All The Details You Need To Know About AU Baby From Shark Tank
Parents looking for new tricks, tips, clothing, and gadgets to make their lives easier often turn to "Shark Tank" for ideas. More often than not, entrepreneurs manage to come out of the woodwork with something fresh to please them, like Diaper Dust.
AU Baby is the latest product to enter "Shark Tank" with this goal. Pronounced, "Oh, baby," AU Baby is a home brand with a mission and a purpose — delivering sustainability and comfort, while also offering children durability and parents peace of mind. At the moment, they only sell baby blankets, which are suitable for the skin of the sleeping infants they swaddle, and they're made of soft merino wool, with no unnatural fibers used. The product seems to be a decent bet for parents who are just as concerned about the impact that they might have on the environment as they are about having a washable blanket and a comfort item that won't disintegrate without warning.
AU Baby has been in business since 2019, and they're set to head into the "Shark Tank" looking for some help to improve their business prospects. Here's what we know about the company as it dips its toes into the waters and gains the world's attention.
AU Baby comes from the mind of a longtime knitwear designer
Company founder Alexandra Ulmer definitely knows what she's doing when she talks about knitwear; she boasts a resume that includes two decades in the knit design industry, beginning in 2006. Ulmer worked in fashion design and for companies like Nike and Victoria's Secret while maintaining a foot in the freelance design market. In 2021, she left Nike to work full-time at AU Baby, and it's a move she's clearly committed herself to fully.
Ulmer maintains a journal on the company's website, which includes everything from recipes to baby health tips to interviews with other working momtrepreneurs called Mom Crush, which also appear on the company's YouTube page. On the company's Instagram page, AU Baby has given away care packages for babies who have eczema and to promote babies' gut health. Ulmer and AU Baby have also supported mental health charities such as Birth Queen on the blog, and spoken out about environmental causes and the importance of using natural fibers. It definitely does the job of making consumers feel like they're one with Ulmer's ethos and buying from a company that stands behind its products.
AU Baby stands behind its products' sustainability
AU Baby definitely has a strong ethos when it comes to the sort of material it uses to make its blankets. The company declares that it's part of a textile revolution, one focused on making the world a healthier place to be for everyone. Their wool comes from free-range Argentinian sheep, and the company is a NATIVA supporter and produces its products according to Responsible Wool Standard accords. That means they can trace every product they make to a specific sheep living on a specific farm. The sheep are also guaranteed to be treated in a fully humane manner, with no injury or cruelty involved in the woolgathering that takes place for the blankets.
The company's blankets boast all plant-based dyes drawn from pesticide-free plants. That means no chemicals are involved in creating anything from Ulmer's home studio with its label attached to it. Also, they're made of all-natural fibers. Overall, it's quite a healthy standard of manufacturing — and something that denotes a high-quality product, the kind that any parent might want to put their dollar behind.
AU Baby isn't just about baby blankets
While this section on their website isn't open yet for shopping, it looks like AU Baby is planning on diversifying into even more products if all of their ducks stay aligned. Alexandra Ulmer mentioned on the company's Instagram that she's interested in creating a line of merino wool blankets for adults. That wouldn't mark the first time AU Baby has tried to manufacture other products bearing their label besides blankets.
At one point, AU Baby sold custom-made clothing for infants, crafted from special articles of adult clothing and upcycled cashmere sweaters. They say in the blog article accompanying the announcement that consumers must directly contact AU Baby to have the outfit in question made. This means there's no word as to whether or not they still do this on a per-person basis. In any event, it's a fine sign that suggests the company is moving on to even bigger and bigger things in the textile manufacturing world. But don't expect them to leave those blankets behind anytime soon; the company added their latest color, citron, just under a year ago.
Judge.Me and Facebook love AU Baby
It looks like the public loves AU Baby. The sports 128 followers on Facebook, where they maintain a five-star rating. Their biggest cachet of fans is on Instagram, where they have over two thousand followers. They've hit it big in the influencer corner; multiple mommy bloggers have used and praised their products, as have multiple parental Instagrammers who promote organic parenting. On Judge.Me, the company sports a five-star rating out of 63 reviews. AU Baby's products have appeared in gift guides from The Strategist, Forbes, Primrose List, and The Today Show. It looks like they're building up quite a formidable reputation for themselves. Expect their appearance on "Shark Tank" only to improve their standings.
Did AU Baby manage to get the blanket approval of the sharks? Or has it been tucked away for winter storage? Tune in on February 2 to find out how they fare on "Shark Tank."