Lottili - Baby Goods Subscription Powered by circuly

Introduction

The baby goods market has traditionally been dominated by one-time purchases and short product lifecycles. Parents invest heavily in items like strollers, cribs, and carriers, only to use them for a limited period before selling, donating, or storing them. This creates a paradox: high upfront costs for families, paired with significant underutilisation of durable goods.

Enter the baby goods subscription model. Unlike the well-known “subscription boxes” of diapers or toys, this segment focuses on durable, high-value products: car seats, strollers, hammocks, and even furniture. The promise is clear: parents gain access when they need it most, without locking up capital in products their children will outgrow in months. For brands, this creates recurring revenue, higher asset utilisation, and a circular model that keeps products in use instead of in storage.

Lottili, a German brand specialising in motorised baby hammocks, has embraced this shift. With their rental program, Lottili turns an expensive, short-use product into a flexible monthly service—removing financial hesitation for parents while ensuring the product remains in circulation.

Business model: From awareness to access

Lottili positions its baby hammock not just as a product to buy or rent, but as an innovation to understand. Their website answers common parental concerns directly — Can my baby sleep safely in a hammock? Is the motor too loud? Is it suitable for newborns? This educational approach shows that rental isn’t just a pricing strategy; it’s a trust-building tool.

• Single price, simple terms: One all-inclusive monthly fee, no tiers.
• Minimum rental duration: 1 month.
• Auto-renewal: Subscriptions renew monthly until canceled.
• Buyout option: At any time, parents can buy the product, with prior rental payments credited.
• In-house innovation: The hammock itself was developed by Lottili, combining German engineering, organic textiles, and a whisper-quiet motor.

The rental model reduces hesitation, giving parents a low-risk entry point into a new product category while keeping ownership optional.

Why It Matters: The Baby Goods Subscription Market

Lottili’s move reflects a broader trend: baby durables are uniquely suited for subscription models because of short usage periods and high purchase hesitancy.

• Short utility window: Most baby hammocks or bassinets are used for 6–12 months. Renting aligns perfectly with this lifecycle.
• High upfront cost: At several hundred euros, premium hammocks can feel like a risky investment. A €59/month rental lowers the barrier.
• Consumer psychology: Parents want the best for their children but dislike spending big on items they may barely use. Subscriptions reconcile quality with affordability.
• Circularity & sustainability: Instead of hammocks being discarded or stored unused, they’re returned, refurbished, and re-rented — multiplying asset utilisation.

This is the Product-as-a-Service logic applied to one of the most emotionally driven markets: baby care.

Operations Where circuly Supports Lottili

Lottili relies on circuly to power the operational backbone of the model. circuly is the subscription management system behind Lottili, 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 Lottili team to focus on growth rather than manual admin.

Auto-renewals

Lottili’s renewal policy is fully managed in circuly: subscriptions have a minimum term of one month and then automatically renew month-to-month until canceled, returned, or bought out.

‍Buyout via Customer Portal

Customers can buy out their hammock directly from the self-service portal, provided by circuly. The portal shows the exact buyout price, and with a single click the customer can request ownership.

‍Custom Buyout Policy

In circuly, Lottili defines its buyout policy — in their case, 100% of all prior rental payments count toward the final purchase price. circuly automatically calculates the remaining balance, charges the amount due, and issues an invoice to the customer.

‍Debt Collection Integration

To protect cash flow, Lottili leverages circuly’s native debt collection integration. If invoices remain unpaid after automated retries and recovery attempts, circuly escalates the case to collection, reducing risk for Lottili’s business.

Conclusion

Lottili shows how the subscription model isn’t limited to digital products or consumables. Even highly personal, short-use baby products can thrive as a service when designed with flexibility and trust at the core.

With circuly powering subscription automation and lifecycle management, Lottili has built a model that works for both parents and the business — proof that the future of baby goods is not just selling, but subscribing.