Six years ago, Elysia Krstevski stood in a grocery store aisle with a screaming newborn and a bottle of expressed breastmilk she couldn’t warm. It was the middle of the COVID pandemic—cafés and parents’ rooms were closed, and the pain of mastitis made breastfeeding unbearable.
“In utter desperation, I ran to the car and breastfed through excruciating pain,” she said. “It was horrendous.”
The moment stayed with her.
If no solution existed for warming milk on the go, she would create one.
A product born from frustration
Krstevski was already leading a performing arts company when she began designing the Meke Baby Portable Milk Warmer in 2023. She launched it while caring for a toddler and a newborn, selling over 10,000 units in the first year. By 2025, the company had expanded its line to include the Go-Box, a cordless lunchbox warmer, and the Express Formula PRO Milk Warmer—all while she was in labor with her third child.
The startup’s growth earned Krstevski a place on Inside Small Business’s Top 50 Small Business Leaders list in 2025 and Inside Retail’s Top 50 People in E-commerce this year. Retail wasn’t the original plan. “My focus was proving the problem was real and that parents needed a better solution,” she said. “We started online, listened to customers, and built a community around the brand.”
That community’s feedback convinced her to scale. After three years of effort—including a trip to Dandenong to deliver product samples—she secured a deal with Baby Bunting, Australia’s largest baby retailer.
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From niche solution to national retailer
Krstevski’s products didn’t fit an existing category. “We were asking the country’s biggest baby retailer to support a new way of feeding on the go,” she said. The partnership required rebranding Meke Baby to reflect a broader mission: solving parenting challenges, not just selling feeding tools.
The change comes as parents become more aware of microplastics. Research links plastic exposure, especially at high temperatures, to risks for reproductive health, brain development, and cancer. Her products aim to reduce those risks. “The rebrand shows our commitment to setting a new standard,” she said. “We’re making items that grow with families through different childhood stages.”
For many parents, portable warmers offer more than convenience. They restore small moments of control in lives that often feel overwhelming. A device that heats a bottle in minutes can prevent a meltdown during a car ride or turn a stressful grocery trip into a manageable one.
The Baby Bunting partnership marks a key moment. “It proves parents were ready for a new standard,” Krstevski said. “For us, it’s not just about shelf space. It’s about creating a new category and making innovative feeding solutions more accessible.”
A theatrical approach to marketing
Krstevski’s arts background influences how she promotes the brand.
Products are now available in Baby Bunting stores across the country. The Twist Bottle, the newest addition, is already gaining attention. Whether it becomes a diaper bag essential remains uncertain—but for parents like Krstevski, it represents progress.
