This Mom's Plush Toy Business: What You Can Learn From Her Brand, Pockimals

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Hey there, toy people! I'm here today with Hilary Kerensky, co-founder of Pocomoles. And off-camera, we have Danny Cupps, the other co-founder. So we're going to dive into Hilary's story today of how she came up with Pocomoles. Hi Hilary, nice to meet you. [00:00:24] Hilary Kerensky: Hi, nice to meet you too. Thanks for having us. [00:00:26] Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm happy to meet you. Tell me a little bit about what Pocomoles is. [00:00:30] Hilary Kerensky: Well, Pocomoles are three-inch, adorable, mini stuffed animals. Okay. And we like to say that our belly buttons button in. So they are designed to button into the pockets of all of our products. Oh! So that kids can wear their loveys and take it on the go. So I always thought a lovey was the thing that was like a partial blanket attached to the ones. Although sometimes, people, their loveys are the actual clutch. So we designed this product to try to solve the problem of losing your little friend. I love it. And then along the way, kids can wear this to all of their firsts. So it's the first doctor appointment, your first dentist appointment. You're nervous to go somewhere for the first time. You've got your little friend right there. And it like looks cool. [00:01:13] Speaker 1: You don't look like you need your stuffed animal. Yeah. Like you're kind of cool. Like it's part of the outfit. Absolutely. So Pocomoles has clothing, flush, and a bag. [00:01:24] Hilary Kerensky: So we're apparel and accessory. We have 12 different Pocomoles designs. Okay. And they're all interchangeable. Mix and match. Kids love to collect the Pocomoles alone. We've actually had great success with just the stuffed animals. [00:01:36] Speaker 1: Do you yet have something where it's like multiple, where it's like multiple pockets where maybe I could like. Right. Multiple. [00:01:43] Hilary Kerensky: Not on the apparel, but that's why we introduced the backpack. Okay. Because we had so much feedback that I can't choose just one. Yeah. Well then, okay, well you don't have to choose one anymore. Now you can choose up to three. I love that. To display on your backpack. But we always say there's no shortage of pockets for a Pocomole to go into. So there are tremendous ideas that we have about all the different places that we can put a Pocomole pocket. [00:02:04] Speaker 1: I have a few questions because I'm thinking these look very expensive to make. Because they're so small. So like one of the things people don't know is when you make plush small it actually gets more expensive. So just tell me a little bit about the process of getting the right manufacturing so that you can make this. A successful line. [00:02:21] Hilary Kerensky: When we designed the product we had a different idea than buttoning into the pocket. The idea was where the arms and legs would stick through some holes. Oh. So we went out through to try to find a manufacturer that would be collaborative with us. Yeah. Because it's a very specific product. The pocket has to be a certain size. The animal has to fit in. It all has to work together. Right. We started one country. It did not work. And then we pivoted. And we found a great manufacturer that was willing to sort of do it all together for us. Okay. And that's sort of how it started. And so through that work with the second manufacturer, the design, and our design team. It morphed and changed so that it could button in. And then the arms stick out and then the legs are hidden inside the pocket. Yeah. And that's just... [00:03:06] Speaker 1: Do you have this idea patented in some way? Because it's... [00:03:08] Hilary Kerensky: So our logo and our name is a registered... Trademark. Is a registered trademark. Yeah. Someone took out a patent in the 80s on every single thing coming out of a pocket. So it is... What? Yes. I know. It's very strange. Like designs coming out of a pocket. So you can't? Right. So we can't. But it is... But now we're able to do it. It's sort of generic. So we're able to do it. So we're... But we have the name Pocamol. So it's a pocket animal. So that is ours. And... I kind of want to take one out. [00:03:36] Speaker 1: I want to see how easy or hard it is. No, it's easy. Yeah. It's really easy to take out a Pocamol. Can I change Pocamol? Absolutely. That's the whole point. [00:03:45] Hilary Kerensky: You can mix and match and create your own set. So do your Pocamol all have different names? They do. So this is Taco Dragon. What? Taco Dragon. Taco? Taco. Okay. This is Sprinkles Unicorn. Aww. And then you have Piggy Pig. I love Piggy Pig. We are a Chicago company. So if you have a bear in Chicago, you have to name it Peyton. Buttercup Cow. Aww. Eddie the Lion. Bumpy Cat. After Hemingway's cat. Oh, that's cute. [00:04:10] Speaker 1: That's intellectual. [00:04:11] Hilary Kerensky: And we have Ozzy, the bunny. Rascal Fox and Lucky Dog, which was named after my puppy when we started the company. That is so... So how do you buy them? Can you buy one Pocamol? Absolutely. Like a set of three? Tell me more. So our website is a very interactive experience. Yeah. So you can buy one animal. You can buy two animals. You can buy a pack of three. Yeah. You can pick your shirt. You can pick your color. You can pick your Pocamol. Yeah. We also have dresses. T-shirts, long t-shirts, dresses. Wait. When did you start Pocamol? So we came up with the idea at the end of 2018, but we have only, we will be selling, our two year anniversary selling will be this February. Only two years? Yeah. Only two years. So we started the line with just a t-shirt and five animals. So these are our originals along with the pig and the bear. Okay. These are our fast seller animals. I was going to ask. So we can no longer get these online. We've saved them for this bear. Okay. Only have a handful left. And then this is the new line, of course, the unicorn and the dragon. Yeah. Our big sellers, the elephant and the lion. Okay. And then we introduced the backpack in the second line. We introduced the dress in the second line. Yeah. And then the long sleeve hoodie just arrived in time for the holidays. And boys and girls love it equally. [00:05:23] Speaker 1: I love it. Equally. When people come to Pocamol for the first time, do you feel like you have to explain a lot what it is? Like how, how have you defined Pocamol? So somebody just walking by gets it quickly. Right. [00:05:35] Hilary Kerensky: So our tagline is our belly buttons button in. Yeah. It's all written into the pocket. And so that, that is the key to this product. It is that you're not going to lose it. The belly button butts in. You're allowed to take your lovey on the go. [00:05:46] Speaker 1: Do you have any advice for anybody else that might have an idea for a toy company? Yeah. [00:05:52] Hilary Kerensky: Be prepared to spend a lot of time and a lot of energy. And it is a full-time job. Yeah. And you have to be passionate about it because there are a lot of ups and downs. You have to get connected to all the different toy industries. We got connected with the Women in Toys event. Yeah. And that's how I saw you in Dallas, which was huge. Yeah. We made great connections when we were there with some amazing people in the toy industry who have been absolutely valuable to us since we came back. Yeah. This show, the people of play. Yeah. You have to get connected with people in the industry because people are so willing to help you out. Right. Willing to give you ideas, put you in touch with other people. Yeah. So it's, it's important to, to make connections. [00:06:31] Speaker 1: You said you have to love the idea. Mm-hmm. So I'm curious, was there a moment or something that happened in your life where maybe your daughter lost to her lovey and like freaked out and you were like, never again. And that's what inspired them. [00:06:44] Hilary Kerensky: I mean, there were times where something was left behind maybe once. Yeah. We discovered it early on and went back. Okay, okay. But that really wasn't, my children are older, they're teenagers. Oh, okay. But it really was just a random conversation with my husband where he asked the question, how come this doesn't exist? Right. So it was around Christmas time and there was a little animal on the tree where its arms and legs were sticking out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I took it down and I put some holes in my pocket from a shirt I had. Yeah. And I looked at her and I said, hey, that is pretty cute. Yeah. So it was motivated during the hard time. Is it looking at the Pocomals because they're so cute? Yeah. It's, you know, it's definitely the people that I work with. Yeah. My co-founder, Dani, is off camera. Yeah. She's amazing. She, whenever I'm down, she is just lifting up my spirits. Yeah. We're designers that we worked with, other teammates. We just sort of support each other and we believe in it. Like we have the faith. It's just that we know that when someone stumbles upon the brand, they fall in love and they become a brand ambassador. And so we just know, like a little bit more work and a little bit more energy and a little bit more time. Yeah. And it's time. Yeah. This has been four years in the making that it will get there. And we want people to love it as much as we do. Yeah. We just, we really love it. And it's been a family affair. Oh, it's just those, those elements of it keep us going every day. So tell me a little bit about your growth then over this past two years. Are you in stores yet? Oh, we started out online alone at our proprietary website. Yeah. And then we decided that we really need to build a brand awareness. And the only way to build a brand awareness is to really get out into other stores. Right. So we're about 21, 22 stores across the country right now. Amazing. [00:08:30] Speaker 1: What stores? [00:08:31] Hilary Kerensky: Tell us. Where can we get the popsicles? So their biggest store is Brookfield Zoo. Okay. Which is the big zoo here outside of Chicago. And so that's been, that's been great for us. And there's a little shop called Halo that has us. We're in a bookstore. So a lot of times people are buying the animals as collectibles. So just little, little places all over. [00:08:54] Speaker 1: Do you notice a difference in what's like your bestseller in store versus your bestseller online? [00:09:00] Hilary Kerensky: So in store, a lot of people start with just the animals. I think they think of it as just a really cute little and there's not a lot of little plugs. We did spend a lot of time looking at our color palette. Yeah. Colors we had animals. [00:09:14] Speaker 1: One of the big themes of this month with a lot of the businesses I've been talking to is having your why and your mission statement. Do you have a clear wire mission statement for Paca Moles? [00:09:26] Hilary Kerensky: We, we really love bringing joy into children's lives. Yeah. I mean, having these types of experiences for us because we don't have a storefront to come to these events. Yeah. To see a child spend so much time trying to decide which Paca Moles is their favorite. And when they do, every child puts it to their face. Every single one. Interesting. And that just makes us smile. When you can do, when you can do a job that makes children smile. Yeah. That, that's great. [00:09:54] Speaker 1: Your why is also the reason why you come to a show like this, because this is a consumer facing show. Absolutely. Because your why is driven to make your kid, the kids happy. Yeah. You're like, why wouldn't we come to a show where the kids are going to be there? Exactly. That's what we're doing this for. Okay. To close up, I have to say, oh, what toy blew your mind as a kid? [00:10:12] Hilary Kerensky: Oh my goodness. Well, I, I grew up with the Cabbage Patch craze. Okay. So of course, I, I, I think my holiday season for Cabbage Patch was the year that they were sold out everywhere. Oh my God. And my friends and I were desperately trying to find. So definitely Cabbage Patch is like, sort of a collector. Yeah. And where can people buy Pockimals? [00:10:33] Speaker 1: Buy it online at Pockimals.com. Pockimals.com. P-O-C-K-I-M-A-L-S.com. Yeah, absolutely. [00:10:40] Hilary Kerensky: And that's it. Where can they follow Pockimals online? They can follow us on Instagram or at Pockimals on Instagram or on Facebook. Pockimals as well. I feel like we should get your co-founder and come in and just like wave. [00:10:51] Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah. Danny, come on in. Danny and Hillary here. So thank you guys so much for being here with me today and being flexible. It's a pleasure chatting with you. [00:10:59] Hilary Kerensky: with you.