KINDAMI - Bringing Circular Parenting to France

KINDAMI brings the subscription movement to France

For the first time, French parents can now access the products their children need through flexible subscriptions instead of ownership. With KINDAMI, the concept that families in Germany and the Nordics have already embraced — renting and subscribing to kids’ and baby products instead of buying them — is finally available in France.

The model addresses a growing need among modern families:

• access over ownership,
• quality without overconsumption, and
• sustainability made simple.

While the DACH and Nordic regions have seen massive adoption of such circular approaches, France had yet to see a long-term, full-range subscription service for baby, kids, and parenting products — until now.

A parent’s journey that turned into a business idea

KINDAMI is founded by Jana Schaefer, a mother of two who lives in France. Originally from Germany, Jana had long been familiar with the concept of accessing products rather than owning them — especially when it comes to consumer durables. Germany and the Nordic countries have embraced such circular models for years, but in France, Jana couldn’t find a solution she could use when she became a parent herself.

“In Germany, I could easily find services to rent baby gear or kids’ products. In France, I couldn’t find anything similar — and I knew it was something I, and many other parents, truly needed.”

Like many founders in the kids’ subscription space, Jana’s idea for KINDAMI came from her own parental experience: the desire to give her children the best while living more sustainably, affordably, and flexibly.

When parenthood meets paradoxes

Becoming a parent changes the way you think about consumption. You want the best for your child — safe, high-quality, and well-designed products — but you also know most of them are needed only for a short time.

Here are some of the contradictions parents face every day:

• You don’t want to compromise on quality, but you also know you’ll only need that high-end baby rocker for a few months.
• You want to provide everything your child might need, but you also don’t know if they’ll actually use it.
• You want to raise your child sustainably, but you still end up with closets and cellars full of outgrown or unused items.
• You want to consume responsibly, but life with kids leaves little time to sell or donate items after you’re done with them.
• You want to live in a clutter-free home, but parenting often means accumulating products faster than you can part with them.

Jana realised that while high-quality products last longer, the need for them doesn’t. Parents don’t need ownership — they need access. And that insight became the foundation for KINDAMI.

The French market: ready for a circular shift

France has seen steady growth in the sharing and circular economy — from clothing rental to refurbished electronics — but the baby and kids’ segment was still missing a long-term, flexible subscription model.

There were options for buying and selling second-hand products, but not for renting high-quality, branded kids’ and parenting products for as long as needed.
That’s the gap KINDAMI fills.

KINDAMI brings the “why buy when you can subscribe” mindset to France’s family market — making it possible for parents to access premium products, use them for as long as they need, and return or swap them with ease.

How KINDAMI works

The concept is simple — but the impact is powerful.

1. Select your products
   Parents choose what they need from KINDAMI curated selection of baby, kids, and parenting products — from trusted French and international brands.
2. Use for as long as you need
   Instead of buying, they subscribe and use the product for the period they actually need it.
3. Return or swap
   When the product is no longer needed, it can be returned or swapped for another product as the child grows.
4. Refurbish and recirculate
   Returned products are carefully cleaned, checked, and reintroduced into circulation for another family to use.

This way, products stay in use for longer, parents enjoy flexibility and convenience, and waste is drastically reduced — closing the loop for families in France.

KINDAMI partners with some of the most trusted and loved brands in France, such as, Donna, Ergobaby, Flybaby, KAOS, Mama Hangs, Mumade, to ensure parents get quality and reliability with every subscription.

Operations where circuly supports KINDAMI

KINDAMI relies on circuly to power the operational backbone of the model. circuly is the subscription management system behind KINDAMI, automating the core infrastructure needed to run a subscription-based business model for physical products such as baby goods subscription. Out-of-the-box, circuly handles subscription management, recurring billing and invoicing, asset tracking, product lifecycle management, return management. The customer self-service portal covers the customer journey & management of subscriptions and the automated email templates covers the communication via emails for the transactional operations such as order placement, subscription start, monthly billing etc., — allowing KINDAMI's team to focus on growth rather than manual admin.

Localisation for the French market

As a French-based brand, KINDAMI benefits from circuly’s ability to fully localise the customer experience.

• The checkout process and customer self-service portal are available in French, offering parents a native, intuitive experience.
• circuly’s system supports French tax configurations (TVA) and country-specific shipping methods, aligning operations with local compliance requirements.
• The platform also integrates with popular French payment methods, ensuring that subscriptions are easy to start and renew.

By combining automation with localisation, circuly helps KINDAMI provide a frictionless customer journey tailored to the expectations of the French market.

Minimum subscription duration

KINDAMI offers families the choice of three different minimum subscription terms — 1+, 3+, and 6+ months.
These durations are configured directly in KINDAMI shop system, and circuly automatically uses this information to manage renewals and cancellations.

For example, if a customer with a 6-month minimum term tries to cancel in month four, circuly ensures that the cancellation can only take effect at the end of the commitment period.
This automation ensures consistency between customer expectations, operational rules, and billing — without manual oversight.

Auto-renewals

After the initial minimum term, subscriptions automatically renew on a month-to-month basis until canceled. circuly manages the renewal logic, invoicing, and communication, so customers are always informed and subscriptions remain active without interruptions. This setup gives parents flexibility while providing KINDAMI with predictable recurring revenue and minimal administrative workload.

Reserving products in advance

Parents often plan ahead, especially when it comes to essential baby and kids’ products. To meet this need, KINDAMI allows customers to reserve products in advance and choose a preferred shipping date during checkout.

circuly makes this process possible by managing product availability, ensuring that items remain reserved and are not sold or rented out to others before the chosen date. This feature adds convenience for families while giving KINDAMI full control over inventory and fulfillment timing.

Buyouts made simple

KINDAMI also offers buyouts for selected products, allowing parents to purchase items they’ve grown attached to.
The buyout process is managed entirely through circuly’s customer self-service portal — customers can see the buyout price, confirm their purchase, and have the payment and invoicing processed automatically. Because circuly automates all underlying steps — including price calculation, payment deduction, and invoice generation — customers experience a fast and frictionless process, without waiting for manual intervention from support.

Exchanges

circuly also enables product exchanges within KINDAMI model. However, since KINDAMI prefers to maintain close oversight of exchange scenarios — for instance, to ensure product compatibility or availability — the exchange process is handled manually by the KINDAMI team rather than through the portal.

Even with this level of control, circuly still supports the operational flow behind the scenes: updating subscription details, tracking product status, and ensuring smooth transitions between items.

Conclusion

By combining circuly’s automation with Kindami’s customer-centric approach, the French startup can offer families a flexible and reliable way to access high-quality products.

circuly manages the complex operations — from subscription logic and renewals to buyouts and localisation — so Kindami can stay focused on what matters most: helping parents live more sustainably without sacrificing convenience or quality.