All the jeans sold by Beija-Flor jeans are named after friends or family members of the mother and daughter team of Kathy Moca and Emilie Moca Whitaker.

“People always asked when are we are going to name a pair of jeans after them,” Whitaker said. She then points out that the “Emilie” is the most comfortable pair they sell. The “Kathy” was a top that didn’t sell well and was discontinued, Moca said as she leaned back in her desk chair and laughed.

“We’ll have to do something about that,” she said.

That top has been a rare setback for Beija-Flor, which means “hummingbird” in Portuguese. The company’s denim jeans, skirts and tops are made in Brazil and are made to work with – instead of against – a woman’s natural curves.

One woman at a recent event for the company claimed the jeans made her look like she had plastic surgery.

The duo simply have gone about creating jeans that are made for all women.

Whitaker pointed out the jeans are not the traditional style of Brazilian jeans, which tend to run a little low on the behind, but are contoured. The Beija-Flor jeans also feature things such as streamlined pockets to make women appear slimmer.

They also run their sizes in traditional women’s pants sizes as opposed to men’s sizes, which go by waist and leg length.

“If we make a woman feel better about her body image, that is what we want,” Whitaker said.

Mother and daughter bring two unique business backgrounds to this business. Moca was part owner of one of Greenville’s more renowned dress stores, Amy Pride, for more than two decades.

Whitaker was the marketing director for Washington, D.C.-based

TNS Marketing for several years.

The business and the convergence of their careers came about somewhat by chance.

Moca had started a company in 2005 called Mosa Inc. that specialized in selling imports from Brazil. That often sent her to Brazil to look for goods.

One weekend last fall, Whitaker spent a long afternoon helping her friend find a pair of jeans that fit, but with no success.

The next weekend, Moca brought a pair of jeans back from Brazil. Whitaker’s friend

tried them on, and they fit perfectly.

An idea for a new company was born.

The genesis of the business is retold through a cartoon ad that is part of

Beija-Flor’s marketing campaign where a woman named “Bridgette” struggles to find a pair of jeans for a party.  But instead of a friend’s mom coming to the rescue, a hummingbird from Brazil saves the day. Using their combined strengths in retail and marketing, Moca and Whitaker set up Beija-Flor.

At first, they started selling wholesale to boutiques across the country, but soon realized they needed to try something different to break into the high-end world of designer jeans.

So, they created the Jeans Party Network – a combination Mary Kay and Tupperware party that focuses on the company’s 15 or so products.

The duo will bring their entire product line to the shows and hide them under a pink cloth until it comes time to unveil it. This creates an atmosphere akin to a movie premiere and treats the people like they are buyers at a trade show.

Whitaker admits she has gone to similar shows for other products and come back with a candle that she never used. The difference in their shows is the jeans.  “This is something people wear everyday,” she said. “It seems like today, everybody wears jeans.”

They just ended their “Beija-Flor Summer Tour” that included parties in Atlanta, Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston, Washington, D.C., Raleigh, N.C. and Roanoke, Va., among other places.

The idea is to spread the word about the company at a consumer level as opposed to only the traditional, all-retail level.

“In business today, you have to look outside the box,” Moca said. “We’re trying not to put all our eggs in one basket.”

They focused most on family and friends for these home shows, but are now ready to push the company across the nation. They are working with consultants in Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York City to have home shows there.

They credit a lot of their early success on the support of Greenville’s entrepreneurial community, as well as the strength of the apparel market in South Carolina.

Working out of a one-room office that features a map of Brazil on one wall and a whiteboard listing the places for the next home shows on another wall, Moca said they are trying to move into a larger office by the end of the year.

They are planning twice-a-year conventions in Greenville to highlight new products for their vendors as well as the people who hold home shows for them.

“We’re a startup company, but we have great partnerships,” she said.