Pleroma Patch, a South African innovative wellness brand creating plant-based patches to support sleep, recovery, and menstrual health.

Vanessa Mhlom is the founder and CEO of Pleroma Patch and is a 2025 Veuve Clicquot Bold Future Award finalist. Pleroma Patch is a modern wellness brand pioneering a simpler, smarter way to care for your body, through transdermal vitamin patches. Pleroma’s discreet, plant-based patches support sleep, recovery, and menstrual health. Driven by her belief that dignified self-care should be a right, not a luxury, she is developing the ‘Patch It Forward’ initiative, a give-back model that channels a portion of each purchase toward expanding access to wellness essentials like menstrual and sleep support for underserved women and girls.

Lioness Weekender spoke to the inspirational Vanessa Mhlom to find out more about what drives her in life and in business.

When did your start your business?

Pleroma officially launched in 2024, but the vision had been quietly growing in my heart long before that, shaped by my personal journey, a deep desire to create something meaningful, and a calling I could no longer ignore. Today, the business has created jobs for 5 people to date.

What does your company do?

Pleroma is a wellness brand that creates vitamin transdermal patches designed to support real life. Whether it’s boosting recovery, easing menstrual symptoms, or enhancing sleep, we offer clean, science-backed solutions for people who want to feel their best - without pills, pressure, or complexity.

What inspired you to start your company?

My own healing journey. There were seasons when my body felt overwhelmed, my energy was depleted, and I didn’t have the capacity for complicated wellness routines. I wanted to create something that was simple, elegant, and effective - wellness that works in the background while you show up for your life. Pleroma is inspired by that need for restoration, and by all the people navigating life with quiet courage.

What makes your business, service or product special?

Pleroma blends modern science with deep intention. Our patches are vegan, water-resistant, paraben-free, and sensitive skin-friendly - but more than that, they are rooted in care. Every detail, from the ingredients to the design, is chosen with love. It’s wellness that feels good and does good - inside and out.

Tell us a little about your team

My team is made up of passionate, purpose-driven women who believe in building differently. We’re strategic and soulful, data-minded but heart-led. Everyone wears many hats, and we move as a unit - always remembering that we’re not just building a brand, we’re creating a legacy.

Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?

My entrepreneurial journey began long before Pleroma - in the quiet conviction I carried as a young girl watching my parents build with grace, resilience, and unwavering belief. My father is a visionary with the rare gift of turning dreams into strategy, and my mother is a nurturer whose strength lies in her softness - quietly anchoring everything she touches. They taught me that success means nothing if it doesn’t serve others, and that excellence must always be rooted in integrity.

I always knew I would become an entrepreneur, but I made myself a promise: I would only step into that calling if I found something I wholeheartedly believed in - something that could positively impact millions of lives. I didn’t want to build for ego or income alone. I wanted to build something that heals. That restores. That matters. Pleroma is the fulfilment of that promise.

What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?

We’re expanding our product range and presence both locally and globally. I envision Pleroma on shelves across continents, in gym bags, on bedside tables - quietly transforming wellness rituals everywhere. But more than scale, I dream of impact: creating jobs, building ecosystems, and inspiring women to lead with purpose.

What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?

The moments when someone says, “I feel better because of your product.”
Or when a young woman says, “You showed me it’s possible.”
That ripple effect - that’s the real reward. Knowing that something I created is helping people feel seen, supported, and strong.

What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?

Trust your knowing. The world will give you reasons to doubt, delay, or downplay your dream - but you must choose to begin anyway. Start where you are, with what you have. Be bold. Ask for help. Stay rooted in your ‘why’. And never forget: you carry answers that only you can give the world.

To find out more about Pieroma Patch, send an email to: vanessa@pleromapatch.co.za or visit the company’s website and social media pages.

Website: https://www.pleromapatch.co.za/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Pleroma-Patch/61568610091058/#

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pleromapatch/