A new specialty marketplace for baby and kids’ brands is setting up shop in the online space. San Francisco-based GrowsUp.com works directly with mom entrepreneurs and other small-scale children’s businesses to offer one-of-a-kind toys, books, clothing, furniture and more via boutique-style platforms.
For customers, the website uses a recommendation engine to provide personalized shopping suggestions that are tailored to children’s ages and gender. For vendors, Grows Up offers no listing fees or other administrative costs. Every brand has its own boutique on the site, where it can showcase its product line. Similar to giant vertical marketplaces like Etsy, Grows Up vendors ship their own products directly to consumers, while leveraging a range of in-house supporting resources including web hosting, credit card processing and marketing.
On the social side, Grows Up is set to unveil an interactive online community that’s integrated with Facebook and Twitter. Members of the Grows Up community will also be able to access a range of parenting resources, participate in weekly giveaways, track hot topics and interact with childhood experts.
The website is helmed by technology and e-commerce vet Stephanie Robesky, who is determined to tap into moms’ growing influence and social buying power on the web. Her startup currently hosts thousands of products and is pursuing its Series A funding.