Scaling a family owned business with a service that supports women after birth

STOB has been helping Czechs lose weight — and, more importantly, keep it off — for over thirty years. Founded by psychologist Iva Málková, the company introduced a cognitive-behavioural approach to obesity long before it became mainstream. Instead of miracle diets or supplements, STOB teaches people to recognise their habits, understand what drives them, and build long-term behavioural change.

When the next generation — Martin, Hanka, and Zuzka — began taking over the family business, they reached out to us for help redefining how STOB could deliver its expertise in today's world.

After an initial digital audit, we were invited to help design a new service for women after birth.

The topic was close to my heart — both for its human depth and social complexity. In Czechia, more than 60 % of adults are overweight and 20 % live with obesity. Women, especially mothers, face an additional challenge: they are often the main caregivers at home and at the same time work full-time jobs.

STOB already delivered terrific result via their courses, but often after leaving the support group, people fell back to the old behavioural patterns.

Our design question became:

We began with a customer persona definition based on STOB's long-term experience. Most women who seek STOB's help have children aged ten or older — a moment in life when they finally have space to think about themselves again.

Many had already tried diets or exercise programs but kept falling back into old habits. Their problem wasn't knowledge — it was consistency and support.

To understand broader dynamics, we also created a trend report exploring international health and wellness services for women. The goal wasn't to copy them, but to identify patterns of sustainable motivation and community support we could adapt to STOB's context.

With those insights, we designed the first iteration of a support community and structured programme that helps women gradually rebuild their relationship with their body.

Because STOB is a small family company, budget efficiency was key. We prototyped fast, tested immediately, and iterated based on user feedback.

STOB has now launched the first version of the service while measuring conversion rates across each step of the customer journey. Our team continues supporting STOB using insights to refine the product.