Startup Circle: With Organic Cotton in purview, how is Nino Bambino changing kids' fashion?

Nino Bambino is a sustainable baby and kids clothing brand with a focus on making organic cotton affordable, trendy, and comfortable for our little ones. The self-funded startup uses organic cotton to create trendy kids' fashion. From the founder, Mr Vickram Kumar, read the story of the startup.

1. What is Nino Bambino all about?

Organic Cotton is certified by a global standard. So traceability is easy and hence the peace of mind. To give you a brief about our cotton, and how it is different from what’s out there. Cotton is the second most polluted crop in the world after Corn. The amount is insecticides, pesticides used in a single cotton t-shirt would be over 7 tablespoons full.

All of this is not biodegradable, so for every garment that’s made, we are polluting the environment. This environment includes our water bodies, the soil where we grow our food, and the animals that feed on cottonseed as a source of nutrition. So eventually, it ends up in our bodies causing irreparable damage. Moreover, babies, who have quite a bit more sensitive skin than adults with larger pores on their skin surface absorb a lot more of these chemicals found in azo and formaldehyde dyes. Thus causing skin irritation and widespread eczema.

The Organic Cotton not only uses harmful pesticide-free cotton, but also Azo and Formaldehyde free dyes, and eco-friendly printing inks, buttons, packaging, etc. All of this, being certified throughout the supply chain – from Farm to the Finished Product.

2. How did you come up with the idea?

As a manufacturer and exporter of organic cotton baby clothes, we know where the world of apparel is heading in terms of sustainability. It was a logical step to present and promote the concept of sustainability in the Indian market as well, through Nino Bambino.

We have a highly robust and scalable infrastructure to produce large quantities of certified organic cotton apparel. From making our own fabric to printing it and then garmenting, all processes are certified under the Global Organic Textile Standard.

3. What is your business/market growth?

We are growing at over 100% YoY. As the infant wear market is fragmented, there is no clear market leader. So the opportunity is to grow is tremendous. With the sustainability angle, it gives us another dimension to promote our brand.

4. What cities are you in, presently?

We are selling pan India through our website and partner marketplaces. With most retail outlets underperforming due to the pandemic, we have been fortunate to be an online-only brand and to experience growth even during these times.

5. Who are your consumers?

Urban and Semi-Urban Parents and Adult Relatives for newborns, infants, toddlers, and young kids. Our affordability and value proposition is understood by conscious parents. One-touch of the material will make you a fan.

6. What are your Post-Covid plans?

Because we cater to everyday wear and sell our products at an affordable price, it is practically a necessity for the parents. As a result, even though most businesses have struggled post covid, we have been fortunate enough to see a growth in our numbers. We feel the demand for our products will remain strong in the coming months as well. We are also planning to take the brand international this year itself and are in extensive talks with partners abroad. This should add avenues to our growth.