Mosquitos love Jennifer John.
“I’m always inundated. Everytime I go outside, I’m just putting on bug spray, morning, noon and night,” said John, who founded Pang Wangle, a New Orleans-based line of stylish, insect-repellent clothing.
The city’s subtropical climate makes it a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and a proving ground for her products.
“It is very, very mosquitoey here,” John laughed. “They’re just everywhere, all year long.”
That challenge sparked her idea for Pang Wangle, which she launched in 2017. The brand’s name comes from an old-fashioned phrase meaning to go along cheerfully despite minor misfortunes—like stepping out into the Louisiana humidity. Using fabrics treated with Insect Shield®, a technology developed for the U.S. military, Pang Wangle apparel helps protect against mosquito bites, ticks, and the diseases they carry, from Lyme disease to tropical viruses.
From the start, John used Amazon as her testing ground.
“I made a simple scarf as a minimum viable product just to see if anyone would buy it, and it sold really, really well in the Amazon store,” she said.
That success gave her confidence to expand into leggings, breezy hemp pants, and picnic blankets—with wrap dresses coming next. Since launching her Amazon storefront, John has seen sales grow between 40% and 100% year-over-year.
“You think you can just put up a website and customers will come, but the challenge is letting people know you exist. With Amazon, people are actively searching for bug-repellent products, so they find us,” she explained. “And they’re there to buy.”
John says Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), which she uses to store, pick, pack, and ship inventory, has made it possible to scale her business as a solopreneur.
“Me, my husband and my kids would spend so much time packaging everything up—over the long term, it just wasn’t going to work for us. When I discovered I could have the product manufactured and sent directly to Amazon with FBA without ever having to touch it, I was like, ‘amazing!’”
To build credibility with customers when she launches new products, John uses Amazon Vine, which helps generate unbiased reviews for sellers.
“Once you have those first four or five reviews from Amazon Vine, you’re on a roll,” she said. “Then people start buying the product and reviews come in organically.”
She also relies on Amazon A+ Content to tell her brand story with videos, graphics, and detailed product information.
“It makes the store feel professional and trustworthy—like having a second website,” she noted.
John still treats Pang Wangle like her “baby,” but Amazon’s automation has allowed her to run the business in just eight to ten hours a week while working a separate job.
“Amazon handles shipping, customer service, even late deliveries. That lets me be hands-off and less stressed,” she said. “I can still grow the brand at my own pace without needing investors or burning out.”
For John, the mission remains simple: to help people get outside more, safely.
“Spending time outdoors is so good for your physical and mental health. And if you’re not worried about bug bites or diseases, you’re more likely to go on that hike or that adventure.”
In other words, you’re more likely to Pang Wangle.