Kindora’s Baby Goods Marketplace launches in Ireland and Disrupts the Industry

Kindora’s baby goods marketplace has launched in Ireland and is disrupting the lucrative baby goods industry. Their curated marketplace is poised for European launch in 2021.

The brand is synonymous with supporting a circular economy; less waste, less cost, and quality items for every family. They are on a mission to help families of all shapes and sizes access the best products for their families without costing the earth or the effort. By disrupting the traditional baby goods market Kindora is helping parents and also reducing waste whilst giving them back time, space and the bonus of giving their well-loved items another life.

Co-Founder Sarah Ouellette says: “European parents are looking for sustainability paired with affordability. The pandemic has added the need for space to that list, enter Kindora!”

Kindora also rents a selection of sought-after items by the month. From advanced smart cots to wireless breast-pumps, these useful products are often hard to find in local retailers and can be a huge cost for parents to buy outright and only use for a short time. In Europe, over 4 million babies are born each year and new parents spend a whopping €2,500,000 annually on premium prams, cots, furniture, tech and other items. Demand for tech products, in particular, is growing as millennials lean on technical solutions when starting families but these are often outgrown within the first 6 months of a baby’s life.

They have an enhanced marketplace that removes the stress and hassle of using traditional marketplaces to sell high value items.  It is built for today, meaning it is both pandemic proof at every touchpoint. All Kindora goods are screened and hospital grade cleaned making them better than brand new.

The Story Behind the Brand

Kindora was founded in August 2020, launched in November 2020 and Ireland is the pilot market before launching Europe wide in 2021.

For Co-Founder Sarah Ouellette it all started with a little Charlie Crane rocker. A perfect little wood and fabric chair from France – made as beautifully as lots of ‘grown up’ furniture that would naturally last a lifetime. Sarah says: “As I looked around our home I saw that our child – not even a year old – was already leaving a trail of lovely, barely-used things like this in her wake. I searched for a marketplace where these top quality items could be bought, sold or even rented. When I didn’t find one, I decided I’d try to create one.”

In early development, Kindora conducted a survey of 100+ first time parents and parents-to-be in Ireland. 91% said they’d be purchasing brand new items, with 66% of those surveyed spending more than €1,000 on a pram system. With 6 million prams sold in Europe every year (2 million more than one per baby every year) the Founders, Sarah and Barry Hanley asked why?

The main deterrents from buying second hand are cleanliness, safety, and quality control. But they claim they can eliminate these concerns. The result? Less waste financially and environmentally.

Sarah says: “We only deal in premium, trusted brands, and in items that are suitable for reuse (we don’t carry car-seats, for example, because we can’t be sure enough of their safety). And by far our biggest point of difference; we screen and clean every item before we send it off to its new home. We check it, take it apart, give it a hospital-grade cleaning, and reassemble it. As parents, we knew that’s what it would take to give us peace of mind.”

The Facts

The average new pram requires 16 different materials and is equivalent to making over a thousand disposable coffee cups. 33% of pram components are made of plastic, add this environmental cost of a brand new item, to the higher financial cost, and you see the startling true cost of “brand new”. Every item bought, sold or rented on Kindora has an amazingly positive impact on the environment.

Kindora surveyed 103 people in 2020 ahead of launch:

• 51% of first-time parents, 9% of parents-to-be, 40% of parents to more than one child
• 69% aged 30-37, 24% ages 38+
• The biggest expense for parents were prams, baby furniture and car seats
• 66% spent more than €1,000 on a pram system
• 77% bought these items with the intention of a second use
• 34% intended to resell these items but were unsure about what platform would be best for them
• 91% purchased first hand.
• What stopped them from buying second hand?
• Cleanliness 80%
• Safety 67%
• Quality control 74%

What would motivate you to buy second-hand items?

• Positive impact on the environment 71%
• Cost savings 28%

Early Success

Early successes for the Kindora suggest there is a market need for the cost and eco-conscious.

It is a first-of-its-kind marketplace in Europe, with a scalable digital engine, a premium on and offline experience and an active and valuable community.

Kindora listed an item that sold in 32 minutes and there are rental products on a waiting list for the year ahead. The average purchase is 29% less than RRP of new product and it is saving sellers on average four hours versus selling on Adverts or Facebook Marketplace for the same end sale price or higher. Barry says: “We save the seller time, effort, money and risk of dealing with pickup and delivery. We do all the heavy lifting.”