Our Story
Small boobs, big dreams
The story of Pepper
It started with tube socks, then chicken cutlet inserts, then finally teetering on the idea of breast augmentation. For many women, there seems to be one part of our body that we wish could be different...“better”. For me, it was my small chest.
Looking in the mirror made me feel inadequate because all too often my body didn’t meet the “minimum boob requirements” to wear certain clothes. Why do swimsuits make me look like a boy? Why can’t a strapless dress stay on me? Why can’t I fill ANY of these bras? Bras in particular made me feel the worst about my body.
Imagine if we obsessed about the things we loved about ourselves instead. Media and pop culture today don’t make that easy. False standards have created expectations that I literally could not fill.
But that got me thinking: Is it my body that needs to change to fit in, or should more companies change the way their clothes fit bodies?
After searching, buying, and returning countless bras, I realized there isn’t an affordable, flattering, and comfortable bra out there made just for small cup sizes. One-size-fits-all designs and marketing by mass retail stores marginalize certain body types, rather than solving specific small boob issues (hello, gaps!). Speciality lingerie companies price their bras upwards of $80, which I think is just too much for something that likely isn’t going to fit anyway. Push-up bras feel fake and heavy, and bralettes don’t give enough coverage.
So I figured it was finally time someone tackled this big problem, for small breasts.
Hey there, my name is Jaclyn and my background is in marketing and bringing technology products to market, so let’s say I knew nothing about bras except that the current ones I wear aren’t good enough. While enthusiastically explaining this idea to a colleague one day, sparks, confetti and lightbulbs flew, and I had inadvertently found my co-founder that day.
I’d like to introduce to you, Lia. Lia has the analytical, financial and operational smarts to turn this petite idea into a real business, and the entrepreneurial drive to get us there. While I was on the small side of the boob spectrum, Lia was on the complete opposite end! Our passion for more diversity in the media, body positivity, and frustration with companies promoting a single body type, led to the founding of Pepper.
Pepper’s mission is to empower women by helping them feel beautiful and confident in the body they have.
Fast forward a year, and quite a few prototypes later, we now have a design that we’re ready to take to the next level. The Pepper ‘All-You’ Bra cups, lifts, and celebrates what you got, so that you feel authentically you in a bra made just for you. This is a bra that makes small boobs look and FEEL awesome. Your body is perfect the way it is, and now there’s a bra that will make you feel that way.
Thank you for your support as we solve this big problem for small-chested women.
Love,
Jaclyn & Lia