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Aug 26, 2023

Ginger + Dandelion Launches Bloat

A new brand is trying uncomplicate the relationship women have with their jeans by letting their “bloat breathe.” Launching in August, Ginger + Dandelion will offer the “first-ever bloat-friendly”

A new brand is trying uncomplicate the relationship women have with their jeans by letting their “bloat breathe.”

Launching in August, Ginger + Dandelion will offer the “first-ever bloat-friendly” jeans for the 75 percent of women who experience the disruptive digestive issue for reasons ranging from hormones and long-haul flights to post-surgery and post-pregnancy recovery.

The jeans feature “Tummy Technology,” a trademarked construction that includes a relaxed contoured waistband that lays flat on the stomach and a panel that smooths and reduces the visibility of bloating while expanding to make room for the bloat. In bloating wear tests, bloating can cause stomachs to grow up to 3 inches. Tummy Technology was engineered to accommodate comfort during bloating.

Named after ginger and dandelion tea—a natural remedy often used to soothe a bloated stomach—the brand is the brainchild of Nicole Berger, a New Jersey-based former Bloomberg engineer who has long experienced stomach problems due to celiac disease and IBS, or irritable bowel syndrome. Bloating became a big issue for the life-long jean wearer.

“I was so uncomfortable wearing jeans, to the point where I had to give up wearing jeans which was very sad. And for years, I’ve tried to figure out the best way to dress my new bloated body and came up with different things but obviously confidence was really lacking,” she said.

Finding an online community of women who experienced similar health and shopping woes ultimately led Berger to take the leap into the fashion industry. She started by connecting with New York City-based denim expert and consultant, Christine Rucci, to help develop the technology that brings the line to life.

“It was very important to me to find someone who understood bloating and it was a very personal story to them. I’d want it to be as authentic as possible,” Berger said. “When I mentioned bloating to Christine, she just lit up and it hit home with her, and she already had a billion ideas.”

Leveraging Rucci’s industry connections, and by pooling orders from several small brands to meet suppliers’ minimums, Rucci and Berger were able to secure the nuts and bolts for Ginger + Dandelion in just under a year. Fabrics are sourced from Turkish mill Orta, trims come from Argentina-based Apholos and the jeans are manufactured at Star Fades International (SFI) in Commerce, Calif.

“Reshoring and contracting are sort of really complicated tasks, but I have such a well-oiled machine after 20 years of making in America that I can get things moving fast,” Rucci said.

Just four prototypes later, the duo landed on two fits for the launch: a slim jean with a clean wash made with super-stretch fabric containing post-consumer cotton and Lycra EcoMade fibers, and a girlfriend jean with a vintage-inspired wash made with cotton, Tencel and 1 percent stretch fabric.

“Like people, it’s what’s on the inside that counts,” Rucci said about the fibers and how the fabrics are engineered.

Sustainability is baked into the brand. Rucci noted that the trims from Apholos are made from recycled copper and the jeans are washed and finished with water- and energy-reducing technologies like ozone and laser. The jeans will be shipped in recyclable, compostable mailers.

Jeans designed for fluctuating weight have emerged since 2020, but Berger points out that Ginger + Dandelion is not a “one-size-fits-many” jean or a compression jean featuring adaptive fibers. “I love what the other denim brands are doing… but that is solving a different problem,” she said.

Creating a consistent size and fit is top of mind for the online direct-to-consumer brand. “I think that the first thing that we really want to hone down on is sizing,” Berger said. “There are all types of bloated bodies out there and all types of shapes and we want to make sure that we’re making the appropriate sizing for all these women who are looking for the jeans. And then after that [we] would love to expand into different fits.”

Berger added that a wide-leg fit, a black jean for holiday, and jeans dyed with botanical materials are on her to-do list.

Bloating may not be a fashionable topic, but Berger has found her audience. A mix of fashion, IBS and celiac influencers will begin to tease the collection on Aug. 8. The brand will also tap into IBS and celiac Facebook groups to connect with that community.

Ginger + Dandelion will launch online in the U.S. on Aug. 10. Jeans will retail for $198 and come in sizes 24-34.

“These are [for] women who gave up on wearing jeans or don’t like wearing jeans, and we wanted to make sure both fits felt very flattering to them,” Berger said. “They’re gaining their confidence back and that’s what they lost through this whole process.”

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