The baby goods industry is arguably one of the best-suited industries for operating subscription, rental, and as-a-service business models.‍

Why? 

Parents have realised that buying, storing, and reselling products their children need only for a short time is inefficient, expensive, and unnecessarily stressful. Over the past decade, many baby goods subscription companies have emerged worldwide.

In this article, we examine some of the most successful brands offering subscription models for kids, baby, and parenting products, and what others can learn from them.

But before we get into that, let’s briefly discuss:

• Why are more and more parents choosing to subscribe and rent kids’ products instead of buying them?
• What makes kids’ products work so well in a subscription model?
• Different types of subscription models for kids’, baby and parenting products.
• Common business models in the baby goods subscription space
• (Star of the article) Baby goods subscription brands and what we can learn from them.

Why parents are choosing to subscribe & rent kids’ products instead of buying them

#1 Kids frequently need new things simply because they grow incredibly fast.

What fits today may be useless in a few months. Strollers, carriers, clothing, toys, and sleep solutions are often needed for a very specific phase and then quickly outgrown. This short usage window is one of the core reasons traditional ownership becomes inefficient and making access over ownership more attractive.

#2 At the same time, new products are expensive.

Especially in the early years, this creates a significant financial burden for parents: high upfront costs for items that will be used only briefly.

#3 Quality matters, but budgets are finite
Parents want safe, reliable, well-designed products, not compromises. But they also want access to that quality without repeatedly making large one-time purchases.

#4 Storage quickly becomes a problem
Once a product is no longer needed, it doesn’t disappear. It ends up in cellars, storage rooms, garages, or corners of apartments, taking up both physical space and mental bandwidth.‍

#5 Uncertainty is part of early parenthood
Many parents are unsure what they actually need. There are countless options, limited time, and often very little prior experience. Deciding what will work and for how long becomes another source of friction.‍

#6 A growing sense of responsibility
Parents are increasingly aware of waste, overconsumption, and the environmental impact of constantly buying new products, especially when those products are meant for children.

Taken together, these factors explain why subscriptions and rentals for kids', baby and parenting products have gained so much traction in the baby and kids category.

Access-based models make it easier for parents to focus on parenting rather than ownership. Instead of repeatedly buying, storing, reselling, or discarding products, parents can use what they need for as long as they need it and return it when they no longer need it.

Why kids, baby, and parenting products are a natural fit for subscriptions

So if there is one product category where subscriptions make intuitive sense, it’s kids, baby, and parenting products. Not because subscriptions are fashionable but because the way these products are used already follows predictable, short-lived patterns.

Some of the reasons this category works particularly well:

• Products are used for a short, clearly defined period
  Babies and young children outgrow strollers, carriers, clothes, and toys quickly. Many products are needed for months, not years, which makes permanent ownership inefficient.
  
  
• Needs change in predictable life stages
  From newborn to toddler, parents move through fairly standard phases. That predictability makes it easier to plan upgrades, swaps, and returns.
  
  
• High upfront costs for short-term use
  Many baby products are expensive despite being used briefly. Subscriptions spread these costs over time and lower the financial barrier for parents.
  
  
• Storage becomes a real problem
  Once a product is no longer needed, parents are left with bulky items they don’t want to store, resell, or dispose of.
  
  
• Parents value trust over endless choice
  Especially in the early months, parents want safe, proven products — without spending hours comparing options. Subscriptions reduce decision fatigue.
  
  
• Sustainability concerns are already present
  Many parents are uncomfortable buying new products that will only be used for a short time. Subscriptions enable reuse without requiring parents to actively manage resale or hand-me-downs.

Types of subscriptions in the kids, baby, and parenting category

While these businesses are often grouped together under “baby goods subscriptions,” there are meaningful differences in how they operate. Understanding these differences is key to understanding why some models scale and others struggle.

Types of kids’ products subscriptions: 

• Baby gear and equipment subscription
• Kid’s toy subscriptions
• Baby clothing subscriptions
• Subscription boxes

#1 Baby gear and equipment subscriptions

This category includes strollers, pushchairs, buggies, car seats, baby carriers, cribs, and similar items that are consumer durable in nature. 

What defines these subscriptions:

• Durable, high-value products
• Not consumed during use
• Must be returned at the end of the subscription
• Require inspection, cleaning, and refurbishment before reuse

This is the most asset-heavy subscription model in the category and often the most complex to operate, but also the one with the strongest circularity potential.

#2 Kids’ toy subscriptions

Toy subscriptions typically focus on rotation rather than ownership.

They are built around:

• Age-appropriate toy selections
• Developmental stages (motor skills, cognitive play, learning)
• Reducing clutter and overconsumption

Toys are usually returned, swapped, or rotated at regular intervals. While individual items are lower in value than baby gear, logistics, sorting, and volume management play a much larger role.

#3 Baby clothing subscriptions

Clothing subscriptions are driven by one simple reality: children grow faster than clothes wear out.

Common characteristics include:

• Size-based rotation cycles
• Short usage periods
• Higher wear-and-tear compared to hard goods

Operationally, these models face challenges around quality grading, repair, and deciding when items should be retired from circulation.

#4 Subscription boxes (products and consumables)

Subscription boxes cover a wide range of offerings, such as:

• Curated bundles of baby products
• Age-based kits
• Consumables like diapers, wipes, or formula

Unlike equipment, many of these products are consumed and not returned. As a result, these subscriptions are operationally closer to traditional e-commerce subscriptions, even though they are marketed within the baby and parenting space.

Why these distinctions matter

These categories are not just different from a customer perspective — they represent fundamentally different business models.

Each comes with its own:

• Cost structures
• Logistics and return flows
• Hygiene and safety requirements
• Inventory or asset management challenges

Treating all “baby subscriptions” as the same often leads to flawed assumptions. A model that works well for consumables will not automatically work for durable baby gear, and many failed attempts in this space can be traced back to that misunderstanding.

Common business models in the baby goods subscription space (at a glance)

Below is a high-level overview of the most common business models in the kids', baby and prarenting industry.

👉 Want to find out which business model works best for you?

Read our guide: types of subscription business models in the kids, baby, and parenting subscription space.

Types of subscription business models:

• Long-term rental & subscription
• Short-term rentals
• Subscribe-before-buy or try-before-buy
• Membership
• Manufacturer-led access
• Marketplace
• Peer-to-peer subscription

1. Long-term rental & subscription

Customers pay a recurring fee to access a product for an open or extended period. The product is returned when no longer needed, refurbished, and re-circulated.

Typical goal: Replace ownership with access‍

Common in: Durable baby equipment with long lifecycles (strollers, bikes, furniture)

Examples: StrollMe, Bike Club, Axkid, swing2lseep

2. Short-term rentals

Products are rented for a clearly defined, limited period and returned afterwards. There is no assumption of continuity or long-term relationship.

Typical goal: Temporary access for a specific need‍

Common in: Travel gear, short usage phases, one-off situations

Examples: BabyQuip, babondo

3. Subscribe-before-buy / Try-before-buy

Customers subscribe to a product to test it with minimal risk. If they decide to buy, subscription fees (partially or fully) are credited toward the purchase.

Typical goal: Reduce purchase hesitation‍

Common in: High-consideration or uncertainty-heavy products

Examples: swing2sleep, Nomadi, TribuBox

4. Membership

Customers pay a recurring fee to unlock benefits rather than access to a specific product. This can include discounts, priority access, services, or bundled perks.

Typical goal: Retention and ecosystem lock-in‍

Common in: Brands with strong repeat engagement or add-on services

Examples: Toybrary Austin, KiwiCo

5. Manufacturer-led access

A product manufacturer offers rental or subscription access alongside traditional sales, often as a pilot or sustainability initiative rather than a core revenue driver.

Typical goal: Extend product life and explore alternative models‍

Common in: Established brands with durable, high-quality products

Examples: Bugaboo, Axkid, Woom

6. Marketplace

A platform connects customers with third-party providers who offer rental or subscription access to products. The platform itself does not usually own the inventory.

Typical goal: Enable access at scale without owning assets‍

Common in: Local or regional baby gear rentals, travel use cases

Examples: Parently, Loopz Bike

7. Peer-to-peer subscription

Individuals rent or subscribe products directly from other individuals, typically facilitated by a platform that handles trust, payments, and logistics.

Typical goal: Maximise utilisation of underused products‍

Common in: Community-driven or local sharing models

Baby goods subscription companies: Top examples in the current subscription landscape

Across baby gear, toys, clothing, and consumables, a growing number of companies are replacing one-time purchases with subscription and rental models. 

We look at two types of companies operating subscription models in the baby and kids market:

• Subscription-native brands like Bike Club, StrollMe
  Companies that were founded with subscriptions at their core and built their entire business around access rather than ownership.
  
• Established baby goods brands Bugaboo, Stokke, swing2sleep
  Companies that have sold baby products for years through traditional sales models and later introduced subscriptions to complement and extend their existing offering.

StrollMe

StrollMe is a baby goods subscription company founded in 2020 by Sebastian Reichelt & Timon Beutelin in Germany, and is a subscription-native brand, meaning it was built around subscriptions. 

Quick Facts

• StrollMe is a retailer (not manufacturer) of kid’s and baby products.
• As per their website, 50,000+ parents have used their subscription service. 
• They have an in-house refurbishment team that repairs and refurbishes returned products.

StrollMe is a good example of what it looks like when a subscription model is treated not as an add-on but as the core of the business. From product offering to messaging to operations, StrollMe consistently reinforces one idea: access instead of ownership.

The core pillars behind StrollMe’s subscription model

#1. Clear, repetitive communication of what the model is and what it isn’t

StrollMe prioritises clarity over cleverness in how it communicates its offering.

From the homepage onward, the same ideas are repeated across touchpoints:

• This is a subscription, not a purchase
• Products are returned, not kept
• FFexibility is built in
• Sustainability and circular economy are core to the model

The language is intentionally simple and still framed in market-education terms like “rent instead of buy”. This signals that StrollMe understands it is operating in a category where many parents are still learning about access-based models.

Rather than assuming familiarity, they focus on setting expectations early and reinforcing them often reducing the risk of mismatched assumptions later in the journey.

#2. Community and contribution to circularity

StrollMe consistently positions renting as a collective action, not just an individual benefit.

The messaging emphasises that:

• Returning products enables reuse
• Reuse is what makes the circular economy work
• Participation contributes to reducing waste and overproduction

This creates a sense that customers are not just consuming a service, but actively taking part in a more responsible system especially relevant for parents who care about the world their children grow up in.

The circular economy is not presented as an abstract concept, but as something parents contribute to through everyday decisions.

#3. A clearly defined target audience

StrollMe does not try to appeal to all parents.

Its communication consistently speaks to:

• Parents and families who value sustainability and the circular economy
• Customers who want high-quality products
• People who want to avoid high upfront costs and resource strain
• Parents who consciously think about the kind of world they leave behind for their children

This clarity helps the brand attract customers who are aligned with the model and avoid friction with those who fundamentally expect ownership.

#4. Strong focus on core subscription operations

As an asset-heavy subscription business, StrollMe recognises that operations are not a backend concern they are central to the model.

The company openly communicates that it has built:

• Structured return handling processes
• Inspection and quality checks
• Cleaning, repair, and refurbishment workflows
• Systems for redeploying products back into circulation

By acknowledging the complexity of these processes instead of hiding them, StrollMe strengthens trust and signals maturity.

#5. Quality, safety, and hygiene as non-negotiables

StrollMe clearly understands that baby and kids products come with higher expectations around safety and cleanliness.

Rather than treating this as assumed, they explicitly communicate:

• How products are checked after return
• How hygiene is ensured
• How quality standards are maintained before re-circulation

This reassures parents who might otherwise hesitate to use pre-owned products in a sensitive category.

#6. Transparency and education across the decision journey

StrollMe assumes that parents considering a subscription will research thoroughly and designs its communication accordingly.

Across FAQs and other channels, they proactively address:

• Damage and wear
• Theft
• Cancellation
• Returns
• What happens at the end of a subscription

By covering these topics upfront and transparently, they remove uncertainty before it turns into hesitation or support tickets.

Education is treated as part of the customer journey, not as an afterthought.

Why this matters

Taken together, these pillars show that StrollMe’s success is not based on pricing or novelty alone. It is built on alignment between communication, target audience, operational reality, and customer expectations.

For anyone looking at baby goods subscription models, StrollMe demonstrates that clarity, repetition, operational discipline, and transparency are not “nice to have” they are foundational

Bike Club 

Bike Club is a kids’ bike subscription company founded in 2016 in the UK by James Symes, who serves as founder and CEO. From the outset, Bike Club was built as a subscription-first business, designed around the reality that children outgrow bikes quickly while bikes themselves remain usable for years.

Quick facts:

• Bike Club is a retailer and operator, not a bike manufacturer.
• The company focuses exclusively on children’s bikes, rather than a broad range of baby goods.
• Bike Club operates in multiple markets, including the UK and Germany, and has scaled the model internationally.
• Bike Club has around 65,000+ subscribers/customers across all its markets.

Bike Club shows what happens when a subscription model is designed around one unavoidable customer reality growth and when upgrades, returns, and refurbishment are treated as core parts of the business rather than exceptions.

The core pillars behind Bike Club’s subscription model

#1. Bike swaps as the central value driver

Bike swaps are not an add-on to Bike Club’s subscription they are the core reason the model exists.

Children outgrow bikes predictably, and Bike Club designs the entire customer journey around that moment:

• Parents subscribe to the right bike size
  
• When the child grows, the bike is swapped
  
• Parents avoid resale, storage, and re-purchasing decisions
  

By turning growth into a built-in trigger, Bike Club makes retention feel natural rather than contractual. The subscription continues because the child continues to grow.

#2. Repair & refurbishment as a prerequisite for scale

For bike swaps to work reliably, returned bikes must be quickly brought back to a safe, high-quality standard.

Bike Club therefore treats repair and refurbishment as core infrastructure, not a background process:

• Bikes are inspected after return
  
• Worn parts are repaired or replaced
  
• Bikes are refurbished before being redeployed
  

This allows each bike to serve multiple families over its lifetime, improving asset utilisation and reducing waste — while maintaining trust in a safety-critical product.

#3. Community building around responsible consumption

Bike Club consistently frames its service as more than a financial decision.

Through its messaging and brand tone, the company emphasises:

• Reuse over ownership
  
• Reducing waste through circulation
  
• Being part of a community of parents making more responsible choices
  

This community angle helps normalise the idea of using refurbished products and reinforces that participation has a broader positive impact beyond individual convenience.

4. Customer experience designed for self-service and simplicity

Bike Club recognises that parents value simplicity over features.

The customer experience is designed to:

• Allow parents to manage subscriptions independently
  
• Request swaps without friction
  
• Understand pricing, timing, and next steps clearly
  

By reducing the need for manual support interactions, Bike Club keeps the experience predictable for customers and scalable for the business.

5. Operational systems that support growth

Behind the scenes, Bike Club relies on systems that can handle:

• Recurring billing and invoicing
  
• Asset tracking across sizes and lifecycles
  
• Swap logistics and returns
  
• International expansion without rebuilding processes
  

These operational systems allow Bike Club to scale into new markets without losing control over inventory, quality, or customer experience a common failure point for asset-heavy subscription businesses.

Why these pillars matter

Together, these pillars show that Bike Club’s success is not driven by pricing or novelty, but by alignment:

• The product has a clear lifecycle
• Swaps are inevitable and expected
• Operations are designed around reuse
• Systems support growth rather than constrain it

Bike Club demonstrates how focusing deeply on one product category and optimising every pillar around its lifecycle can make subscriptions feel obvious, practical, and sustainable.

Axkid

Axkid is a Swedish child car seat manufacturer founded in 2009 by Tony Qvist and Tony Broberg. Over more than a decade, the company has built its reputation around child safety, technical innovation, and long product lifecycles — long before introducing any form of rental or subscription model.

Quick facts

• Founded in 2009, Sweden
• Produces rear-facing and modular child car seats
• Expanded internationally early and operates across many markets
• Introduced direct-to-consumer sales in 2019
• Launched Axkid Care, a rental/access model, in 2023

Axkid’s subscription model is a late addition, layered onto an already mature product and distribution ecosystem.

Core pillars of Axkid’s access and rental model

#1. Access as a sustainability lever, not a growth engine

Axkid positions rental and access models explicitly as part of its sustainability efforts, alongside:

• Material choices
• Product durability
• Repairability
• Long-term safety performance

Subscriptions are framed as one tool among many, not as a new commercial core. This immediately differentiates Axkid from subscription-native brands.

The underlying logic is: If products are designed to last, they should be used for longer — by more than one family.

#2. Product longevity makes access viable

Car seats are:

• Highly regulated
• Safety-critical
• Designed for long lifespans

Axkid’s confidence in offering rentals is rooted in:

• Strict safety standards
• Durable construction
• Controlled refurbishment and inspection

Access models only make sense here because the product itself supports multiple life cycles something Axkid has invested in for years.

#3. Rental as a complement to retail, not a replacement

Axkid continues to sell primarily through:

• Selected retailers
• Direct sales via axkid.com

Axkid Care does not replace these channels. Instead, it sits alongside them as:

• An alternative for families who don’t want ownership
• A way to extend product life
• A sustainability-oriented option rather than a price-driven one

This separation avoids internal channel conflict a common challenge for manufacturers adding subscriptions.

#4. Safety and trust outweigh convenience messaging

Unlike subscription-native brands, Axkid does not lead with:

• Flexibility
• Low entry price
• Lifestyle messaging

Instead, the emphasis remains on:

• Safety
• Engineering
• Long-term responsibility

Access is framed as a responsible choice, not a convenience upgrade.

This reflects Axkid’s ICP: parents who prioritise safety and values over experimentation.

#5. Controlled experimentation instead of full-scale rollout

Axkid Care is introduced cautiously:

• Not pushed aggressively on the main site
• Not embedded into every product flow
• nNot positioned as the default option

This suggests a deliberate approach: Test access models without disrupting the core business.

For a manufacturer with regulatory obligations and strong retailer relationships, this restraint is strategic.

What can be learned from Axkid

Axkid illustrates a very different subscription logic:

• Manufacturers don’t adopt subscriptions for the same reasons as startups
• Sustainability can be a stronger driver than revenue optimisation
• Product design decisions made years earlier determine whether access is feasible later
• Not every subscription model needs to be customer-facing or aggressively marketed

Most importantly, Axkid shows that subscriptions are not a binary choice.
They can exist as:

• Pilots
• Complementary channels
• Sustainability tools

Swing2lsleep

Swing2Sleep is a baby goods company founded in 2017, well before subscriptions became a mainstream topic in the kids and baby category. Unlike StrollMe or Bike Club, Swing2Sleep was built as a sales-led business first and only later introduced subscriptions to address a very specific customer concern.

The product itself motorised baby hammocks is highly specialised and emotionally loaded. Parents don’t question whether sleep matters, but they often question whether this specific solution will work for their baby.

That uncertainty is the starting point of Swing2Sleep’s subscription strategy.

The core pillars behind Bike Club’s subscription model

#1. Subscriptions as risk reduction, not a new way of ownership

At the core of Swing2Sleep’s model is the understanding that parents are unsure whether a motorised baby hammock will work for their child.

The subscription exists primarily to:

• Lower the perceived risk of trying the product
• Avoid a large upfront purchase
• Allow parents to return the product easily if it doesn’t help

In this model, subscriptions are not positioned as a lifestyle choice or long-term alternative to buying they are a risk-free entry point.

#2. Subscribe-before-buy as a deliberate bridge

Swing2Sleep uses subscriptions as a transition mechanism, not an end state.

Key characteristics:

• Parents can rent the hammock for as little as one month
• If they decide to buy, up to three months of rental fees are credited
• Beyond three months, additional rental payments no longer count toward ownership

This creates a clearly defined decision window:

• The first three months are framed as evaluation
• After that, parents consciously choose between renting or owning

Your assumption is correct: this structure gently pushes customers to make a decision early, while still giving enough time to experience the product meaningfully.

#3. Subscription as an opt-in path, not the default journey

Unlike subscription-native brands, Swing2Sleep does not force customers into subscriptions.

• Renting is not promoted directly on product pages
• The subscription option lives in the main navigation
• Customers actively choose to explore renting instead of being redirected to it

This reflects an important insight:
Swing2Sleep knows that many parents still expect to buy baby products — and meets them there first.

#4. Communication focused on budget relief and flexibility

Swing2Sleep’s messaging around subscriptions is intentionally practical.

It emphasises:

• Spreading costs over time
• Fexibility in an already expensive life phase
• Using the product only as long as it’s needed

Statements like “ideal for those with a limited budget for initial equipment” and “maximum flexibility” frame the subscription as financial and emotional relief, not as a sustainability statement.

This is a clear example of aligning subscription messaging with a very specific ICP.

#5. Product-first storytelling, subscription as an enabler

Across the website, the primary focus remains on:

• The technology behind the motorised hammock
• How it works
• Why it can help babies sleep better

The subscription is presented as one way to access the product, not the defining feature of the brand.

This reinforces the idea that for some products, subscriptions are best positioned as an enabling mechanism, not a core identity.

6. Clear boundaries prevent misuse of the model

By limiting rental credit to three months, Swing2Sleep:

• Avoids indefinite “trial” behaviour
• Protects the economics of the model
• Encourages timely customer decisions

This shows a strong understanding of how subscriptions can be misused if boundaries are unclear — especially when introduced into a traditionally sales-led business.

What can be learned from Swing2Sleep

Swing2Sleep demonstrates that subscriptions don’t need to mean the same thing for every business:

• Subscriptions can solve uncertainty, not just ownership inefficiency
• Subscribe-before-buy works well for high-risk, high-consideration products
• Clear decision windows protect both customer and business interests
• ICP alignment matters more than following subscription trends
• Focus beats universality — don’t try to be circular, flexible, and premium all at once

For established baby goods brands, Swing2Sleep is a strong example of how subscriptions can be added strategically and selectively — without redefining the entire business.

What all these baby goods subscription brands teach us

There is plenty of inspiration to be drawn from existing subscription brands. But let’s focus on some of the most important findings: 

1. Subscription success starts with who you’re designing for — not what you’re selling

Across all examples, the strongest models are built around a very clearly defined parent mindset.

• StrollMe designs for parents who value circularity and long-term access
• Bike Club designs for growth-driven upgrades
• Swing2Sleep designs for uncertainty and risk avoidance
• Axkid designs for responsibility and safety-first decisions
  

The takeaway:
Subscriptions don’t work because products are “rentable”  they work because a specific parent problem is deeply understood.

Trying to serve multiple mindsets with one subscription logic usually weakens the model.

2. Messaging matters more than mechanics — especially early on

Many subscription businesses focus heavily on pricing, terms, and features. The brands that work hardest on subscriptions focus first on expectation-setting.

They repeatedly answer:

• Is this ownership or access?
• What happens if it doesn’t work?
• What happens when I’m done?

The insight here is subtle but important:
Most subscription friction doesn’t come from the model — it comes from unspoken assumptions.

Clear, repetitive messaging prevents problems long before operations or support are involved.

3. Subscriptions don’t have to mean the same thing for every business

One of the biggest misconceptions is that “doing subscriptions” requires a single blueprint.

In reality:

• For some brands, subscriptions replace ownership
• For others, they reduce risk
• For others, they extend product life
• And for some, they remain a complementary option rather than a core channel

The key learning:
Subscriptions are a tool, not an identity.

What matters is what problem they solve not whether they look like a “classic” subscription business.

4. Operational design quietly determines whether the model survives

The most underestimated lesson across all brands is this: subscriptions for physical baby goods live or die in operations.

Returns, refurbishment, quality checks, swaps, and redeployment aren’t edge cases — they are the product.

Brands that succeed:

• Design these flows intentionally
• Communicate them transparently
• And align them with customer expectations

A note from circuly

We’re close to this space not just as observers, but through direct involvement.

circuly was founded by someone who previously operated a stroller e-commerce business in the Netherlands. While running that business, he became familiar with circular economy principles and began experimenting with offering strollers via subscription instead of selling them outright.

Operating that model quickly revealed a gap: existing shop systems and payment providers were not built to handle the operational realities of subscriptions for physical products things like recurring billing, invoicing, asset tracking, returns, and subscription lifecycle management. The software that later became circuly was built to solve those problems.

Since then, we’ve worked with both early-stage startups launching subscription models from day one and established e-commerce brands adding subscriptions alongside traditional sales. Many of these companies operate in the kids and baby category.

That hands-on exposure shapes how we look at this market from the customer journey to the operational details that ultimately determine whether a subscription model works or fails.