Houstonian Mushie Stambler was sick all through her second being pregnant, affected by persistent nausea. Buying on-line for child provides supplied one among few reprieves from vomiting and fainting.
However all that point spent purchasing revealed a gap available in the market, she mentioned. Intent on filling it, two years in the past she and her husband, Levi Feigenson, launched Mushie, a child provide firm constructed on secure supplies, a pure coloration palette and glossy, sensible designs.
Mushie launched in June 2018, and their merchandise at the moment are obtainable on-line via Amazon, Target and Nordstrom. Feigenson expects the corporate will attain $18 million in gross sales this 12 months — his firm’s second full 12 months in operation. Mushie earned $691,000 in 2018, he mentioned, and income rose to $6 million final 12 months.
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As the corporate outgrew the couple’s Houston house, they moved it right into a 15,000-square-foot warehouse in Stafford. They employed 14 workers, a lot of them ladies and moms they met via speaking about Mushie merchandise on-line.
Along with its vital e-commerce enterprise, the corporate additionally sells wholesale to boutique child outlets across the nation. In all, they promote via some 700 retailers within the U.S., Feigenson mentioned.
Whereas the coronavirus lockdowns have harm its wholesale enterprise and transport prices grew with the coronavirus, its booming e-commerce enterprise nonetheless boomed.
“Amazon grew so tremendously this 12 months, due to COVID,” Feigenson mentioned. “And we were able to capitalize on that.”
Stambler, 27, mentioned she had hassle discovering child merchandise she preferred when she was pregnant, and in the end ended up paying a premium to purchase European-style merchandise from abroad. Merchandise obtainable within the U.S. have been gaudy, she mentioned, riddled with neon coloration schemes, cumbersome designs and questionable chemical compounds.
A father or mother’s aesthetic was central to the mission.
“My goal was to have baby products that really look good in an adult house,” she mentioned. “So the living room can still look like adults live there.”
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Stambler is from Israel and grew up in Europe, her husband famous, and he or she integrated these stylings into their merchandise. Their merchandise are additionally in style throughout the pond — practically half of its income comes from abroad, he mentioned.
Feigenson, 29, got here from a gross sales background, whereas Stambler was beforehand a instructor and comes from a household filled with educators. Because the oldest of 9, Stambler mentioned caring for youngsters has all the time been a part of her identification.
“What is good for kids, what is necessary for kids — all that language is a big part of me,” she mentioned.
Social media have been key to Mushie’s fast progress, they mentioned. Most of its advertising {dollars} went to sending free merchandise to Instagram influencers who find yourself flaunting their wares on-line.
“We found that to be a very good strategy,” Feigenson mentioned. “People like our products, and then people are happy to share them.”
The corporate’s fame on social media additionally supplied a product growth platform, they mentioned. As they brainstorm new merchandise, they search opinions from their followers. Some product concepts, like the corporate’s pacifier case, come solely from the followers.
Dad and mom informed Mushie it could be good to have an simply washable case to toss a pacifier in relatively than utilizing a Ziploc bag. In order that they created one fabricated from food-grade silicone. The spherical pastel-colored instances have slits so pacifiers might be rapidly snuck inside, and every has a silicone string to affix it to a handbag or diaper bag.
“I wanted it to kind of feel like a tag that you put on your suitcase, that you needed there for practical reasons, but it looks also very neat,” Stambler mentioned. “That’s kind of where it started.”
Mushie has up to now caught to child necessities and equipment, Feigenson mentioned, however subsequent 12 months it seems to be to launch new merchandise in areas corresponding to child feeding and attire.
The 2021 launches are set to broaden Mushie’s catalogue ten-fold, he mentioned, “so we’re really excited about that.”
amanda.drane@chron.com
