Two Cork mumpreneurs turned a gut feeling about a gap in the market for quality baby dribble bibs into a profitable business. They tell Deanna O'Connor how they did it.
Eight years in business this year, Cork-based Babyboo, founded by Vicki O'Callaghan and Michelle O'Riordan, is turning over impressive figures. The dynamic duo recently celebrated the millionth unit sold of their hero product, an organic cotton dribble bib for babies.
How did two mums on maternity leave create a successful venture, selling a product that isn't exactly a new invention? In a nutshell, you don't need to do something new, you just need to take something that already exists and do it better and market it really well.
With five children between them, they knew exactly what the pain points were that their product had to solve. "All of our kids had sensitive skin and one of the things we struggled with was finding dribble bibs that didn't aggravate their skin," Vicki explains.
While the market is now flooded with products similar to their bandana bibs, traditional plastic-backed bibs were the norm at the time Babyboo launched to market. Their bibs prevent dribble rash and don't aggravate skin because of the multi-layer manufacture, backed with organic cotton.
The pair met as business students, before their career paths diverged. Michelle specialised in HR, but had been out of the workforce for some years, with four young children at home. She was ready for a new venture by the time Vicki took maternity leave from her role growing digital brands for a publishing company. Their clear idea of what they wanted for their own children, coupled with Vicki's digital experience, was the solid platform for their start-up.
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"At the time that we set up the business there was a gap in the market for the product we introduced. Social media had just started exploding, and Facebook was a massive part of our growth initially,"says Vicki.
The strength of online parenting forums and the community that Babyboo built with their customers also contributed to their success. Word of mouth recommendations, reviews on Facebook, Google and Trustpilot, product awards and gifting to influencers all played their part in the brand gaining traction.
After finding success with the original product and building up a customer base of repeat purchasers, they expanded the range, adding different types of bibs, knitwear, blankets and bedding. "We wouldn't have been as successful as we are had we come to market with blankets, for example. It is the success of the bibs that has driven the success of the other products," Vicki reflects.
"We are very open about the fact that we don't have a huge margin on the bibs. They are an expensive product to make," she adds. All the same, the founders have looked at ways to gently introduce price increases, so as not to alienate their loyal customers. For example, a 6 for €21 bundle offer has been replaced by a 3 for €12 offer.
With neither of the founders having any design or manufacturing experience, the first stop was internet research to find a manufacturer. "We knew starting out that Turkey was probably where we were going to produce, because there is a massive textile industry there and that was where we were going to find the quality that we wanted," Vicki explains.
Turkish cotton is renowned for its longer fibres, which means fewer joins, resulting in stronger and smoother threads. This means Turkish cotton is softer and more absorbent than other cottons, which was ideal for the Babyboo requirements. "The molecules are more absorbent, so it's suited for soaking up dribble," says Michelle.
While they have parted company with a couple of manufacturers over the years, they count themselves lucky so far in maintaining supplier relationships. However, with an eye to diversifying the supply chain, Babyboo recently took on an Indian supplier. "We didn't want all our eggs in one basket with Turkey especially at the moment with Russia and Ukraine. You just never know," says Vicki.
The business was self-financed at the start, with the duo reinvesting all the money they made back into the business. It took almost five years to build up their relationship with their manufacturer to the point where they could avail of supplier credit.
According to Vicki: "We initially said we would give it a year, do small batches, and see how it went. The first batch of bibs - seven designs, 100 of each - sold out within about a month. We just reinvested and reinvested and we didn't take a salary for two years. After we had a full year of accounts we secured a bank loan to help us grow a bit faster and launch our second product, the feeding bibs. At the end of year two, our accountants couldn't believe we had grown so fast."
Operating company Morvoc Ltd booked a net profit of €290,000 in the year to July 2021, and the two directors shared €180,000 in remuneration and pension contributions. Net worth at period-end was €590,000 on the back of €100 equity invested to start the company in September 2014.
They learned from Local Enterprise Office mentors, took advantage of the trading online voucher scheme to upgrade their website, and by year three Vicki was taking part in the Enterprise Ireland Going for Growth programme.
With around 70 stockists around Ireland, Babyboo products are to be found everywhere from Arnotts, Brown Thomas and Kilkenny Shop to pharmacies, children's boutiques, and nursery stores. Going into bricks and mortar retail occurred organically, when a pharmacist friend approached them looking to stock more baby products.
Vicki O'Callaghan explains that it was part of the founders' strategy to expand into retail outlets at some point. However, the enquiries started coming in before they had planned to start focusing on it.
"A lot of it came from customers contacting us to ask us if we had a stockist in their area. We'd say, 'No we don't, but why don't you ask your local pharmacy or baby shop to get in touch with us and we'll see'. Or we'd post on Facebook saying, 'If you want to see us in your local shop, tag them in the comments'. Stockists took note of the social media nudges, and so it grew."
The Arnotts listing came about due to pandemic-induced supply chain issues. The retailer simply couldn't source sufficient baby products from abroad and went looking for Irish brands to take on. Babyboo products sold so well they have been kept on, as well as making it onto the hallowed shelves of Arnotts' sister store, Brown Thomas.
A pop-up in Kildare Village, pre-pandemic, was another exercise they look back on fondly as a great boost for the business: "From a branding point of view, you don't say no if Kildare Village offers you a space."
According to Vicki, brand positioning is carefully considered. "We want the brand to be at a certain level, and it's important to us how it's seen and that it's not in the wrong place. We don't want to be in a supermarket trolley. There was one multiple that we turned down, and I think it was the right thing to do."
Despite the increased retail reach, e-commerce remains Babyboo's main focus. "Online is still 90% of the business and I don't see that changing," says Vicki. "It's what got us through Covid, and if we had been reliant on shops this business would not have survived."
