How “Two Hot Guys” Ended Up Making Lactation Nut Butter For Breastfeeding Mums

The idea for the venture was conceived during a casual chat over lunch last September. Chee Leong had just been made redundant from his job in an Australian human resource tech company, so David, a benefits broker whom he met via LinkedIn a few months prior, suggested they start a business together.

“I told David I used to roast char siew and sio bak for the residents in my condo and that I was also roasting nuts for my family. I bragged about how delicious they are, so we decided we should roast something to sell,” Chee Leong tells 8days.sg.

But they didn’t want to just create any old food product. “It had to solve a problem that is not easily solved”. Chee Leong recalled the challenges his wife faced with breast milk supply when they had their son three years ago, a time she still calls “the darkest period of her life”, and the idea for a lactation nut butter was born.

If you’re wondering why Chee Leong didn’t think of cooking up lactation-boosting foods for his wife back then, he says candidly: “It was impossible at the time. I was travelling quite a fair bit for work, and when I was home, the baby was always crying, and my wife’s face was very ‘black’. I just wanted to survive.”

2NutGuys currently offer three healthy almond butters: Mummy Nutmond Butter, Nutmond Butter, and Naked Nutmond Butter. Their dairy- and gluten-free Mummy Nutmond Butter is their bestseller and the only lactation nut butter on its roster at the moment. Almonds are roasted before being ground with lactation-boosting ingredients like organic chia seeds and brewer’s yeast into chunky nut butter. Almonds are high in linoleic acid and known to be the most lactogenic nut. They also contain omega-3 fatty acids, essential for helping the body’s breastfeeding hormones to regulate.

With help from mummy friends who are more than happy to be their “guinea pigs”, they researched different recipes and ingredients for more than three months, and only launched the nutmond butter after seven versions.

“It doesn’t happen to all the mummies, but many of them gave us feedback that their milk had gotten thicker in the first two days and this drives us to innovate and come up with more products,” says Chee Leong.

Though the guys are in a business that is dominated by females, they don’t see their gender and inexperience as shortcomings. In fact, they use them to their advantage.

“We don’t know anything, so we just ask the mummies. Every time when someone makes a purchase, we will follow up and ask for feedback. And surprisingly, 90 per cent of them will provide feedback, so today we are still fine-tuning our products,” shares Chee Leong.

“A product is only launched when they get their stamp of approval.”

While lactation food products like cookies and other bakes are not new, they usually contain a lot of calories, not exactly the best option for new mums who are trying to lose their baby weight. “Mummies are already struggling to slim down, so they welcome this calorie-less alternative. Our spread is also low in sugar, doesn’t contain MSG or preservatives, so they can eat it without worrying. It is also very versatile. They can have it with oats, yogurt or bread,” says Chee Leong.

Even the dads love it too. “Our customers tell us their husbands have been stealing their spread, so we created a regular version as well as a ‘naked’ one with no salt and sugar. It’s diabetic-friendly,” says David.

“Yes, guys can eat the lactation nut butter too. I try our products almost every time I make them and I haven’t lactated,” laughs Chee Leong.

From roasting nuts and making spreads at their homes to follow-ups with the mummies, the guys handle everything themselves – and this is on top of their busy day jobs (Chee Leong is now head of regional sales in a fintech company). All their products are made upon order to maintain freshness.

2NutGuys recently launched a lactation-boosting roasted almond milk with medjool dates, which has a month-long waitlist. “Every day, there are easily five DMs asking to pre-order the milk. We currently only sell eight bottles a week because delivery is a big issue. As the milk has to be chilled, we handle the deliveries ourselves and we just cannot manage,” shares David.

While they declined to reveal how many jars of nut butters they sell each month, Chee Leong says that their products have received much love from breastfeeding mothers on social media. This has given them the confidence to set up a nut lab to focus on R&D and to take their business to the next level.

“R&D is the core of our business. We aspire to change and make lactation products exciting and tasty to consume.” says Chee Leong. While their products are too niche for supermarkets, they hope to be on the shelves in hospitals and mummy-themed shops. “If we can solve [the lactation problems mothers face] and keep duplicating our success, I believe they will come knocking on our door,” says Chee Leong.

Compared to other almond butters in the market, 2NutGuys’ rich, creamy spread is chunkier, runnier, and darker hued. American almonds are roasted for 30 minutes before they are ground with ingredients like organic chia seeds which are a breastfeeding superfood and rich in protein, calcium and iron, plus cold-pressed almond oil, low-GI gula melaka, and other “secret milk-boosters” into nut butter. Because the almond butter has a runnier than usual consistency, this makes it easy to spread and mix into our yogurt — we love its nutty, toasted flavour. The chia seeds give the spread a gritty texture, which may not be for everyone, but this is precisely why we like it.

Like the mummy version, but without the milk-boosting ingredients so everyone can enjoy this. The mouthfeel isn’t that much different but it is marginally sweeter, which we prefer, and very addictive. While eating it straight from the jar is pure bliss, it’s probably best to go easy on it as we found ourselves with a sore throat the next day.

This one’s for the smooth nut butter fans. Super creamy and velvety, this healthy nut butter boasts no added salt and sugar, so it’s expected that it tastes a little bland. 2NutGuys developed the “naked” spread after receiving requests from mummies with gestational diabetes.

To order, visit 2nutguys.sg.

Photos: 2NutGuys