Bra-ving barriers to empower girls  

When Apricotton’s Co-Founders, Chloe Beaudoin and Jessica Miao, started their capstone project at Ivey Business School as friends and project partners determined to solve a long-time problem faced by girls growing up, their vision sparked what is now a worldwide bra brand and vibrant online community. Apricotton is the only bra brand globally that designs bras that “grow as she grows,” meaning customers can wear the same Apricotton products throughout puberty and into early adulthood without having to endure the painstaking and constant search for new sizes. “We specifically started this company because we had both struggled to find bras that fit us when we had gone through puberty and had family members going through the same struggles at the time of founding Apricotton,” said Beaudoin.

In 2020, Apricotton was launched mid-pandemic. As a product-based business, the pandemic only made it more challenging to find the right manufacturer for these unique bras. “It took a lot of research and interviews to find the right manufacturer, and so the process took about four months. When we finally found a manufacturer overseas, we had multiple calls back and forth before we even asked them to make samples to be sure that this is the right fit for us,” shares Beaudoin. Four years later, their growth has been impressive and sustainable, with expansion to new countries, new products, and continued interest in their vision by investors. From being selected as one out of the 1,200 applications for the reputed Techstars Chicago Accelerator, being a recipient of the Visa She’s Next Grant program to winning multiple pitch competitions, Apricotton closed their first pre-seed round building strong investor relationships and learning to look for the right investors in the room. That’s not all – Beaudoin shares that additional grants and pitch competition wins helped them in fueling their new product launches and website development.

Beyond their innovative products and inspiring hard work, the Apricotton Co-Founders have built a community through both TikTok and Instagram that is gaining traction and changing the bra-shopping narrative for many of their customers. Supporting young women by answering “uncomfortable” questions, educating, and cultivating a space for likeminded people has allowed their online community to grow their brand, and in turn, their sales successes. As of today, Apricotton has over 170,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram, up by 100,000 followers in the last year, which makes up 91% of their revenue to date. “This was a key milestone for 2023 as this number changes the perception of our customers. It takes us from a ‘small business’ to a more reputable brand.” said Beaudoin.

Being an entrepreneur in a space that is new comes with its own challenges. The entrepreneurial journey was a huge learning curve for the Apricotton Co-Founders are disrupting the FemTech and fashion space with an educational background in business. Acknowledging this, “We realized that taking the time to understand the gaps in our industry, the fashion design and manufacturing process and the demands of our market and customers was more crucial than coming up with the bra designs to create a real solution to a real problem,” said Beaudoin.

When asked about their most insightful learning, Chloe shares “We realized early that you will never have enough time in the day to accomplish everything on your list, which is why it’s so important to prioritize. Once we realized this, we looked at everything that was driving sales or important to the business, and what was not and then put all our capacity into doing what was most important.”

Backed by their alma mater, and Southwestern Ontario ecosystem champions, Apricotton is well on their way to exponential growth and further expansion, “It’s very under wraps, but we’re working on a very special launch coming later this year. It’s been a huge project, so we’re excited to finally be able to share it with our customers!” shares Beaudoin.

To shop Apricotton’s collections, go to apricotton.ca and @apricottongirls on Instagram