Twinberry Honeysuckle and The Story of Our Brand Name

The inception of our new anti-aging garment brand in 2020 meant that we would need a name. For those of us who are parents, we have been tasked with this monumental challenge before. I remember I had compiled a small list of potential names in my smart phone, only to find seven months into my pregnancy that it seemed to be a list of inadequate names. Using a baby name book did not make it much easier. Trying to read and process thousands of names, their origins, and meanings was more than overwhelming. Disappointingly, I could not even get the focus or will to complete the letter “A” section, let alone the entire book. This time, I found that attempting to name a company was seemingly even harder than naming a child. There is no reference book such as the daunting baby name book. There was no reasonable or helpful resource either. To begin, I compiled a list of nouns and adjectives of the vision for the brand: anti-aging, health, beauty, breasts, bra, lingerie, confidence, youth, empowerment, etc.

Serendipitously, in my quest for descriptive nouns, I had looked into lists of representative animals, themes, and plants. In my research of different types of plants for ideas and came across this berry plant: the Twinberry Honeysuckle. This flowering plant has shiny round, paired or “twin” berries that are dark and black in color. Delving into the inevitable Google whirlpool led to the many historical North American native usages of Twinberry. Being a surgeon, I took interest in the many medicinal benefits of this plant. People had applied its bark to burn wounds to help healing. This really spoke to me and took me back to my surgical training. Many people do not realize that burn reconstruction is a major part of plastic surgery training. As a second year resident, we typically run the burn unit and surgical intensive care unit for three months. Our patients would vary from pediatric scald burns to victims of house fires with 85% total body surface area burns. Can you imagine if we treated some of these burns with Twinberry bark?

Interestingly, the Twinberry plant was extremely versatile. North American native tribes used Twinberry for other medicinal purposes. Its extract and leaves were utilized as eyewash. Gastrointestinal benefits of the fruits included pectoral treatments of stomach complaints. Its bark was also used as a disinfectant. Of note, in today’s world, this plant has little or no uses in modern herbalism.

As a plastic surgeon, I was tickled to find that the Twinberry plant also had aesthetic uses. Native American groups such as the Kwakwaka’wakw, Haida and Quileute extracted dye and black pigment from the berries. Some have described rubbing the berries onto the scalp as a hair tonic and to prevent greyness. It sounds like Twinberry was the original Just For Men! In addition, application of mashed Twinberry fruit to the scalp was believed to help with reducing dandruff.

The final A-ha moment was when our internet research uncovered an association of Twinberry with breasts. The decoction of the bark has been used as a galactogogue and applied to a woman’s breasts to encourage milk flow. The ideas of nourishment and health are core values of our brand as a portion of our profits goes to No Kid Hungry, a nonprofit organization that fights poverty in the United States. Furthermore, the paired berries of this plant bear a resemblance to paired breasts. At last, there was one usage of Twinberry that really caught my attention; Its bark was woven with willow bark to create garments. At that moment, the answer was glaring. Twinberry had obvious ties to breasts, anti-aging and garments, all over which were important to our budding brand. It was obvious that the universe was essentially telling us, “Hey, pay attention. Twinberry is your new brand.” We were more than happy to listen.

A logo is always of extreme importance to any brand recognition. We had envisioned a brand that supported women’s body parts, particularly, the breasts early on. The logo was already going to have paired beautiful representations of fullness that would resemble the nurturing feminine form. Incorporating the Twinberry plant seemed almost organic, no pun intended. Its paired berries were perfect to depict in our beautiful logo.

I wish we had a more riveting, ground-breaking story about the inception of the Twinberry name, but sometimes, it is that simple: it’s a coincidence or a stumble upon an essential piece of information that just clicks. Whatever it may be, we all hope that you will love our brand and what it represents: To help women to protect and love their bodies for years to come.