Kardashian-approved jewelry brand Baublebar is launching its first foray into children’s jewelry on Tuesday, under the name Minibar.
Baublebar CEO and co-founder Amy Jain said the inspiration for the line came from her own daughters. Jain’s two young children have been exposed to all facets of the jewelry creation process since the company went remote mid-pandemic. They started giving feedback on samples Jain received at home, which led to other Baublebar employees polling their own children for ideas, which all coalesced into Minibar.
“There are eight or nine kids around the company making up this team of mini-designers,” Jain said. “We made samples for all the kids, we sent them to their homes, and we watched them open the boxes and try everything on. Anything that didn’t make them shriek [with excitement] was cut [from the line].”
Baublebar has been around for 12 years, and Jain said many of its customers have grown up with the brand. Many that started shopping Baublebar when they were teenagers now have kids of their own or nephews and nieces. The Minibar line will be targeted toward those existing customers, and every Minibar piece will be packaged like a gift.
Minibar’s prices have been kept intentionally low, at $10-$30 per piece compared to $50-$150 for the adult line. While initially sold online only, Jain said Minibar will eventually make its way out to some of Baublebar’s wholesale partners — the brand is waiting to announce those retailers until the beginning of 2023. Currently, Baublebar has more than 7,500 points of distribution, ranging from Bloomingdale’s to the apparel shops of the Dallas Cowboys.
“We’re thinking less in revenue goals and more in customer behavior goals,” Jain said. “We want Minibar to be an easy place for someone to add something small into their cart. Our bigger vision is to make Baublebar a multigenerational brand —— somewhere you can go with your mom and your daughter.”
While the popularity of high-end children’s fashion is well-known, kids’ jewelry and accessories are relatively newer trends. Aside from Minibar, there’s Super Smalls, the kids’ jewelry and accessories brand launched by former Elle magazine accessories director Maria Dueñas Jacobs in 2019.
Overall, the children’s fashion market grew faster than men’s and women’s fashion last year. This year, total global revenue for children’s fashion is already north of $230 billion, and that’s expected to grow by 10% next year. On the apparel front, Missoni relaunched its kidswear, line over the summer and Saks Fifth Avenue added more than 60 children’s brands to its shelves last year.
Sylvana Durrett, co-founder of children’s fashion boutique Maisonette, told Glossy last year that she expects interest in children’s fashion to keep growing.
“Basically every major fashion brand is coming out with a children’s line now, and the sector is just continuing to grow, especially if you look at places like Farfetch [where kid’s fashion grew 57% last year],” she said, adding that stylish adults want their kids to look just as chic as them. “Your family becomes your brand online, and that’s driving a lot of it.“
