As we near the end of 2022, we'd like to take a moment to reflect on all of the things that we've been able to do this year —because of each and every one of you.
At the start of 2022, we moved our inventory from the third bedroom in our small single story home, to our finished basement game room for more space to grow. I sold the blue sofa I had dreamed of owning for so long and Gannon begrudgingly removed the television from the wall and we moved in thousands of cloth diapers. This move allowed us to double our working inventory from four wire shelving units to eight, and we could finally pack orders without standing on top of one another.
In February, we released our First Anniversary collection. This collection featured five of our best selling prints from the previous year, in new unreleased color ways. Our community loved this release and we were thrilled to be able to share something you already loved in a new and exciting way. This also offered families that didn't find us in 2021 the opportunity to enjoy some of our most well loved sold out prints.
We also launched our text message club in February. Customers could now sign up to be the first to know about new releases and exclusive sales via text message. It's not too late to join! Text KINDER to +1 (877) 941-0744 to begin receiving texts from us. (We don't text a lot, we promise.)
As February came to a close, the world centered focus on Ukraine and the devastation that followed. It was no secret that we had been working with Marina Solodka, a Ukrainian artist, on an ocean inspired collection that had yet to release. Our community asked if there was a way to support Marina during this time and when we spoke to her, she asked that we focus any monetary support to Humanitarian and Medical Aid to Ukraine. In conjunction with the release of her first collection, we added an option for our customers to contribute to our donation to the Humanitarian and Medical Aid to Ukraine in Marina's name. Our community generously contributed $621 during checkout on release weekend and on Monday, March 21, 2022 Kinder made a 2,800 EURO (Roughly $3,000 USD) donation to Humanitarian and Medical Aid to Ukraine on behalf of our community, in honor of Marina Solodka's artist collaboration collection.
In March, we also announced our second round of Kinder Ambassadors that included 20+ amazing families from around the world. Dulce, Kylie, Holly, Parker, Taryn, Caheri, Clarice, April, Kristin, Ali, Lora, Jess, Lesley, Kassie, Mada, Miranda, Cassy, Brandi, Lilly, Kaila, Nicole, and Brynn all brought a unique perspective and experience on cloth diapering to share with our community. We're so thankful for their support and how much they were able to help us grow over this past year.
Our interview with Bailey of the Cloth Diaper Podcast also released in March of 2022. We were so excited to be given the opportunity to sit down and share our business journey with Bailey and her community. If you have not had the opportunity to listen, please check out episode 101 of the Cloth Diaper Podcast, "Bringing you a new flair in cloth diaper design & style with a family owned business, Kinder Cloth Diapers."
On April first, we gave everyone a laugh with our New Print release "SPOSIE". We as a community laughed about the idea of a wetness indicator on a cloth diaper, and some even expressed interest in adding this laugh to their cloth diaper stashes. (Yes, some of you even went to our website an searched for this print—six times to be exact.)
Then in late April, Earth Day happened and you sold us out of practically everything. In the best way possible. I was nearing the end of my pregnancy with baby A and the timing could not have been more serendipitous for our family.
In early May, we added Nest Plant Based Disposable Diapers to our product offerings in an effort to show families that cloth diapering does not have to be all or nothing. You can shop Nest in sizes 1-5 at Kinder. We're here to support you in your cloth journey—full time, part time or sometimes.
In late May, we welcomed baby A and took a break to focus on our now family of four. Shortly after she joined our family, I took to tiktok to share my unfiltered newborn cloth diapering experience. I shared fit tips, products I loved, things I didn't love quite as much and even some diapers that were sent to me as gifts from other brands in our industry. You can find all of my "Tiny Human Diaper Change" videos in the "Newborn" playlist on our tiktok page.
Then in June, we donated 150 cloth pocket diapers and inserts to the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank—30 of those diapers gifted at check out by Kinder customers. We're so grateful to be able to support Pittsburgh families in need with the option to cloth diaper. We hope to work with the WPDB more in 2023 to continue to provide diapers and cloth education to families in our region.
In July, we added nursing pads to our product offerings in an attempt to divert excess fabric from the landfill. Our five inch round nursing pads are made from fabric scraps that would otherwise be discarded after the manufacturing of our diapers and other products is complete. In 2023, we are excited to add additional "scrappy" products to our library of offerings.
We hit a bit of a lull in August of 2022. Earlier in June, our manufacturing partner experienced a devastating fire that left what should have been our July and August releases a total loss. We had no new incoming inventory to release for several months while our manufactures worked hard to rebuild their facilities and remake all of the damaged products.
The new house allowed for even more space. We grew from four wire shelving units at the start of 2023 to twelve in September—and we filled them, very quickly.
We expanded our Retail partnerships this year—making Kinder available for purchase in five different countries around the world. This expansion included a partnership with Nest and Sprout of Prince George, BC who began stocking Kinder products. We were very excited about this partnership as N&S allows a more cost effective shipping solution for our Canadian customer base. We are also now available at Happy Beehinds—an east coast online, cloth diaper specialty store. We're thrilled to be included in their repertoire of brands.
We also added quilting to our play mats in October of 2022. Which was a step in the right direction, but not a home run. Check back in January of 2023 when we knock the quilting out of the park with the release of our Play Mat 3.0.
In listening to our customers, we made our diaper pods reversible in October too. Now you can enjoy the print on the inside or the outside with reversible zippers.
In November, we launched 'Kinder for Good', an initiative to support the Western Pennsylvania Diaper bank and families in our community. For every product sold in a KFG print, we will donate a diaper. As part of release weekend, Kinder families donated 75 diapers! These donation diapers were added to the running tally of donations made since our last contribution to the WPDB, to total 118 diapers donated by our community since June. We're excited to be able to round this number up to an even 150 to share with the WPDB as they begin supporting local families in 2023.
Looking back, throughout 2021 we released 63 different prints and solids. In contrast, in 2022 we were able to increase that number by 106% percent and brought you 130 new prints and solids. (Phew!)
We grew our TikTok following from 7,000 to 40,000 followers—sharing the joys of cloth diapers with more families around the world.
At the end of 2021, we were excited to share that we had grown our Discord group, Make Cloth Mainstream with Kinder to more than 150 members. As we close 2022, that same group is now home to more than 650 families.
We grew our product line this year too. Now offering Pockets, Covers, four styles of inserts, wipes, wet bags, pods, mats, and several adorable accessories.
In 2022, we teamed up with more than thirteen different artists to bring you art from around the world. One of the joys of owning this business is being able to share art that inspires me with your families.
To date, we have welcomed 6,174 orders throughout 2022, a 192% increase in total orders when compared to 2021.
Thank you for yet another incredible year in business. We have so much planned for 2023 already! We hope that you'll join us as we continue to grow and evolve Kinder.
