How Babylist is approaching $1 billion in revenue

The baby products industry is in growth mode, and registry platform Babylist is capitalizing.

Babylist is growing alongside the global industry, which was valued at $335.9 billion last year and is projected to grow to $375.8 billion this year, according to Grand View Research. The company recently opened its New York City showroom, its second retail initiative, which offers a curated assortment of baby products and interactive features that help parents see which products work best for them.

“Customers have always wanted a place where they can go in real life and get excited about their new identity as a parent,” said Jennifer Hyman, Babylist’s new CEO, who joined the company last month after serving as CEO of Rent the Runway. “You walk in confused and nervous traditionally into a baby store, and in an ideal world, you walk out feeling more excited and more confident.”

According to Hyman, Babylist is on track to earn nearly $1 billion in revenue this year and has been profitable for the last nine years. The company is also in talks to file an IPO next year.

“We are seeing more retailers invest in the in-store experiences which is an important part of product discovery and registry list creation,” said Stephen Hinz, senior director and juvenile products industry analyst for Circana, in a statement to Revenue Brew. “Parent engagement with registry planning remains strong. Babylist currently ranks fourth among retailers considered or used for baby registries, with consideration increasing nine percentage points year over year.”

Customer-centric approach

Hyman explained that Babylist is in a unique and lucrative position in the baby products industry. As many similar retailers shuttered post-Covid, Babylist has been able to capitalize on the baby registry market and expand into other relevant categories: Babylist Money provides guidance on setting up investment funds, while Babylist Health helps expecting parents get breast pumps through insurance and offers labor classes.

Focusing on the customer is what’s fueled Babylist’s growth, Hyman said, aiming to make a milestone like becoming a parent as easy as possible.

“Babylist has been incredibly laser-focused on the customer and only innovating on their behalf for the entirety of the journey,” Hyman said. “Even though the company is larger now, the team very much feels like a startup entrepreneurial culture, super innovative. Tech and data are at the center of everything that we do and so being grounded in the value set of customer obsession.”

Hyman explained Babylist’s point of differentiation is becoming a “partner in parenting” rather than just a registry platform. Babylist’s newer financial and health services are part of this strategy, as well as its use of data to give parents personalized product recommendations.

“We have a very different relationship with the consumer,” she said. “She’s coming to us 100 times a year just to learn about parenting, just to see parenting information, just to review products, just to read what other women have said, to read our content.”

Financial strength

Entering next year’s potential IPO, Hyman has a positive outlook on the company’s financial standing.

“How I look at where we are from a financial standpoint is that we can control our own destiny,” she said. “We’ve put ourselves into a financial position where we can do what’s best for Babylist, for our own customers and for our brand partners. We’re not in a rush and I’m focused on growth. I took this role because I think we can 5x the business over the next few years.”