WoW Women in FemTech | Rebeka Vegelj and Jelena Sangarelo, co-founders of Melon & Lime

Rebeka Vegelj is a co-founder and CEO of Melon & Lime. Before starting Melon & Lime, Rebeka worked as a Hardware Project Manager at Bellabeat, a consumer tech startup targeting women. She spent 9 months in China where she worked directly with many different manufacturers, specializing in plastic, glass, electronics, leather goods, packaging, and wood. Although she is currently busy running her company, she also helps other entrepreneurs develop their own products. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana and has a Bachelor Degree in Art Restoration.

Jelena Sangarelo is a co-founder and Art Director of Melon & Lime. She’s specialized in the development of the brand and visual identity, digital marketing design and ideation as well as execution of marketing campaigns. She’s designed brand identities for companies such as Polleo sport, Arafak group, 1000 flowers, Aronia live and Bellabeat (among others), where she also led the team of graphic designers.

At Melon & Lime, they take feeling good seriously. Understanding both the connection between the body and mind as well as the effect regular yoga and meditation practices have on finding (and keeping!) that mindful presence, their products represent a visually pleasing, simple and effective invitation to take five for yourself.

When they first got the idea for Melon & Lime, they simply wanted to create beautiful yoga mats that would motivate people to practice and stretch. However, it soon became clear that they can do a whole lot more, which is why they created mats that are functional and at the same time inspiring.

With the help of NFC technology, their mats are connected to an app that allows users to find inspiration through a bunch of guided yoga and meditation videos in order to make the most of their time on the mat.

Rebeka, Jelena, tell us a bit about yourself, your background, how did you two meet? 

Rebeka: Hey, I’m Rebeka! I am an Art Restorer by education and when I was younger I thought that being locked to a computer behind an office desk would be the universe’s worst possible punishment. As it turns out it’s really not that bad, as long as it’s under your own terms (laughs). Jelena and I met during the two years I spent living and working in Zagreb. We worked for a startup and really hit it off professionally as well as with friends.

Jelena: And I’m Jelena, a graphic designer, but also a big plant and food lover. I’m very into design solutions, bold colours, but mostly into creating brands that are fun. Rebeka and I met while working for a startup in Croatia, where we first became friends. Through work we developed great respect and trust for one another - this is how the idea for Melon & Lime first came to be and I have to say that after 4 years in business we are still best friends and have a fantastic working dynamic. 

What’s the story behind Melon & Lime? What inspired you to create it? 

Rebeka: We both see yoga as a very joyful experience. The idea behind Melon & Lime came from simple necessity at first - we couldn’t find a yoga brand that we would truly identify with. Most products on the market at the time were still dark in colour, but also addressed the practice as either extremely sublime or overly serious. We were also fixated on the idea of showing sceptics that yoga can essentially be a very fun and easy way to get to know yourself, body and mind included.  As for the name: we wanted it to be juicy, colourful and no-pressure. 

What started as a simple quest to create a colourful, relaxed and cheerful brand of yoga and relaxation accessories, soon developed into a lot more. We both had busy schedules and agreed that the hardest (and most time-consuming) part of the practice is always to actually choose the right exercise. So we connected our mats to an app and filled it with plenty of content in the form of classes, given by teachers we personally know and respect. The workouts come in a variety of lengths and are clustered according to what the customer wants to get from each exercise. The app is also easy to access - all you have to do is scan the smart tag on the mat and you’re good to go. See what I mean when I say yoga should be fun? 

Describe Melone & Lime in three words. 

Rebeka: Joyful yoga experience.

Jelena: Playfulness, freedom, peace.

Melon & Lime mat connects with an app. How does it work exactly? What would be your advice for anyone who is new to yoga, where and how to start? 

Jelena: It’s a super simple concept, actually. Every mat (and meditation cushion, for that matter) has a smart tag that unlocks the “Me Time” app with flow yoga classes, pranayamas, restorative yoga and meditations. This way you have everything in one place, plus we’re constantly updating the content to make sure there’s always something exciting to return to. 

Rebeka: I believe it is still best to start yoga by going to the studio at least for a few sessions. That is if you haven’t practised anything similar before. The teacher will correct you and you will get a sense of how it should feel. As for starting your own yoga practice at home the best advice would be to just start and discover what feels good - both during the practice and especially afterwards. 

What’s your best selling product and why?

Jelena: Our yoga mats, the wonder tool for beginners and intermediate yogis! They’re our first and core product and embody the essence of the brand - a fun, no-fuss tool to brighten your daily practice while also inspiring you to aim higher. On top of that, we also have various accessories - from mat cleaners, bricks, stretching straps and meditation cushions. And we’re about to launch yoga towels that are made from 100% recycled material and designed by a renowned illustrator. 

The wellness industry is booming at the moment. Where do you see it going in the future? What does the future of wellness look like in your opinion?

Rebeka: The narrative around health has massively changed in recent years. If previous generations only worried about their health when they fell ill, new generations emphasise the importance of preventive healthcare for longevity, youthful appearance and even mental health. Long-term health and wellbeing can be achieved by small lifestyle changes and I believe we’re now at the stage where wellbeing practices are no longer just a trend but are becoming a constant in our daily lives. I think the future of wellness is in the personalization and accessibility of content and products through technology. Even before the pandemic, we could see a rise of brands that specialized in high-quality at-home workouts, like Peloton or Mirror and the year in lockdown certainly fuelled them further. 

Jelena: As the collective consciousness changes, almost every individual is trying to find the balance between work, fun, and inner peace, which gives wellness a lot of power. On top of that the mere word, wellness, connects to almost every aspect of our lives - family, relationships, fitness, beauty, nutrition and so on. We see a lot of potential in that. Since there’s a lot of competition on the market, we strive to be different and more innovative than your average brand, which can sometimes seem challenging, but it also pushes us forward and helps us develop further. 

How has the pandemic affected your business? Have you noticed any changes in the way your customers behave, communicate, adopt new features? 

Jelena: We are very lucky to be able to say that our business grew a lot during the pandemic. I believe many people experienced the lockdown as an opportunity to work on themselves and just figured that a combination of a yoga mat and an app is a simple and effective start. 

Tell us more about your entrepreneurial journey...what were some of the challenges you’ve faced along the way, and what are the things you enjoy the most about being an entrepreneur? 

Jelena: As a young person who loves and celebrates life, and develops new ideas every day, it was challenging to focus on just one thing. I believe that many people who go into production face the same problem. You want too much, too soon, you have so many ideas, but budgets are small, and the vision is huge… The most difficult thing was to direct these factors in one direction and calm the confusing surrounding emotion. Along with emotion, money is always the biggest barrier, but sometimes this is exactly what forces you into becoming smarter and more efficient. 

Rebeka: There were many challenges of course - as Jelena put it, we had so many ideas and wanted to realize them all at once - which is impossible even with an unlimited budget (laughs). We’re a small team and we have to constantly find the motivation and energy to move forward even when things don’t necessarily go our way. This is a burden and a blessing in one, but at the end of the day, the ability to work on something that fulfils your own vision is the greatest thing you can have because it ultimately gives you freedom. 

How to create a brand people love? How important is social media today in building a brand? 

Jelena: Just be yourself and don’t be afraid of your vision and where it can take you. People like to feel ‘you’ through the brand they buy, they like to be trendy, they like beautiful and design-oriented products, they like to be innovative and different. Social networks allow us to show emotion, to show effort and development as well as our story, ups and downs included. 

Rebeka: Social media is very important for a brand like ours. We try to share content that is beautiful and also entertaining/educational. So we actually invest a lot of time in our social channels. Unfortunately, we recently had to re-start our Instagram account due to some hiccups with the previous one - we were blocked for no apparent reason and experienced other setbacks. I hope we’ll soon be able to recuperate all the lost followers! With that in mind, here’s some shameless self-promotion: do check our Instagram and if you like what we do, please follow us! 😀

What’s next for Melon & Lime? 

Jelena: We would like to take a step up and create a simple way for people to stay on top of everything health-related, from exercise, nutrition and sleep to mental health. We are developing the structure for this new platform right now and are looking forward to the day we’ll be able to share it with everyone (laughs).

Rebeka: That’s right, we’d like to introduce a 360° approach to health, and help people embark on a journey of self-care and a healthy lifestyle.

What is the most important piece of advice you could give to anyone who wants to start their brand in wellness? 

Rebeka: Aim for quality and good customer support. I cannot stress the importance of good customer service enough - regardless if you are a tiny bootstrapping brand or a company that’s successfully raised a large investment. 

Jelena: This is the most beautiful industry, there is room for everyone. Just stick to your ideals, aim for quality, and success will come. Work hard but don’t forget to have fun and enjoy what you’ve created. Oh, and always stand behind your brand. It pays off in the end, promised! <3

Who are three inspirational women in Wellness / Health Tech you admire?

Rebeka: I really like Sara Blakely, she is super badass and has a very inspiring story. Not sure if we could categorize Spanx as a wellness company, though. I follow Ella Woodward, the founder of Deliciously Ella and am amazed by what she managed to accomplish. A great one is also my fellow Slovenian Karin Velikonja, the woman behind Glowinface, she is a world-renowned face yoga instructor and a single force behind her fast-growing brand.

 Jelena: I find Urška Sršen (Bellabeat) and Karin Velikonja (Glowinface) very inspiring. Along with interesting innovative women, I am inspired by the beauty of product design, floral design, graphic design, fashion and music, which will often be the inspiration for creating new products for Melon & Lime.

Find out more about Melon & Lime on their website.

Follow them on Instagram and Facebook.

Connect with Rebeka and Jelena on LinkedIn.

This interview was conducted by Anja Streicher, Chief Marketing Officer at Women of Wearables. Anja is passionate about women’s health & wellness and is inspired every day by WoW women in tech and business who are changing lives with their innovative products.