Designed and developed by physician Martin Jordanov, and his wife Wendy Jordanov, Huggaroo.com launched in 2016. In four years, the company has become a market leader and the preferred brand to consumers in the comfort and wellness industry.
Huggaroo.com manufactures and sells microwavable heating pads, eye masks, weighted blankets for children and adults, weighted lap pads, and sensory compression bed sheets (the Huggaroo Pouch™). Products are now sold on Amazon.com, Macys.com, Walmart.com, TheGrommet.com, and Wayfair.com and are available to customers in the USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Holland, and Spain. The brand has also been featured on The Today Show and on ChicagoTribune.com, Parade.com, Forbes.com, Inc.com, RD.com, Bustle.com, EliteDaily.com, and countless other media outlets.
Huggaroo.com has partnered with a leading children’s nonprofit, One Simple Wish, an organization that is dedicated to helping raise awareness about foster care and fulfill wishes from children in foster care. The company is also a supporter of ChildHelp, Ronald McDonald House Charities, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Metro Nashville Public Schools, Acoustics for Autism, and more. In 2020, Huggaroo has given over $100,000 in products and donations to nonprofits across the country. To see the entire product line, please visit Huggaroo.com.
Wendy Jordanov serves as the CEO of Huggaroo, where she oversees the day-to-day operations of the business and develops strategies that align with short-term objectives and long-range goals. She also holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and Research and was an Associate Professor at Tennessee State University prior to starting Huggaroo.
Her husband, Martin Jordanov serves as the Chief Technology Officer of Huggaroo.com. In this role, he leads all technological functions and researches new technologies that can enhance the company’s competitive market positioning. Dr. Jordanov holds an MD from the University of Tennessee Center for Health Science.
The couple lives in Nashville, Tennessee with their two boys.
Can you share your top three lifestyle tips that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing?
At Huggaroo.com, we believe in the three following lifestyle tips:
- Be kind to yourself. Talk to yourself the way you would talk to your best friend. Resist judgment and self-criticism.
- Practice mindfulness. Focus on now. Carpe Diem (enjoy the moment). Be fully present.
- Be okay with making mistakes because mistakes will happen, persevere, get back up, be willing to pivot, be flexible. “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” Albert Einstein
When it comes to wellness, how is Huggaroo.com helping to make a bigger impact in the world?
At Huggaroo, we are focused on sharing wellness and comfort products with people who are stressed, anxious, tired, and hurting. People are suffering and struggling. Stress, anxiety, insomnia, and pain wear people down. We are meeting this challenge by providing Huggaroo weighted neck and shoulder wraps, headache wraps, hot/cold eye masks and weighted blankets to help soothe and relax.
Children sometimes struggle with bedtime: they are wired and full of nervous energy just when parents are exhausted and ready for sleep. We’ve found that we can meet this challenge with our Huggaroo weighted lap pads and the Huggaroo Pouch (a stretchy compression bedsheet), that can help children release pent up energy, unwind, fall asleep, and stay asleep through the night.
As we serve our community and reach out to people across our country, we are seeing more and more needs. We are doing our best to help our community. This year alone, we’ve donated over $100,000 in products to nonprofits that align with our mission.
Children in the foster care system often feel alone, scared and sometimes forgotten. We have committed to giving a percentage of our profits each year to a special organization, One Simple Wish, a non-profit organization which grants wishes to children in foster care across the country. Wishes for things others might take for granted: a new pair of shoes, a first baby doll, a bicycle helmet, groceries, or a swimsuit. The founder, Danielle Gletow, was nominated as a top 10 CNN Hero in 2013. We love being able to give to this great cause. We encourage you to please reach out and make a wish come true, too. You’ll be so glad you did.
How do you stay focused as a busy entrepreneur and mom?
I want my children to know that they come first. As an entrepreneur, the job feels like it is 24/7 and it is sometimes a juggling act to fill the roles of Mom and Entrepreneur simultaneously. I’ve found that simple things like solid eye contact, lots of hugs and snuggles, and undistracted spans of attention are essential to my children’s happiness and mine. As long as I remember that and don’t let work take over, we are able to find a happy balance.
My boys are 10 and 12 and are already interested in the world of business, so I try to share information about the day to day activities, major glitches and mistakes, and exciting successes with them. It is a family venture. We are in this together.
What’s your best tip to balancing work and life?
It’s a daily struggle. We need to set boundaries. If we don’t, no one will. I set multiple alarms to remind me to take regular work breaks during the day to help me balanced, focused, and energized. In the evenings and on weekends, I block off time just for family with no electronics and no work interruptions.
What are some of the ways we can de-stress and relax this holiday season?
We have all been under a lot of stress this year, but there are a few ways we can de-stress this holiday season:
- Focus on self-care. Pamper yourself. Read a book. Stretch and do yoga. Aim for a healthy diet.
- Go outside and indulge in the beauty of nature. Being in nature reduces stress, fear, anger, blood pressure, muscle tension, and heart rate. Nature helps us feel better physically and emotionally.
- Stay hydrated. Being well-hydrated improves mood, cognition, cardiovascular health, kidney function, and sleep quality.
- Changing the way you think about stress can make you healthier.
- Reach out to friends and loved ones. Even if it’s just a short phone call, it is important to connect. Social connection improves physical and psychological wellbeing.
- Make sleep a priority and stick to a consistent sleep routine.
- Lower expectations and focus on the moment. Let go of past struggles, resist worrying about the future, and be better able to live in and soak up the now.
Does Huggaroo.com have other products that will launch this year?
We have recently launched our two newest Microwavable Neck Wraps both with washable covers and filled with flaxseeds and clay beads for deep, therapeutic heat (Lavender and Unscented). This fall, we are also launching our double layered, Sherpa Healing Thoughts Blankets and Sherpa Friends Blankets (Turquoise and Dark Grey).
How can readers get in touch with you?
Please feel free to email me at [email protected]