Startup Circle: How Gro Club is Riding on Circular Economy

In a cluttered market, standing out from the rest is every hustler's dream and a significant challenge. However, Gro Club, a startup founded in 2022, seems to have found its mojo by offering a unique subscription-based model for children's bicycles, focusing on sustainability and addressing the issue of kids quickly outgrowing their products. The startup was funded by the Ramaiah Evolute program under the MS Ramaiah Group of Institutes.

In an exclusive interview, Roopesh Shah, Co-Founder and CTO of Gro Club, discusses the inspiration behind the startup and how it connects with consumers. With an academic background in aerospace engineering, Roopesh transitioned into advertising early in his career. Over the past 22 years, he has honed his expertise in marketing strategies, working with major brands at leading agencies such as Dentsu Webchutney, FCB Interface, Carat, and Ogilvy India, where he recently served as Head of Tech Solutions and Digital Transformation. At Gro Club, he leverages his extensive experience to build the technology infrastructure that powers the platform.

What inspired you to launch a subscription-based model for children’s products, and how did your personal experiences as parents shape the concept behind Gro Club?

My partners and I are all parents of young kids. When we started, our children ranged in age from 2 to 16. Across the board, there was one shared experience: we buy the best products we can, but very quickly realize that the investment isn’t sound. The child has either outgrown the product or stopped using it. At that point, we consider options to get rid of the product—by giving it away, donating it, or selling it if it was an expensive purchase. In joint families, this may be easier, but in nuclear families, especially for migrant families, it becomes much more challenging. This is what sparked our interest in this category.

On one side, we have doting parents who want the best they can get, and on the other side is the risk of discarding a product before the end of its designed economic life. We wanted these products to be durable enough to endure multiple regeneration cycles while also being accessible to a larger population. This is where Gro Club was born.

How does the circular economy model work here, and what are some of the specific environmental impacts you’ve seen since the company’s launch?

Circular economy, in its truest sense, is when a product used by one person is ready for reuse by someone else. Gro Club impacts this on multiple levels. The first level is how we manufacture the product itself. We ‘Make in India’ to ensure better quality than what an importer can provide. We choose materials with a very low environmental impact and design products that can undergo regeneration—a term we use for completely renewing a product—without compromising quality. We also offer doorstep service to ensure that the product remains fit and serviceable throughout its subscription period. These methods allow us to extend the lifespan of a product by up to five times.

Can you tell us about the challenges you faced in convincing customers to switch from traditional purchasing to a subscription model, and how did you overcame them?

We’ve faced many challenges, just like any other innovative startup. Our first challenge was convincing customers that we were genuine and wanted a meaningful relationship with them. To overcome this, we opened the doors to our office and warehouse space, inviting customers to see what we do and how we do it.

Second, there was the hesitation to pay the entire subscription amount upfront. We had to do this because our country has no binding agreement that ensures monthly payments to a business that is not a bank. To address this, we partnered with several EMI providers to offer easy payment options.

The third challenge was clearly explaining our subscription model. A website alone was not enough, so we set up a 10-member calling team to explain the concept and assist customers through the booking process.

Gro Club is currently operating in Bengaluru and a few other cities—what are your plans for scaling the business, and how do you intend to expand to other cities?

Currently, we are operational in Bengaluru's urban and peripheral areas, including Devanahalli, Mysuru, and Hyderabad, and we plan to enter the Pune market soon. In these markets, we will offer bicycles and bicycle accessories. We have completed the prototyping of all the new product lines, such as carry cots for newborns, prams, strollers, cribs, bunk beds, and car seats. You will see these becoming operational in our existing markets soon.

In addition, we will also offer accessories to complement all of these product lines. For example, bunk beds will come with features such as the addition of a writing desk below the upper bed, a whiteboard, and even magnetic curtains. We are also exploring the possibility of making Gro Club a marketplace where other brands can list and sell kids' products to take advantage of our relevant traffic.

Any thoughts on commercial success- the revenues and how you have funded this initiative?

We have seen stable growth and continued success. We are about to hit the 15,000 products subscribed mark very soon, with over 10,000 subscribers in Bangalore alone. All of this has occurred in under three years of operation, especially as we emerge from the COVID-19 lockdowns. We are funded, with the latest round led by the Ramaiah Evolute program under the MS Ramaiah Group of Institutes.

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