How Loopi scaled its baby product subscription business with more flexible & automated operations

Loopi is a Swiss eCommerce brand offering kid's any baby products like strollers, bike trailers, baby hammocks and more on a subscription basis. Instead of buying kids' and baby products, that are only needed for a limited time, parents subscribe to premium products and use them exactly for as long as they need.

With circuly powering the subscription operational backbone, Loopi runs a flexible subscription model that allows customers to exchange, extend, return, or buy out products at any time.

Business model: Kids' products as-a-Service

About Loopi

Loopi was founded in Switzerland in 2020 with the aim to make premium baby products more flexible, affordable, and sustainable. Instead of purchasing equipment that quickly becomes obsolete as children grow, Loopi allows families to access products through a subscription.

Customers can subscribe to premium brands such as:

• Bugaboo
• Thule
• Membantu
• Snoo

These products can be used for the duration needed and then returned, exchanged, or purchased at a residual value.

The model benefits both families and the environment and also Loopi as a business, as they earn recurring revenue, more revenue per product and get access to products that are only needed for a specific purpose by their customers.

According to Loopi, many baby products are only used for a short time. In Switzerland alone, a significant number of families end up purchasing multiple strollers over time as their needs change.

Loopi’s subscription model ensures that products remain in circulation longer and are refurbished for the next family instead of being discarded.

The challenge: operating a baby product subscription business

Running a subscription model for physical products, like kids's and baby equipment, is operationally complex.

Unlike consumable subscriptions, where products are shipped regularly, Loopi’s business involves managing long-term product subscriptions with flexible lifecycle events.

Customers may want to:

• swap products as their child grows
• extend their subscription
• return items
• buy the product outright

Additionally, the business must manage:

• minimum subscription periods
• automatic renewals
• payment retries
• customer communication
• returns and logistics
• subscription lifecycle management

As Loopi gained more experience operating its subscription model, the need for a more flexible and operationally advanced system became clear.

Why Loopi chose circuly

By 2024, Loopi had several years of experience running a subscription business. This gave the team deep insight into their operational requirements of a product subscription business and the complexity of managing subscriptions for physical products.

They began evaluating solutions that could better support their operations. Several key requirements were critical.

#1. Local payment methods

In Switzerland, many customers prefer TWINT, a widely used mobile payment method. Loopi needed a platform that could support this payment option alongside other payment methods.

#2. Customer self-service

In a subscription model, the company has many touchpoints with the customer and vice versa. There are several lifecycles that a product goes through and as a result there may be constant interaction between the customer and the company. This can signficiantly increase support costs which impacts the profitability of the company. By offereing customers self-smanagement of subscriptions, Loopi can significantly lower their support cost while giving their customers the transparency and control they need.

Loopi wanted a system where customers could independently:

• cancel subscriptions
• request product swaps
• extend subscriptions
• initiate buyouts

#3. Advanced payment management

Subscription businesses inevitably encounter failed payments.

Loopi needed advanced capabilities for:

• automated payment retries
• payment recovery workflows
• debt collection processes

#4. Flexible communication

Transactional communication is essential in subscription operations.

Loopi required flexibility to configure and control customer emails triggered by events such as:

• cancellations
• swaps
• subscription renewals
• payment failures

circuly provided the operational flexibility required to support these workflows.

How Loopi runs subscriptions today

Today, Loopi operates a fully flexible baby product subscription model powered by circuly.

• The customer journey starts directly on the product page.
• Customers select the product they want and choose a minimum subscription duration, which typically ranges between 3 and 24 months.
• The longer the minimum duration, the lower the monthly price.
• During the minimum duration, the subscription cannot be cancelled.
• Once this period ends, the subscription automatically renews on a monthly basis until the customer decides to cancel.
• The customer also has the option to swap to a different product or buyout their subscribed product.

The bigger picture

Loopi is part of a growing movement of companies redefining how families access products.

Instead of owning items that are only used for a short period of time, customers gain flexible access to premium products.

Subscription models make this possible while also enabling products to remain in circulation longer.

With circuly powering the operational backbone, Loopi can focus on what matters most:

Helping families access the right products at the right time without unnecessary ownership.