We’re not great at keeping secrets, so I’d be lying if I said that keeping this news under lock and key has been easy. It’s been months and months of back and forth wondering if it would really happen. Could we really take this brand that we launched just last year and bring it to Target?! Is our product good enough? Is our small team strong enough? It wasn’t in our launch plan for year 2, but when opportunity knocks, you answer the door, right?!
So here we are! Finally sharing the super exciting news with you that Esembly can now be found on Target.com.
Our journey to Target started at the most untimely of times. Smack in the middle of Covid lockdown. My husband and I working from our NYC home juggling meetings, deadlines, pandemic anxiety, wiping our groceries down with Clorox Wipes, not to mention our kids’ virtual schooling and their big emotions. The days and nights were looong. And then the email came. An invitation to be one of a handful of brands chosen to participate in Target’s Takeoff Baby Accelerator program. The entrepreneur in me was jumping for joy, but the pragmatic mom was silently freaking. How could I squeeze in anything else?! Especially something so important! But this was just too incredible to pass up. Target was looking to further expand their sustainable diaper offering and they felt Esembly might be just the brand to do it with.
The program started in September of 2020. My fabulous Esembly partners helped me clear some of my workload, I found an amazing sitter who double-masked and tackled Google Classroom with my kids, and I got to Zoom daily with some incredible members of the Target team and the other hard-working baby brands chosen to be part of the program. What a ride it was! And at the end, I was given the opportunity to pitch to the diaper buyers at Target.
Here's a slide from my Target pitch deck.
It went great! They immediately expressed interest in picking up our line, but I wanted more than their interest. I wanted Target to fall in love with Esembly and to get behind us in a whole new way. I needed them to see that our brand is the future of sustainable diapering.
Try-It Kits in our 4 exclusive Target prints
We set out to create a new Try-It Kit for them. One with a lower price point making it more accessible to those curious new Target parents who doesn’t yet know how awesome we are. lt wasn’t an easy choice deciding which products to prioritize for the Kit- we love them all and feel that each of them contribute to the best Esembly experience! So instead of cutting, we actually added in more products, but sized down and simplified some of them. Our new Target Try-It Kit contains the same 3 organic cotton Inners and 1 waterproof Outer, so no changes there. We added in some cute little sample-size pouches of our Everyday Balm and Rash Relief Cream, and instead of a 2 month supply of Washing Powder, we give 2-3 weeks worth of product (just enough to fall in love with it’s cleaning power!). And lastly, we changed the zippered Day Bag to a drawstring pouch, which not only serves as a simple and effective way to house your dirties before washing, but it doubles as a more tactile and purposeful packaging solution. These Kits are insanely adorable (perfect for gifting!!) and are available on Target.com in Size 1 and 2 in four Exclusive to Target Prints!
Yep! You read that right. There is nothing we love more than designing new prints. And what better way to celebrate this new relationship with Target than by creating a collection just for them! I’m delighted to introduce Dapple Dot, Fuzzy Friends, Positivity Parade and Pom-Pom Party! Available on Outers, Day Bags, Petite Pouches and, of course, our new Try-It Kits.
For the time being you can purchase Kits, Inners, Outers, Wipe-Ups, Day Bags, Petite Pouches, Pail Pouches, Overnighters and Tossers at Target.com
Everyday Balm, Rash Relief, And Wipe Up Wash should be available by the end of the month. With Washing Powder and Agitators following closely behind.
THANK YOU for following our journey and for your continued support. We are so excited about this new chapter and to have you be a part of it!
If you purchase from Target, please, please leave a review! The more positive feedback we receive online the more likely they may be to make room for us on store shelves next year!
-Liz Turrigiano, co-founder
