Mompreneur Pallavi Utagi Is Creating Sustainable Living With Her D2C Brand of Reusable Cloth Diapers - SuperBottoms

The disposable baby-diapers available in the market, that claims to be super absorbent for a night-long sound sleep of your baby, are one of the biggest cause of land and sea pollution as these are getting into the sea in vast numbers, blocking drains, harming wildlife and spreading diseases. Disposable diapers are mostly made with nonrecyclable polyethylene plastic, which breaks down over hundreds of years and contains toxic chemicals and microplastics.

These single-use throwaway diapers contain variety of components comprising wood pulp, plastics, tissue paper, or polyester nonwoven fabric, nonpermeable film made, e.g., of polyethylene or polypropylene, adhesive, or hook tapes, etc.

Observing this, Pallavi Utagi, who had a previous stint as the category manager for World’ no.1 Feminine Hygiene Wash brand -'Lactacyd', has launched SuperBottoms, which is currently the forerunner in creating cloth diapers as a category in the baby care segment.

Unlike synthetic baby-diapers, which are made of SAPs (Super Absorbent Polymer, now present in most diapers), SuperBottoms Diaper are made with organic cotton and thus very gentle and safe on baby’s delicate skin. With a one-size-fit-all functionality, it has a patent pending for its innovative buttoning system that enables the same diaper to be used for babies up to 3 years. The brand is a leader in the cloth diaper category in India and a bestseller on marketplaces like Amazon India.

Founder & Mom-in-chief, Ms. Pallavi Utagi

With key interests in sustainable, zero waste living and gentle ways of parenting, Pallavi Utagi is an engineer and marketer by education. She has earlier worked in the similar industry with a proven experience in launching the brands like i-can, i-pill and i-sure.

Pallavi is instrumental in changing the mindset of mothers who emphasizes on using the fancy products available in the market , and are ignorant towards the otherwise harmful effects on the babies' skin. Her constant efforts into bringing in the social change has also generated employment opportunities at large for women.

Run by a core team of parents, 90% of whom are mothers, the SuperBottoms brand diapers are trusted by 20 lakh+ parents. SuperBottoms UNO, the company's flagship product is an organic reusable diaper with the capability to stay dry all night.

SuperBottoms has raised 2 million in Series A from Saama Capital & DSG Consumer Partners and another half a million in debt funding from Alteria. Company is already INR 50 crores and aims to achieve 100 % year on year.

SuperBottoms Raises 2 Mn in Series A Funding from Saama Capital & DSG Consumer Partners

April 6, 2021, Mumbai - Eco-friendly baby products start-up, SuperBottoms, known for its reusable cloth diapers for babies today announced it has raised US$2 million in series A funding from Saama Capital and DSG Consumer Partners. Run by a core team of mothers, it sells reusable cloth diapers that are gentle on the baby's skin and the environment.

 
With its products tested & certified under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, 2008 (CPSIA) of US, SuperBottoms sells 30,000+ diapers each month primarily through its own website and other leading e-commerce platforms. SuperBottoms raised its first external capital of Rs. 1.6 crore in November 2018, in a round led by Titan Capital, the investment office of Snapdeal founders, Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal with Venture Catalysts also participating in that round. DSG Consumer Partners-backed SuperBottoms in the Pre-Series A round raised in Jan 2020.

Commenting on the fund raise, Pallavi Utagi, Founder, SuperBottoms, said, "It's the unstinted support of the parent community that underlies our organic growth into a trustworthy, safe, better-for-you brand for children. The funds raised will be invested in initiatives that will help spread awareness around the concept of cloth diapering to a larger audience base. The team at SuperBottoms is truly excited in partnering Saama Capital and DSG Consumer Partners in our journey to expand and build a strong child-oriented brand."

In his comments, Ash Lilani, Managing Partner, Saama Capital said, "There is a clear consumer shift towards better-for-you, high-quality products across verticals. This marks our second investment in the sector after The Moms Co., a leading player in the mom & baby personal care space. At Saama Capital, we believe there is unmet demand in the baby care segment. SuperBottoms' user-first approach and strong brand recall excites us. We are very excited to partner Pallavi in SuperBottoms' journey to be the brand of choice for baby products."

"Cloth diaper penetration in India is expected to reach global levels due to the preference of Indians for cloth nappies. SuperBottoms being the market leader is well poised to lead the same. Pallavi and her team have created a brand with a very loyal following and exceptional user engagement metrics. We are bullish on the underserved baby care segment in the country. We are excited to continue backing Pallavi and Salil in building India's leading brand for baby products," added Deepak I. Shahdadpuri, Managing Director of DSG Consumer Partners.

Providing his perspective, Bipin Shah, Partner, Titan Capital, said," SuperBottoms has carved a unique forte in the baby care space in India. We identified this early on, in 2018, as seed investors. Pallavi and Salil are fantastic founders who have demonstrated sustainable growth at SuperBottoms. We are confident that the company will continue to reach newer heights and own the fast-growing sustainable baby care space in India. We are excited to partner consumer focused investors like Saama Capital and DSG Consumer Partners in this journey."