Babyface, one of the leading clothing brands for babies and toddlers, had its best year in 30 years last year. Looking ahead, the company asked: How can we keep Babyface future-proof?
Babyface currently has two collections: Babyface newborn size 50-74 (including A Tiny Story) and Babyface child size 74-128. However, the company encountered several challenges that it wanted to address. For example, due to the larger sizes, the Babyface name could not be used as a logo or on the garments in the toddler and preschool collection. In addition, because of the name Babyface, the major customers could not be included in the back-to-school campaign. The company also received several requests from different countries to expand the newborn collection to size 86, but this was not possible due to overlapping sizes and the same name of the collection.
To overcome these challenges, Babyface teamed up with marketing agency Degen & Leideritz and freelance designer Mariëlle Leeuwin. to develop a rebranding that will keep the brand future-proof. Representatives in each country were involved to ensure that the changes were accepted locally. After more than a year of hard work, they have developed three new brands, each with new branding: A Tiny Story (Your First Chapter), Size 50-74, Babyface (That Smile Suits You), Size 56-86, and Stains & Stories (part of the adventure), size 80-140.
A Tiny Story
A Tiny Story offers soft and durable organic cotton baby clothes that are easy to mix and match. With the A Tiny Story collection, every day a baby starts his own story in the best clothes.
A Tiny Story was actually an experiment that we developed for the Instagram mother. Babyface is a bit more commercial, but we found that with a little more muted colors and a bit more progressive, it could also work, but in a small package. But then it became so successful that we thought it should simply become a brand name.
The idea behind A Tiny Story was to create a disarming, soft and easy to combine newborn clothing line. The stripes on the Tiny Story logo represent a little story, because with the A Tiny Story collection, babies will start their own stories every day in the most beautiful clothes.
Stains & Stories
There is so much for toddlers to do, explore and get dirty. That is why it is important that the quality of the clothes is good and that it fits perfectly. This way, parents don’t have to worry, knowing that the clothes will remain beautiful even after many washes. This is why Babyface developed Stains & Stories:
We wanted an extraordinary name and spent a whole day with the team, a marketing agency and a freelance stylist brainstorming together. We wanted to include all of our DNA and not just be guided by practical considerations. At the end of the day, Stains & Stories came out and we were all immediately hooked.
The button represents the origin of the brand: children who go on adventures, get dirty and bring stories home. The button is a turned button and can also be seen as a plus or compass. It represents the journey of discovery that children go on and at the same time the connection to clothing and the connection to each other. The collection will be a bit heavier than before, but still with the well-known babyface artwork and all-over prints.
So Babyface has not been idle and has reinvented itself with Stains & Stories and the rebranding of Babyface and A Tiny Story, always adhering to quality and sustainability. The text ‘By Babyface’ on the hang tags conveys this to consumers. In this way, consumers know that the collections continue to develop from Babyface’s DNA. The new spring/summer 24 collection will be available soon and seems to be going down well with older children. This should have a positive impact on both customers and the company.
launch
On March 25th, the release of the new stamps was celebrated with a happy celebration. The celebration took place in an old granary in Naarden, a beautiful, idyllic barn that perfectly suited the cozy and relaxed atmosphere of the event. There were all kinds of delicious snacks and drinks, which created a relaxed atmosphere among those present. The guests were able to enjoy all the delicacies in peace and quiet, while Leonie took plenty of time to answer all questions and present the collections. One of the highlights of the evening was a screenprint where guests could have their favorite quotes printed by the brands. This gave the evening an extra personal touch and made it an unforgettable experience for everyone.
All in all it was a fantastic evening and a great opportunity to launch the new brands. We can’t wait to see more of this promising collection. The collections will be available in stores from May 1st, 2023.
