Pregnancy does not mean that you need to sacrifice on style. HATCH is the NYC direct-to-consumer fashion brand focused on the $9B maternity market offers comfortable, non-toxic designs for mothers to wear during the pre and post-natal stages. The company has expanded its offering to include intimates, accessories, and skincare and also operates a wildly popular blog called HATCHland in addition to retail locations in NYC and LA that host close to twenty events per month. The events range in topic and provide mothers with the opportunity to connect with one another through a community. The brand has built a following within the Hollywood set and is favored by personalities such as Meghan Markle, Kate Upton, and Jessica Alba,
AlleyWatch chatted with founder and CEO Ariane Goldman about how her pregnancy in 2010 led her to create HATCH, the company’s future plans, and most recent round of funding.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
HATCH received a $5M Series A investment led by Silas Capital, a venture and growth equity firm with unique experience in accelerating growth for the next generation of consumer brands.
Tell us about the product or service that HATCH offers.
HATCH is a brand for women who appreciate effortless, stylish clothing and solutions designed for before, during, and after pregnancy.
What inspired you to start HATCH?
In 2010, I was newly pregnant with my daughter when I grew frustrated by the lack of stylish wardrobe options for expecting women. I saw a void in the maternity market for chic, timeless pieces that women could invest in during pregnancy and continue to wear afterwards.
After several years of learning from my customers, I realized there was another gap in the market; safe maternity skin care that actually felt good to indulge in. In 2018 HATCH Mama was born; non-toxic, mama-safe, feel-good beauty designed to help mamas everywhere overcome challenges unique to pregnancy – tackling common pre and post-natal beauty issues head-on so women can continue to feel like the best version of themselves.
What began as a line of classics has now evolved into a full lifestyle assortment, featuring ready-to-wear, intimates, accessories, and skincare.
How is HATCH different?
Despite the demand, the maternity market is vastly underserved in both product and community with existing players in fast fashion, traditional maternity or niche categories.
HATCH is the only trusted brand providing holistic, elevated solutions for women across various distribution channels, product categories, and content. The brand cultivates its community through its social media channels, its blog – HATCHland, and its retail locations in New York and Los Angeles, which host nearly 20 events monthly, to provide women with unique access to ongoing content from pre and post-natal experts and connections with fellow mamas-to-be and new mamas.
How has the ecosystem in New York changed since the company was founded back in 2011?
Maternity has always been viewed as a dated category but over the years we’ve seen several factors change, not only in New York but across the country, that have primed the market for our growth. First, women are working later into their pregnancies and getting pregnant at a later stage in life – with more disposable income than ever before and a bigger appetite for stylish clothing that they can wear to work, on the weekends or for a night out. Second, the rise of social media has created an environment for women to share an abundant amount about their fertility, pregnancy, and post-natal journey with their friends and followers.
What market does HATCH target and how big is it?
HATCH sits at the cross-section of the maternity industry, a $9B market, and contemporary consumer brands.
What’s your business model?
The core of the company’s business model is its direct, trusted relationship with its customers. Over 90% of revenue is driven through its directly owned channels, online and in-store.
10% of revenue is driven through strategic wholesale partnerships with Shopbop, Net-A-Porter, goop, and other partners to increase awareness of the brand. The company recently launched a collaboration with Nordstrom through the Pop-in@Nordstrom program for Mother’s Day.
What was the funding process like?
Our capital raise was an incredible journey. While we met with several different types of investors, from traditional venture capital to growth equity, we found a like-minded partner in Brian and the team at Silas, who believe in building long-standing consumer brands.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
One of the most surprising challenges that we faced while raising capital was the pushback we received from investors who wanted us to grow our topline more aggressively at the expense of profit. HATCH was self-funded for the first five years of operations until our seed round in 2017, and while we’ve always shown strong growth, financial responsibility at our bottom line has been and will always continue to be a pillar of our business.
One of the most surprising challenges that we faced while raising capital was the pushback we received from investors who wanted us to grow our topline more aggressively at the expense of profit. HATCH was self-funded for the first five years of operations until our seed round in 2017, and while we’ve always shown strong growth, financial responsibility at our bottom line has been and will always continue to be a pillar of our business.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Brian Thorne, Partner of Silas, stated, “The maternity market is early in a monumental shift, as a wave of millennial women become first-time mothers and demand a relatable, next-generation brand that they can trust.” They believe we are the clear leader at the forefront of the transformation.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
As mentioned above we are currently activating a marquee partnership with Nordstrom’s Pop-In@Nordstrom program, with presence in 9 cities and Nordstrom.com for Mother’s Day this year. Our partnership with Nordstrom represents a significant milestone for the company in broadening our national platform as well as testing new markets for physical retail opportunities.
The company will also be relaunching one of its key categories later this year, as well as a partnership with a large national retailer
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
There is so much opportunity for collaboration in New York amongst the buzzy DTC and startup community. Leaning into niche groups like the amazing female founder community in NYC, partnering with on-the-rise brands, and really leveraging a grassroots approach to community growth and social media are easy, low-cost ways to ramp up brand awareness.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
This round marks the start of our next chapter at HATCH. We’re excited to expand our digital presence to a larger national audience, as well as continue fueling initiatives across product expansion and innovation, community-driven retail rollout and content development.
What’s your favorite restaurant in the city?
Tiny’s in TriBeCa.
