Nothing stops BiMoo in its growth. Not even a pandemic, rising inflation, or an economic downturn.
The company, which designs tablecloths and placemats to color in, recorded a 33% increase in sales last year thanks to the opening of a new market segment: personalized orders.
“Demand is very strong from museums who want to sell products related to the exhibitions they organize or on specific themes in their shop,” explains Julie Blais, who founded the company in 2019.
reusable
Today, its educational and entertaining products can be found in the official White House store in the American capital, Washington.
“We made them double-sided placemats depicting the White House and the Capitol. The drawings were created by a Quebec artist. Kids can color them over and over again because our products are reusable,” says Julie Blais.
proximity providers
In addition to the quality of the ecologically certified products, another advantage played a role for BiMoo when selling to our southern neighbors: the proximity to the market.
“To avoid long lead times, buyers prefer to turn to companies that can deliver quickly. Our products are printed in Quebec. We can execute these contracts within two to three months,” says Julie Blais.
Other museums in Canada and the United States have been buyers in recent months.
“These are large-volume orders, which is interesting for us. We also have a major order for a museum in Louisiana. We are also in talks with NASA, to whom we presented our solar system tablecloth,” says the entrepreneur, who also dreams of the day when her products can be found at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec and the Musée de be la civilization, in Quebec.
Aside from museums, tourist events are another lively market for BiMoo, which recently landed a contract with Carnaval de Québec.
Fast results
In May 2022, Julie Blais participated in her first exhibition organized by the Museum Store Association, which brings together more than 1,200 cultural institutions in North America. Since then, the orders have been pouring in.
“Personalized products are now 30% of my sales,” she says.
In addition to schools and day-care centers, this new marketing channel is another important market for BiMoo. Its products not only entertain children, they also help with language development and vocabulary acquisition. The tablecloths and placemats are available in several themes (animals, vegetables, emotions, world map, etc.) and in several languages, namely French, English and Spanish.
BiMoo also sells in retail, being present in more than 200 stores, mainly in Quebec.
“However, it has been a more closed sector since the pandemic. Traders preferred to fall back on safe values after the weeks of closure. Young companies like mine have a harder time finding their place,” explains Julie Blais, who is now doing business with Éditions Gladius, a specialist distributor.
The SME also sells through its online store, where sales have exploded following its appearance on the show Dans l’œil du dragon in 2021.
“Just under three minutes after my presentation, I received the first order, Julie Blais is still amazed. That night alone, sales totaled $20,000. After that, demand remained strong. Three months later I was almost out of stock.
She was particularly touched by the pride in the eyes of her five-year-old son, who was listening to the program next to her. He also helped her prepare the many orders that followed.
“He told me that he would later work for BiMoo. It moved me because the idea of starting my company came from him. I designed these tablecloths because he focused on the patterns and ate more while mealtimes were always difficult for him.”
As she waits to count on her son’s help—who knows? — Julie runs her business alone, supported by a solid network of suppliers.
BiMoo
- Founding date: 2019
- Activities: Designing fun and educational products
- Shareholder: Julie Blais
- Number of employees: 1 (plus many subcontractors)