The Challenge
The challenge was to bring together complex mechanical requirements and the physical and emotional needs of mothers. Working closely with the Annabella team, we set out to create a breast pump that feels intuitive to use and comfortable to hold, with its main components integrated into a coherent design.
Our Design Process
This is a crucial step in the development process where we explore and design the internal and external architecture of the product. These options must comply with multiple and complex requirements, so we assess their potential and challenges to determine the best option and the best path forward.
Project Analysis /
User Experience
Before the concept design and look and feel step, we wanted to define the user experience concept in more detail and use it to guide us in designing a more functional product. During the exploration, we discovered that the connection of the cone with the bottle could also secure the main body. This solved the mechanical integration of the main parts and created an intuitive user experience.
Design Configuration/ Technological Analysis
Mechanical Concept / Proof of Concept
Working closely with the Annabella team, we conduct multiple research and tests to better understand the physical and psychological needs that we must consider in our designs, prioritizing mothers' feelings and valued inputs.
Design Strategy/ Design Concept
After a step-by-step product definition process involving all functional requirements, we explore shapes that integrate all the parts together and create a simple yet sophisticated look and feel. We utilize fully rounded volumes to ensure comfortable handling, reminiscent of holding a baby.
Engineering /Prototyping
In this step, we fully integrate and test all the parts, optimizing mechanisms while improving size, proportions, and design. We carefully select the most efficient materials and technologies to create a durable and comfortable product.
In this step, we meticulously define our designs down to the last detail. We collaborate closely with manufacturers from the early stages, implementing their feedback from the beginning, which saves time and costs.
DFM with manufacturers/ Production Support
The Results
User experience through integrated design
TRIM combined industrial design, mechanical engineering and prototyping around mothers’ needs. Rounded forms support comfortable handling, while the cone-to-bottle connection also secures the main body, linking mechanical integration with the user experience.
Technology with adjustable control
Annabella combines vacuum suction with a tongue-massage mechanism and adjustable controls. TRIM translated these requirements into the product’s physical design, refined its mechanisms and supported design for manufacturing.
From development to market
The original pump received FDA 510(k) clearance in 2023. In January 2024, Annabella announced $8.5 million in seed funding and more than 4,000 pumps sold in Israel. In 2025, Annabella Double won Baby Innovation Awards’ Portable Breast Pump Product of the Year, alongside recognition from The Bump and Mom’s Choice Awards Gold.
Sources: FDA clearance and device description; Annabella company announcement, January 2024.
