TLDR: I am a young wife and mother with a product idea, a unique baby burp cloth product unlike what is available on the market, that has been in the making for years. I am seeking advice on how to actually get my physical baby product made ethically, ideally in Australia. Sewing the products myself on a small scale would not be very lucrative. I don't know who to engage with to start and I am using my current part-time admin work income to fund this, while my husband pays for our household expenses. Does this require investors or government grants or can you start on a smaller scale? Please forgive me for my naivety. I am allowing myself to dream without limitations, but I want to have a plan. Any guidance is invaluable to me!
After having my baby, I noticed that the products I was using weren't functional and I would end up covered in baby vomit every day. I came up with some iterations and started sewing my designs, needing a creative outlet after studying design at university. From here, friends started asking me about what it was that I was using and requested to buy some of the cloths for their pregnant family and friends. I won't go into details as the product is very unique, yet simple to replicate.I have always had an entrepreneurial mindset, despite wanting to stay at home with my child. So I started to research product design and marketing, and opened my first Etsy shop, knowing I had absolutely no time to actually market or manufacture back then. But it was a fun creative outlet and friends and friends of friends kept asking for more and loved the branding I designed. One person in particular, a mother of an entrepreneur, insisted she buy a few of them before she flew back home and explained that my product was really different and so innovative yet simple, that it could 'go really far'. I had a flutter of excitement after years of imposter syndrome and with much iteration since then, I am now ready to bring my idea to fruition.
Any advice on who to consult to actually make and market this product (manufactures, legal requirements for baby products, marketing and registering, barcodes etc) would be absolutely invaluable to me. I have researched so much but feel overwhelmed and unsure of where to start. I can't have this idea just waiting around, it will help a lot of parents.
Thank you for reading this far.
You’ll have to find textile manufacturers in Australia, I’d recommend looking at Etsy to see about linking up with someone local. Keep things small scale until you know you can make money from it. Are you willing to go to local markets and sell your product weekly? How will you be selling this? There are heaps of things to consider past the idea stage. First and foremost how much time you can put in to making this an actual business.