EASTON – A small business that started out of an Easton woman's gym bag has grown into a multi-million dollar family company.

Booty By Brabants, a wellness and fitness brand, began its humble journey in 2013 but officially launched in 2014.

On a trip to Brazil, the mother of Kelly Brabants, Neiva, picked up a pair of leggings from a boutique, and the daughter instantly fell in love with them.

The leggings were comfortable, stretchy, and made with strong material.

"I would always gravitate toward those leggings. They always made me feel confident and fit my body no matter what stage I was in," Brabants said.

Brabants found herself collecting several types of leggings in different sizes to cater to her body throughout her life.

"It was almost an aha moment," Brabants said.

When she realized that she could build a business selling athletic wear while also creating sizes that would fit everyone's body type — it became a no-brainer.

The idea of bringing Brazilian leggings to America became her next mission.

Brabants was a fitness instructor in Boston, and she knew the students would heavily indulge in her newfound business.

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She wanted to create athletic wear that would fit your body through every stage of life.

As a woman coming from a competitive dance background, Brabants can recognize a stellar quality pair of leggings when she sees one.

"I told my dad I have a business plan and asked if he could help me invest in 100 pairs of leggings. I wanted to prove there was a demand for leggings that are size inclusive and stretchy," Brabants said.

The family then went to Brazil and met with the woman who originally sold Neiva the one size fits all pair of leggings.

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Together they came up with a logo, colors and different designs for the leggings. Once the family got home, it was time to commit to real work.

Brabants instantly sold out of the 100 pairs of leggings after her signature workout class one day and knew this was an amazing investment.

The business has grown exponentially nearly 10 years later, giving America a taste of Brazilian athletic wear. The family still works with the boutique owner to this day.

"In Brazil, it's colorful, and people are carefree and wear whatever they want no matter the body type, "Brabants said.

"Most Brazilians love wearing tiny bikinis, dancing and feeling sexy. It is such an important thing for women to feel good in their skin. Women of all ages and sizes in Brazil wear the little thong bikinis, and they don't care. It's an important message to embrace your natural beauty and imperfections," Brabants said.

Brazil even inspired the flavors of the Body By Brabants energy drinks, from juicy flavors of passion fruit to wild acai berry and raspberry lemonade. 

Brabants owes a good portion of her success to manifestation, the idea that positive thinking can attract positive things in your life, she said.

Brabants spent a lot of time envisioning how she would build an empire focused on spreading positive body image and teaching women to love themselves no matter their size.

"Everything I have in my life now I manifested it," Brabants said.

Brabants often reminisces about when she first started her Instagram page.

She had fewer than 200 followers, and now she has over 95,000 followers and counting.

Manifestation is a powerful tool to bring your visions to life, Brabants said.

Brabants know the key to success is positive thinking and hard work.

The company has hit a few milestones of launching a virtual workout app, creating vitamin-rich energy drinks, and raising over $300,000 for charity through workouts.

Brabants hopes her legacy of sharing self-love and body positivity lives past the seams of her leggings and can influence the next generation of women. 

Enterprise staff reporter Alisha Saint-Ciel can be reached by email at stciela@gannett.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @alishaspeakss and Instagram at Alishaatv. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Enterprise today.