Small Business of the Year

Christine and Leland Deehring got the idea for Bump Boxes in 2013 when Christine was pregnant with their daughter, Ainsley. Wanting to protect her from the very beginning, they created an ecommerce platform where every product is vetted to ensure the ingredients are safe for both mom and baby. Soon the couple launched a subscription service, and the rest is history. Today, Bump Boxes is the #1 pregnancy subscription box for expecting moms; the company has over 35 employees and is expanding quickly.

Bump Boxes sends fun and healthy products that mom needs at exactly the right time in her pregnancy. The subscription is highly customized to due date, which is unique in the market. “We move extremely fast and constantly test things,” Christine notes. “This is what makes us so unique. We hustle. We win. It’s that simple.” The Deehrings have instilled this mission-driven mindset into their employees, accelerating their growth in the ecommerce space.  

Making moms’ lives easier drives every initiative and decision at Bump Boxes, which has expanded to encompass every milestone along mom’s journey, from the first positive pregnancy test to baby’s third birthday. Bitsy Boxes, another subscription offered by the company, launched in 2018, offering safe products and toys for babies from newborn to age three. A dedicated team of developers continues to drive tech initiatives in this niche, expanding their footprint worldwide.

The Deehrings began working with the Turner Center for Entrepreneurship in 2015 when Bump Boxes was just a part-time venture. The initial advising revolved around market development and developing a pitch for potential investors, then expanded into discussions about export markets and international trade shows. They also participated in a project with Bradley students who helped them develop a new marketing strategy based on their research.

Bump Boxes now ships over 300,000 boxes annually to subscribers all over the world—and they expect sales to double over last year. The company has expanded into corporate wellness and has several private-label product lines, including Glow Organics, an organic skincare line, and BumpLife, a maternity lifestyle brand. They have created apps, including Babyname Matcher, which helps parents agree on a name for their baby, and HelloMamas, a community for moms to meet other moms with similar interests. They have acquired several competitors and launched partnerships with a number of major media companies in the pregnancy space, including What to Expect and Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine. Having established itself as one of the fastest-growing companies in Illinois, Bump Boxes expects to be the #1 mom acquisition company in the world. bumpboxes.com PM