the kitchen. Drawing on her background in food studies and biochemistry, she began making low-sugar protein bites with plant-based superfood ingredients, the snacks she wished her family had. After her parents passed away, she made it her mission to share those snacks with the world and reimagine the modern vending machine.
The name says it all. B.T.R. comes from her parents' personal mantra: be bold, tenacious, and resilient. Today, their snacks have no added sugar, are 100% plant-based, and are boosted with functional superfoods. And B.T.R. Nation donates a portion of its profits to organizations committed to cancer research and awareness.
Every bite carries her parents' legacy.
Healthy Hoohoo: Gentle Care for Down There
Yes, the name makes us smile. That's part of the point.
Founder Stacy Lyon created Healthy Hoohoo after three conversations. The first was with a friend whose breast cancer diagnosis made her steer clear of parabens. The second was with a friend who quietly admitted she felt out of balance "down there." The third was with her OB/GYN, who explained that women's intimate health was facing a perfect storm of over-cleansing with fragranced wipes, high-sugar diets, and synthetic clothing that doesn't breathe.
Stacy, a former ski resort marketer, launched Healthy Hoohoo in November 2011. Her gentle washes and wipes are pH-balanced and free of glycerin, fragrance, parabens, alcohol, sulfates, and dye, so they cleanse without stripping away the good bacteria your body needs.
But her mission goes beyond the product. Stacy wants women to feel healthy, confident, and beautiful, and to make it more socially acceptable, and easier, for a woman to talk about her vagina. We couldn't agree more.
Women's health includes all of you.
Elan Pure: A Glow Without the Burn
Founder and CEO Paige Hope built Elan Pure because she felt "clean beauty" had stopped meaning anything. Brands were putting it on labels without anyone actually checking the ingredients.
After her sister's autoimmune diagnosis and her own hormone struggles, Paige stopped trusting marketing claims and started reading formulas herself. Today, every Elan Pure product is vetted against more than 1,600 banned and flagged ingredients. Her motto: non-toxic is a floor, not a finish line.
The result is a self-tanner that customers love: a foam-lotion hybrid that hydrates as it tans, with no dye and a buildable, natural-looking glow.
Why this matters, girlies: A tanning bed tan is never worth it. According to The Skin Cancer Foundation, people who first use a tanning bed before age 35 increase their melanoma risk by 75%. In one study of 63 women diagnosed with melanoma before age 30, 61 of them had used tanning beds. A single indoor tanning session also raises the risk of squamous cell carcinoma by 67% and basal cell carcinoma by 29%.
The Skin Cancer Foundation's advice is clear: no tan is a safe tan, so skip UV tanning entirely and choose your natural glow or a sunless option.
Fake the glow. Keep your skin.
Rustic Strength: From Sickness to Strength
Rustic Strength began with a mother's search for answers.
When the Adamson family's infant son developed severe, unexplained sensitivities and anaphylactic reactions, they overhauled everything in their home. At the same time, Alicia Adamson's own health issues led her to dig into the chemicals hiding in everyday products. Frustrated by the lack of safe options, the family started experimenting and made their own laundry detergent.
That kitchen experiment became Rustic Strength, a company making high-purity, toxin-free cleaning and wellness products, with refill and container reuse programs to cut down on waste. Products are made in small batches by the family in Missouri and arrive the same week they're made.
Their growth speaks for itself: Rustic Strength ranked No. 11 on Inc.'s 2026 Regionals: Midwest list, placing it among the fastest-growing private companies in the region.
A mother protecting her family, now helping protect yours.
Why These Women Matter
Behind every product on AwearMarket is a story. This month, those stories are about women who turned hard seasons, like a parent's illness, a child's reactions, a friend's diagnosis, or their own health struggles, into something that helps the rest of us.
When you shop from these makers, you're supporting a mission and a family, and sometimes cancer research too.
And while you're here, take one more step for your own health this month: book your screening. Because the best way to honor these women's stories is to take care of yours.
Meet the makers. Know the story. Shop with greater Awearness.