More info at: https://diasporachronicles.co/2020/08/04/expecting-mothers/

Pregnancy care packages are becoming popular gift options provided by friends and family to women when they are expecting. An American company, Bump Box created a monthly subscription service that curates healthy products for pregnant women during their pregnancy. A customer can sign up of a subscription in which a package can be sent to the expecting mother every month of her pregnancy. The packages include everything from compression socks to help reduce their feet from swelling to morning sickness tea to reduce vomiting during pregnancy.

The company was founded by Christine Deehring in 2015 after her first pregnancy. Bump Boxes has now grown to $20 million in revenue and reaches 14 million moms monthly through their channels.

Darlyne & Co, a local black-owned business that sells innovative baby products and apparel just inked a deal with Chase Bank to be the Official Supplier of baby packages to gift their customers nationwide when they are expecting.

We performed extensive online research and were unable to find a company that provides a similar pregnancy care service in Nigeria. This screams an opportunity for a new company in Nigeria to offer a similar pregnancy care package service like Bump Box.

According to Knoema Atlas, in 2019, there were over 7.5 million children born in Nigeria (3.75 million in the US), almost double the number of pregnant women in the United States. The market organically exists in Nigeria, where the service can be marketed to husbands, friends and families of expecting mothers. In addition, it is very common for corporate companies in Africa to send their workers edible gift baskets during the holidays. As a result, it will be easy to sell the pregnancy care package concept to corporate organizations. Imagine the revenue opportunity if one can connect with GTB, First Bank and Access Bank in Nigeria to purchase this service for their pregnant customers….

This business model should work effectively in Nigeria because one can source the products from China and then package the finished product in Nigeria, which will be relatively cheap due to the low cost of labor in the country. Note: Nigeria’s Federal minimum wage is 18,000 naira (~$48) a month.

Product
Below are examples of products that can be included in the care package:

Compression socks to reduce foot swelling
Cocoa butter to minimize stretch marks
Hand sanitizer
Head wrap
Prenatal vitamins
Comfortable pajamas and slippers
Sleeping masks
Water bottle
Morning sickness tea
Pregnancy book
Chap stick
Antacids for heartburn



Operations

Start by identifying six items that will be included in the care package
Go to alibaba.com to identify suppliers that will provide each product in the package
Look into the private labeling option to brand each product with your personal brand
Import products to Nigeria
Assemble individual products into a care package with emphasis on design and premium packaging
Market finished product to men between ages 30-50 for their wives and women between ages 25-40 for their friends
Marketing should be heavy on social media with influencer marketing for B2C (Business to Consumer) sales
Market to local gynecologists and nurses to recommend the care package to their pregnant patients
For corporate accounts, use LinkedIn to target HR Executives, Marketing Executives and CEOs encouraging them to purchase the product for their pregnant employees and customers as part of their corporate wellness program



Below is a suggested list of six starter products for the package including a link to the products on Alibaba and the current unit price:

Compression socks – 62 cents
Sleeping mask – 58 cents
Cocoa butter cream – $2.00
Morning sickness relief mints – 50 cents
Comfy slippers – 80 cents
Chap stick – 27 cents
Customized box – 56 cents

Total cost per package is $5.33 * 380 naira = ~2,000 naira

Let us assume importation and logistics cost ~1,000 naira per package. The total cost per unit is 3,000 naira. Each box can easily be retailed for 10,000 naira ($26). Leading to a gross profit of 7,000 naira per unit. This is a high margin product….. to further increase profits, one can replace the $2 cocoa butter cream with a much cheaper product like hand sanitizer that costs 40 cents.



Distribution

E-commerce through your website and Jumia
Retail stores such as Shop Rite and SPAR
Pop-up kiosks in shopping malls



Additional Growth Strategy

Start making packages for 1st trimester, 2nd trimester and 3rd trimester consumers
Make a different package for new born, age 1, 2 and 3 year old babies
Start selling individual products to cater to those not interested in the total packaged box
Participate in affiliate marketing, where you provide a referral service to complementary products such as baby cribs and toys