Oct 28, 2021 · 4 min read
Lovevery Launches Mobile App With Resources for Parents and Caregivers
CZI Participates in a $100M Series C Financing Round to Support Lovevery’s Continued Growth
Lovevery , the fast-growing early childhood brand, today announced the launch of its mobile app for parents, The Lovevery App. The Lovevery App provides parents and caregivers with convenient support, including activity ideas, digestible research, live expert Q&As, and other resources tailored to a child’s developmental stage.
“Sharing insights and connecting parents with experts has been central to our mission at Lovevery from the very beginning,” said Jessica Rolph, Cofounder & CEO, Lovevery. “The Lovevery App is designed to complement our Play Kits subscription by offering the right child development support at a parent’s fingertips at just the right time, without an overwhelming amount of information. This launch represents an important step forward for the growing platform we’ve created, integrating our network of experts, science-backed products and educational resources for parents.”
At launch, The Lovevery App will serve Play Kits subscribers with children ages 0-12 months. It will continue to expand to include more years of early life, as well as other features including e-commerce integration, digital-only subscriptions and integration with Lovevery’s other parent learning resources.
“Lovevery’s toys are grounded in child development science, empowering parents to support their child’s development and growth,” said Vivian Wu, Managing Partner of Ventures at CZI. “We are excited to see Lovevery continue to develop innovative tools to connect parents and caregivers with resources and experts that help give them confidence as their child’s first teacher.”
Today, Lovevery also announced their $100M Series C financing, which closed June 2021. The round was led by TCG, with participation from existing investors The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Google Ventures, Reach Capital, and SoGal Ventures. The investment will be used to further expand internationally, fuel Lovevery’s growth across digital, and continue to build out its content platform for parents—including The Lovevery App and a growing library of e-courses.
Lovevery’s growth has continued this year as it has expanded its product line by adding a fourth year to its award-winning subscription Play Kits program, opened a strategic retail channel with the successful launch of an exclusive product line at Target, and taken its flagship subscription offering to the UK and Europe in response to strong customer demand. Lovevery also recently introduced a proprietary, mobile-centric subscription platform to optimize business operations and better meet the unique needs of its subscriber base around the world. Today, Lovevery has over 220,000 active subscribers to their flagship Play Kits program and has shipped well over 1 million Play Kits in the past 12 months.
“Lovevery now generates more than $100M in subscription ARR, and our recurring revenue grew more than 100% year-on-year this quarter,” said Roderick Morris, Cofounder & President, Lovevery. “The investment led by TCG strengthens our ability to add talent and capabilities in content, technology, and other critical functions that support the continued growth and expansion of the company.”
Lovevery made several key hires in 2021 to support its growth objectives, including:
- Group VP of Media & Content, Rory Brown (formerly Viacom, Bleacher Report)
- Group VP of Technology & Digital, Luke Friang (formerly Zulily)
- Group VP of Quality, Safety, & Compliance, Bryan Brown (formerly Mattel)
- Group VP of Operations, John Tansey (formerly Happy Family Brands)
- VP User Experience & Creative, Melissa Bell (formerly Rent the Runway, Honest)
At the close of financing, TCG investor Michaela Venuti also joined Lovevery’s board of directors.
“Since its inception, Lovevery has redefined the parenting category through their innovative approach to product, distribution and content,” said Michaela Venuti. “With deep customer focus and thoughtful investment in digital capabilities, Lovevery will further establish its position as the brand that families turn to for parenting support. We believe wholeheartedly in Jessica and Rod’s vision to build an iconic early childhood brand, and we’re excited to contribute to the company’s ongoing growth.”
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About the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 to help solve some of society’s toughest challenges — from eradicating disease and improving education, to addressing the needs of our local communities. Our mission is to build a more inclusive, just, and healthy future for everyone. For more information, please visit chanzuckerberg.com.
About Lovevery
Lovevery’s early learning system supports families with stage-based play essentials for children and multi-channel content for parents. The company is best known for its award-winning subscription Play Kits program. Lovevery was launched in 2017 by Cofounders Jessica Rolph and Roderick Morris with the introduction of the company’s first product, The Play Gym. Today, Lovevery is a Certified B Corporation™ based in Boise, Idaho serving more than thirty markets worldwide. To learn more, visit: lovevery.com.