Startup Stories: GrowGrows

From police work and cold coffee to scaling a sustainable babywear brand

Journeying from the unlikeliest of paths, Eddie, a former police officer turned lawyer, and Joe, a former university entrepreneur advocate, brought their diverse experiences together to seed GrowGrows, a sustainable, high-quality babywear startup. In this interview, we are speaking to Eddie and Joe about their unique ways into entrepreneurship, crucial pivots, how they are scaling their business, and the lessons they are learning along the way.

What got you into entrepreneurship?

Eddie: I, quite naively, joined the police at the young age of 18 and was in the police for almost 10 years. After about five or six years, I decided I didn't want to stay, so I started studying law. I qualified as a lawyer but realised quite quickly that I hated it. That's when I took my first step into entrepreneurship. I joined an accelerator programme run by NatWest, where I met Joe. I started a cybersecurity business, while Joe started a cold coffee business. We became friends and I sold my cybersecurity startup in May 2020. But I'll let Joe explain his journey.

Joe: Sure. My background is a bit different. I was working for NACUE, the National Association of College University Entrepreneurs. I was visiting colleges and universities in the northwest and northeast and worked with their enterprise societies. This gave me a flavour for business and entrepreneurship, and it probably gave me a bit of a bug to start my own business. I was particularly interested in the foods and drinks space and decided to venture into cold coffee drinks. I participated in a food and drink competition hosted by one of the UK's largest distributors and came runner-up. This validation gave me the confidence to launch my business. Around this time, Eddie and I joined the NatWest accelerator programme, where we spent about two years growing our businesses. When the pandemic hit, it was a tough time for my beverage company due to changes in the market dynamics. But then, Eddie and I got chatting, and that’s when GrowGrows started.

How did the idea for GrowGrows come about?

Eddie: When I had my first daughter, I encountered a lot of problems with baby products, especially baby grows. It was frustrating to deal with the fiddly poppers during late-night diaper changes. I searched for zip versions but found them to be of poor quality. I jokingly mentioned this problem to Joe and suggested that we could create a high-quality version that also emphasised sustainability. That's how GrowGrows started. We began discussing ideas, brainstorming in my garden during the lockdown.

What was the main problem you wanted to tackle?

Joe: The key issue is that babies grow quickly and go through a lot of clothing. A significant amount of baby clothing ends up in landfill every year, which is a waste of resources. The clothes are also often made from unsustainable fabrics. Another aspect is the longevity and durability of the garments. Many supermarket products are poor quality and wear out quickly. We aimed to create a sustainable fabric made from bamboo and organic cotton, which renews itself, and also focus on fabric quality and durability, giving the garment a second or third life once the babies grow out of it.

Eddie: Sleepsuits and pyjamas are essential items. They have to be bought, so let's make it as sustainable as we can.

How did you start building GrowGrows?

Joe: The first concept for the launch was to grow as a subscription-only brand for sleepsuits and pyjamas. We thought this could work well with parents and could be a unique gift for new parents, since babies grow quickly, and change sizes every three months in their first 12 to 18 months. With this model, if you subscribed from day one, you get a new sleep suit every month, and the suit's size would automatically change with the size of the baby, based on the date of birth and size profile you input. Parents would then get sleepsuits regularly, which are highly consumable, given that babies are messy. So that was our first focus, coupled with a subscription technology angle.

We do still like the subscription model, but it's a harder sell than a one-time purchase. Now that we've built a customer base, we're considering re-launching the subscription service, but there are logistical and operational complexities that make it challenging.

As for the product development, it was relatively easy. We spent time with factories, sorted out sizing charts and designs, and began sampling. We had some bad samples initially, but eventually, we found a reputable factory to work with, and things got easier. Then we spent a significant amount of time developing the subscription platform.

Eddie: We had to cobble things together to prove it would work.

How did you find the right supplier?

Eddie: There were a few challenges, like finding a supplier with the right sustainability credentials and who could create the quality we needed. Some of the early samples from various factories, despite their good accreditations, were quite poor.

Joe: Yes, there was a lot of back and forth. Once we found a supplier who understood what we were trying to achieve in terms of product quality, things got easier. It took about six months to find the right supplier.

How was the funding journey for you?

Joe: It was quite challenging. Initially, we put our own money into the business for the first batch of products and other essentials. However, as we needed to significantly expand our inventory, we sought external funding around April last year. It was a challenging period as the investment scene was quite dry. Fortunately, we had some good contacts and managed to arrange quite a few meetings. It was crucial that we had a solid case for our product and business plan, which I believe was key to securing the funding we needed.

Eddie: Yes, proving the market demand and the product fit was critical. To take our business to the next level, we had to scale up significantly.

Joe: The entire process was quick but intense, taking about 12 weeks from when we first sought funding to when we secured it. It involved a lot of scrutiny on our part, answering questions from potential investors, and managing all parties involved.

What would you consider achievements so far?

Eddie: One aspect that surprises us is how international our orders are. More than half of our business is international, with orders coming from places as far-flung as Alaska and Australia. Before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, we even had an order from Russia. We've essentially shipped parcels to every corner of the world.

Joe: Another achievement is seeing customers increase their order values over time. It's a testament to the quality of our products and their belief in us. Initially, they may buy a bundle for a small amount, but then they return to spend significantly more, which is really encouraging.

Did this influence your advertising strategy? I assume you initially started targeting the UK market.

Joe: Absolutely. Our business has been transformed by our international reach. Initially, we were selling through Etsy and started receiving a lot of orders from America and Canada. This prompted us to advertise to these regions as well, and soon, orders from these countries surpassed those from the UK. Our international approach has since become a significant focus.

Generally, we sell through Etsy, Amazon, and some independent retailers, although we're primarily focused on direct-to-consumer sales. We do utilise other online platforms to spread our brand name.

Additionally, we plan to penetrate the retail market in the next 6 to 12 months. It might be challenging, but it's crucial for our brand growth.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your journey to increasing revenue? Is it related to branding?

Joe: Actually, I don't think it's a branding issue. There are probably two main challenges. The first is consistent supply, including stock flow and cash flow. It's crucial that we always have a constant stream of stock with no major gaps, as this can impact our operations. We're currently trying to release two new print designs every month to maintain momentum and keep our best sellers in stock. So, the supply side is one aspect.

The second challenge is on the demand side. This primarily involves advertising on platforms like Meta and Google. Recently, especially Facebook has had some turbulent years due to issues like the iOS changes. However, I believe it's getting better and can still be a beneficial platform for brands. To make it work, though, you need to have a good handle on your numbers and manage them well.

Besides, you can't just rely on acquiring new customers all the time. It's crucial to have repeat customers. That's why we take great satisfaction when customers buy from us again, whether they're purchasing small volumes initially or larger basket values later. This repeat business gives us confidence in our brand.

How are you dealing with the current limited funding market? Are you approaching business more conservatively?

Joe: Yes, we're more focused on sustainable and profitable growth, rather than outright growth. When you start a business, there's a period of testing and learning. You may experience some unstable growth, which could be unprofitable, especially when you're testing ads because there will always be wins and losses. We're now at a point where we want to maintain our current level of revenue and continue to improve it but in a profitable way.

What would you have done differently?

Eddie: Our initial subscription approach could have been better. We put all our eggs in one basket at the start, based on prior experience and market trends. In hindsight, we would have been better off starting as we are now. Although we did extensive market research, it led us down the wrong path. The positive is that we recognised it quickly and made swift changes.

Joe: We followed the customer research and ended up validating our ideas that weren't essentially right. We could have launched quicker to find these things out sooner. Instead of researching, we could have just launched and tried it quickly.

What’s next for GrowGrows?

Joe: Our overarching goal is profitability. We're currently working towards reaching £85k in monthly revenues, doing so profitably is our focus. From there, we can start to think about the bigger picture.

We don't foresee major changes to the product portfolio. We have new designs in the pipeline, but that's business as usual. Our focus is on customer acquisition and retention. We plan to bring out new prints to encourage repeat purchases. We're also looking to relaunch our grow club and launch an e-commerce app to offer exclusive discounts and early access to new designs. By driving repeat revenue, we can create a substantial portion of profit.

Where do you want to be with GrowGrows in five to ten years?

Joe: It's hard to say exactly, but we envision our company growing more internationally and becoming a more well-rounded brand on a global scale. Ideally, we'd like to follow the trajectory of successful D2C (direct-to-consumer) brands built on Shopify, like Gym Shark, and Lounge Underwear. Though they've had a head start, we hope to eventually reach a similar level of success, becoming a household name. 

The shift from in-store to online retail, which has been accelerated by the pandemic, has put digitally-native brands like ours in a more advantageous position. Also, the rise of social media and other digital marketing channels, which weren't as prevalent 15-20 years ago, gives us more avenues to reach our audience.

Eddie: I agree with Joe. The baby market is constantly refreshing with new parents who aren't familiar with established brands. This gives us the opportunity to become a well-known brand for these new parents. So yes, becoming a household name is definitely our aim.

What is your advice for startup founders who are just starting out?

Eddie: Patience and consistency are key. Success is a result of hard work, talent, and sometimes a bit of luck. But maintaining consistency and having patience can really make a difference. Progress may not be as rapid as you'd like, but that's because we all naturally want things to happen quickly.

Joe: I agree. From a product-based perspective, try to create something unique and high-quality, and bring it to market as quickly as possible. There's no better feedback than that from real customers.