Exploring Life & Business with Sarah Kallile of Lunnie

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Kallile.

Hi Sarah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Moms are the ones to turn to when there’s a problem to be solved. This was the case for Sarah Kallile, a Dayton, Ohio mom who caught a glimpse of her frumpy, lumpy nursing bra in the mirror in those hazy and difficult postpartum days. She took it off once and for all, and vowed to moms everywhere to invent something that actually served their needs in such a vulnerable, yet powerful time of life.

She turned to other moms — hundreds of them — to gather internal data, finding that 84% of them were also less than thrilled with the nursing bra options on the market. That’s how Lunnie was born. She enlisted the help of her own mother, and hundreds of moms she calls her “Lunnie Hive” who chimed in on multiple rounds of design changes to create the perfect nursing bra.

The result? A patented bra, recently awarded as a Scary Mommy’s best nursing bra, with sewn-in pads, that is 6x more leakproof than competitors. But her founder story doesn’t stop there. As a former big tech leader who hated the politics of VC funding, she made her way to the top of her market with $0 spent in marketing and funding it by winning 4 major pitch competitions totaling over $100k.

As a mom of three young girls now, she and other satisfied customers even still wear their nursing bras beyond their nursing years. Sarah sees this as just one of the many steps breastfeeding, postpartum mothers need to support their journeys. She’s partnering with hospitals for further impact.

She’s proof that with one determined mom, we can equip postpartum moms with products to feel pretty and powerful, not underwhelmed and covered in leaks.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Entrepreneurship has a funny way of turning roadblocks into stepping stones.

One of Sarah’s biggest challenges was manufacturing the Lunnie bra. She spoke with dozens of small-batch manufacturers across the country, and nearly all of them said the same thing: no. Only one manufacturer — based in Columbus, Ohio — believed in the idea and helped bring the first version of Lunnie to life.

But producing the bra at a small scale came with astronomical costs, leaving Sarah breaking even on every sale.

Determined to build a sustainable business, she began searching for a larger manufacturing partner and spent an entire year prototyping with a reputable global bra manufacturer. Yet despite countless iterations, they couldn’t get the product right. The pressure to simplify the design and make it look more like traditional nursing bras grew stronger with each round of samples.

Sarah refused to compromise on the features that made Lunnie different. She walked away from the partnership, leaving behind a year’s worth of time, money, and prototypes. Then came a recommendation from an acquaintance and an introduction to a new manufacturing partner in Vietnam. Not only were they able to recreate the Lunnie bra — they improved it.

In 2024, Sarah relaunched with Lunnie 2.0, featuring greater leakproof coverage, expanded sizing, and new colors. Sometimes the biggest breakthroughs come right after walking away from the wrong opportunity. For Sarah, it was proof that trusting your instincts can make all the difference.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Lunnie is a women-owned, mom-founded brand redefining the nursing bra with patented leakproof technology and elevated design. Founded by Sarah Kallile after her own postpartum experience, the brand addresses a common frustration for breastfeeding mothers: bulky, unreliable nursing pads. Its flagship bra features sewn-in leakproof pads and is lab tested to be up to 6x more absorbent than traditional options. Lunnie combines comfort, confidence, and style to support mothers through breastfeeding and beyond.

Since our last Voyage Ohio article in 2022, Lunnie was awarded both utility and design patents for its innovative bra. Lunnie won the 2023 Soin Award for Innovation and 2025 Dayton Startup Week Pitch Competition. The company relaunched Lunnie 2.0 with more leakproof coverage, extended sizing, and colors in 2024.

Lunnie is currently in conversations with larger brands to bring our patented leakproof technology and premium design to even more moms.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Nationally, I found an incredible community early on through Female Founders Collective, which provides education and resources for women-owned businesses. In fact, the very first pitch competition I won was with FFC in 2021. At the time, Lunnie was little more than a prototype my mom had sewn at home, but founders Rebecca Minkoff and Ali Wyatt saw the potential before the product even existed on the market. I’ve stayed closely involved with FFC ever since and enjoy attending their annual conference.

Closer to home, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to build Lunnie in Dayton, where organizations like The Entrepreneurs’ Center have become invaluable partners. Through their network, I connected with mentors who helped me secure patents, win grant funding, and open doors to local hospitals that now provide Lunnie bras as gifts for new moms.

As Lunnie grows, one of the most rewarding parts of the journey has been paying that support forward. I love talking with aspiring founders and people sitting on an idea they’re afraid to pursue. Starting a business is intimidating, and almost no one feels fully ready.

You don’t need all the answers to begin. You just need to take the first step.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lunnie.com
• Instagram: @lunnie
• Facebook: @lunniehive
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/71894528
• Other: Tiktok @lunniebra