Buggi website allows parents to rent buggies instead of buy

Parents often feel guilt-tripped into buying the best, and sometimes most expensive, items for their children. 

This results in many suffering buyer’s remorse – especially when it comes to prams, a new start-up claims.

Many parents end up buying multiple ones, research for London-based Buggi shows. 

One parent, Stacey Waddell from Luton, even claims she has spent £30,000 on prams over the years for her five children. One duo believe they have a solution.

Pram pain: Co-founder Jackie says she came up with the idea of a pram rental business after she and her husband spent £1,500 on new buggies in the first six month of baby Lila’s arrival

Friends Roshan Ramlugun, partner at Addington Capital, and Dr. Jackie Lenders who works as a general practitioner for the National Health Service are the founders of Buggi, which launched earlier this year.

Jackie says she came up with the concept after feeling the financial strain of buying the wrong buggies the first time round.

She and husband Alex spent £1,500 on new buggies within the first six months of baby Lila’s arrival.

Jackie says: ‘It’s crazy that so many of us parents end up with expensive buggies that aren’t always suitable for every stage of our children’s development – which is how we came up with the idea of Buggi.

‘We offer parents the financial freedom to get the model they want, with the flexibility to swap if they need to, and complete reassurance that they’re getting an “as new” product every time.’

Its research claims more than three quarters of parents with child under four say they own more than one pram and 8 per cent owning more than four.

We plan to disrupt the industry

Prams and pushchairs generally cost between £400 and £1,500 according to co-founder Roshan. 

But while there’s no lack of choice in the market, Buggi’s research has found that nearly half of parents’ needs often change.

The reasons for change vary, but they range from: wanting to switch to a lighter buggy, wanting one with more features, wanting a more robust model or simply wanting a newer model.

Jackie says: ‘Our aim is to completely revolutionise traditional buggy ownership by listening to parents and providing them with a flexible, affordable service that’s better for the environment – for every step of the way.’ 

But is the rental model right for all?

At first the company only offered rentals on Bugaboo products, but it has since expanded its range to selling Babyzen Yoyo, Silver Cross Coast and Stokke to name but a few. 

It also plans to offer alternatives, such as Snooze Pods, to rent in the future.

To sign up, parents have to agree to a minimum of six months, which will transform into a rolling contract thereafter, with 30 day’s notice that can be conducted via email. 

The company allows parents the option to changing models within the six-month period without any penalties.

Subscriptions start at £26.99 for a BabyZen Yoyo2 stroller (which retails for £399 on John Lewis) and the maximum parents can currently pay is £99 a month for a Bugaboo Donkey3 Twin, which retails for £1,450.

But the longer you rent a pram the less sense it makes from a pure economic standpoint. 

Bug-life: Jackie says the service will not be for everybody

Bug-life: Jackie says the service will not be for everybody

Renting a BabyZen Yoyo2 for six months would set a parent back £161.94, while renting it for two years would cost £647.76 – more than it would cost to pay for a new one.

Meanwhile, those renting the most expensive Bugaboo would pay £594 after six months and £2,376 after two years.

But Jackie argues: ‘A lot of parents have ended up changing and options are limited. 

‘If you were to roll on with the subscription you do rack up the costs.

‘But contrary to that if you end up buying two, three or four buggies over time it would be more expensive than a subscription. 

‘If you do buy a model and are comfortable with it, then our service may not be for you, but it would if you do change frequently.’

The other advantage to renting a pram is that Buggi, through its partnership with Buggy Pitstop, will fix anything that breaks or wears down.

Roshan explains: ‘If a wheel fails, we would take responsibility in fixing it. However, if the pram gets damaged through a parent leaving it in the driveway and driving their car over it, we’d expect them to pay.

‘We do encourage parents to put the pram on their household insurance though when they rent it with us.’

At the end of a rental, Buggi refurbish them and rent them out again. Its terms and conditions allow for ‘fair wear and tear,’ such as scuffs and scratches.  

Pushing it: I’ve spent £30,000 on buggies over the years 

Stacey Waddell, who lives in Luton, is a mum of five. She says: ‘I’ve had a lot of buggies over the twelve years of being a mum. In fact, I’m one of those people’s who’s had more buggies than I’ve had hot dinners.

‘With my first born, I was buying a new buggy every six weeks – I reckon I must have spent at least £30,000 on buggies over the years. I’ve tried just about every brand of buggy out there – I’m definitely an expert.’

She says one of the problems she has is that she gets bored of buggies really quickly and ends up changing them. 

She explains: ‘Often, I’ll have a big sturdy one for a newborn, and then I’ll get frustrated because it’s so bulky and takes up so much room, so I’ll want to change it.

‘Plus I find the wheels often wear down quite quickly or just break. There’s nothing like the smell of a new buggy, but it’s just such an expensive business buying them new every time.’

Buggi has conducted research about why parents change their push chairs and prams and has produced some interesting results

Buggi has conducted research about why parents change their push chairs and prams and has produced some interesting results

It was when she was searching for a smaller buggy for her three-month-old that she came across Buggi. Stacey is now renting a BugabooBee5.

She says: ‘Normally, when you buy a buggy new, you’re stuck with it. But with Buggi, it’s different. You’re only renting it. 

‘You’re only committed for six months and then you can swap the buggy for a different one – no questions asked.

‘The thing that really makes Buggi so appealing is the affordability factor. The price for a really nice Bugaboo was good. 

‘You can be proud to walk down the street with a really fancy buggy without paying the earth for it. 

‘And when you’re done with the buggy, it’s not sitting there in storage under the stairs – Buggi just come and pick it up.’

 

We need more investment

It’s still early days for this start-up and, to date, the co-founders have invested their own time and money into the business and have not drawn a salary.

The founders say they are dedicating plenty of time to it and personally respond to queries, even if they come late at night.  

This is because they’re adamant not to create another ‘faceless automated service’. Roshan says: ‘You can see that by the good reviews we’re getting on Trustpilot – we don’t just sign off at 5 or 6pm.’

Following their stint at The Baby Show at London’s Excel Centre, Roshan admits the business got off to a slow start, but they now have about 50 subscribers with one to two orders a day coming in through their website.

This is partly why the duo are seeking some investors – ideally angel investors with experience in the subscription model – who would invest between £100,000 – £250,000.

Besides marketing, the money would also go into buying more stock. ‘We are leasing around one a day with quite a conservative marketing budget,’ says Roshan, who hopes the business will secure at least 500 subscribers in three years.

Until then, Jackie and Roshan will keep on with their day jobs, while investing their energy into Buggi on a part-time basis.

As outsiders venturing into this business for the first time both have found the baby product industry supportive and welcoming.

Roshan says: ‘We weren’t sure what kind of reception we’d get from manufactures and others in this space but they were actually quite accommodating and we were able to get discounts in procuring stock. People are open to working with you if you are genuine.’

For those wishing to follow in their entrepreneurial footsteps both advise on the importance of finding a passion.

Roshan says: ‘If you have a good idea and believe in it then you should try it. That’s ultimately what we did. 

‘Since we launched this, we’ve had many that have come up to us and said ‘we thought of doing this’, but never actually did it.’

Jackie adds: ‘If you get into something that’s going to take a lot of time and effort make sure it’s something you believe in. Make sure you got the support of the people around you, who can help make it happen.

‘Something that was also important for us is having our beliefs validated. So, get your research in nice and early. 

‘So for us if it had come in with shocking results we could’ve recalled it then and there. But I think that [the research] consolidated where we were going.’

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