Many people may be familiar with the story of the birds and the bees, but Ericka Perry has reimagined the story of the stork for mothers and moms to be as the founder and CEO of The Stork Bag. In 2014, the millennial boss and mompreneur created a curated reusable bag of thoughtful products tailored for expecting women. And over the past five years, she has been able to grow her brand internationally through her e-Commerce store, community, and social media marketing.
“The Stork Bag starts out similar to that of the birds and the bees.” says Perry. “The Stork Bag was created out of a personal need. When searching for a convenient solution to gift my pregnant friend, I was shocked when I noticed there was nothing on the market to streamline prenatal shopping, other than gifts for the unborn child, and maternity clothes,”
From that need, The Stork Bag was born.
The Stork Bag (Photo: The Stork Bag)
“When I came up with the idea for The Stork Bag, my first thought was coming up with something synonymous with pregnancy. Immediately, a stork came to mind, then I started to think outside the box a little and staying in line with the stork delivering a bundle. We decided to place our products in reusable bags as opposed to a cardboard box which people typically toss after they remove the products,” says Perry.
By paying attention to the world of retail, the influence of Amazon, and shopping trends, Perry began selling The Stork Bag exclusively online.
Understand the market and your audience
“As a millennial, I knew that my generation and the generations directly before and after me relied heavily on the ease and convenience of online shopping. With my product, since we focus so heavily on providing gifting solutions, we felt that online would help us attract customers from all over the world, as opposed to being a regional product with a limited reach. Aside from those main reasons, having a product that started out centered around the subscription-based model, e-commerce was an integral part of our strategy to infiltrate the market,” says Perry.
As a result of doing business online, The Stork Bag has customers globally.
Perry’s unique packaging and branding (and products, of course) has set The Stork Bag apart from competitors and won over customers.
“Our Stork Bag branding has been a great benefit for our brand recognition. Our customers now easily recognize our brand just by our colors, specifically our ‘Stork Bag Pink,” she adds.
Aside from the branding, Perry and her team are intentional about what goes into the bag which requires time and research.
The second trimester Stork Bag
“In the beginning up until last year, my team used to go out and find particular products to fit into our bags based on trimester needs. Once they found the products online, they would reach out to the companies and request pricing samples, etc., and we would determine if the product would be a good fit based on product size, pricing, and perishability,”
With a growth mindset, Perry created a product submission process for prospect wholesale partners.
“Once the prospective partner submits their application, my team then reviews the application, paying close attention to things like, MOQ, wholesale/volume pricing, product turnaround times, exclusivity, and insurance. If there is interest after reviewing the application, we then request samples and base our final decision on size, packaging, and production ability,” says Perry
Always be learning
As a businesswoman, Perry highlights the importance of remaining teachable in order to sustain and scale her business.
“I’ve learned the importance of paying attention to margins, which is so very important for growth. I’ve also learned to pay close attention to shelf life when selecting products. Shelf life is extremely important when it comes to projecting how a particular product will sell. If it doesn’t sell as quickly as you thought, that could become very costly. I’ve also learned the importance of choosing the right manufacturers to work with.”
Interestingly enough, Perry works exclusively with women entrepreneurs and investors to make The Stork Bag possible. And under her corporation, MommyMaiDD, Inc., she has several trademarked brands and sells select products to her customers which set her apart from competitors.
With great success over the past five years, Perry wants to help you learn how to do business online and have a global reach through e-Commerce.
Join her at FWD in Charlotte, on June 20, to get the tools you need to build your business on your smartphone. Click here to get your tickets today to move your business forward next month!