Think of Medelita LLC as a Patagonia Inc. for lab coats and scrubs—its products are pricier but come with better style and performance than the average stuff from a uniform supply shop.
It’s an approach that appears to be working—the medical apparel designer and manufacturer moved its headquarters from San Clemente to about 16,000 square feet in Laguna Hills last month, nearly tripling working space for its 16 employees, according to Chief Executive Joe Francisco, whose wife, Lara, founded the company in 2007.
Privately held Medelita doesn’t disclose financial data, but the company has some 45,000 physicians on its client roster, most of whom own two or three tailored lab coats and scrubs made with proprietary performance fabric that’s moisture wicking, breathable and inhibits bacteria growth.
“At the essence of our business is taking the traditional ubiquitous medical apparel and improving it in every conceivable way, from the fit to the fabrics to how we distribute it,” Francisco said. “[We’re] providing a fit similar to something you get at Nordstrom versus something you’re going to get in a typical uniform store. … And that’s really what’s driving our business—the desire for really professional, very comfortable, and value-driven product that does things.”
Lara spotted a gap in the marketplace while working as physician assistant for more than 10 years. She and her colleagues were wearing coats and scrubs that often did not fit properly and lacked functional features commonly found in athletic apparel, including quick drying, stretch and liquid repellence.
“We looked at the industry and said, ‘There are zero performance fabrics—zero,’ ” Joe Francisco said. “We were big outdoors people, and all our outdoors clothes were performance ones. So why don’t these uniforms that these people wear for the same length of time, and put through very strenuous situations, why don’t they do something for the wearer?”
They were inspired to create the “Gore-Tex for medical,” a fabric they called M3. It has a dobby weave and is manufactured in Taiwan, while production of lab coats and scrubs is done at cut-and-sew factories in mainland China.
Lara quit her day job and took on product design, again motivated by her old work attire—aside from performance, the Medelita products had to look and feel good.
“Historically in the industry, the majority of the lab coats and scrubs were unisex,” Joe Francisco said. “[But] it really isn’t unisex; it’s designed to fit a man’s body, and they just scale it smaller for women. So what we’ve done is really build an ergonomic, fit product that is designed to fit a woman’s body.
“Our women’s coats have tailoring and beautiful lines—seven different styles—because women are all different. And what fits one doesn’t fit another, and we want to really offer a product that makes them feel good and feel professional when they’re walking into a really strenuous, high-stress scenario. When you feel a little bit better about yourself, things go a little bit better.”
Catherine Begovic, a plastic surgeon with a private practice in Beverly Hills, is a Medelita customer.
She said she used to deplore scrubs “that bunched at the waist and looked like a giant trash bag.”
“If you were a business woman, you wouldn’t show up to a meeting in a cheap ill-fitting suit,” Begovic said. “There is no difference here. As a surgeon, looking professional and polished is important.”
Doctor Jason Yip joined his dad Richard’s private practice, OC Gastrocare in Anaheim, three years ago.
Buying Medelita apparel for everyone on the staff was part of “rebranding our look,” he said. “You just look more professional, and that’s very important in our business because we care for patients. Having a level of trust between a physician and patient is important—even that first interaction.”
But it came with some pushback from the elder Yip, who ran the business solo for 25 years.
“My dad is 65, and he asked, ‘Really, you want to spend that kind of money on lab coats?’ and then I bought him one, and even he agreed that the quality is noticeable.”
Medelita took the industry’s pulse when deciding how to launch products into the marketplace. E-commerce made the most sense for attracting the busy medical professionals who often keep odd work schedules and rarely get a chance to get to the mall.
The model also works well for large institutions, which can request a “private store” portal to purchase for the team or approve orders placed by individual employees.
E-commerce is also viewed as the primary way Medelita’s wholesale account holders will want to place orders when the brand launches this year into “traditional, small, independently owned scrub and lab coat stores,” Francisco said.
An international push is in the works, e-commerce-based and focused on existing markets in Canada, the Middle East and Asia.
The M3 proprietary fabric might also evolve in the next couple of years.
“We call our fabric M3 right now, and we see additional digits coming,” Francisco said. “We’ve been working on some very innovative technologies that will provide additional features and benefits to the wearer. We are constantly exploring new sources for fabric and combining technologies; it’s kind of a secret sauce to enhance the product.”
