Take a family of four kids, a baker, and a natural-born entrepreneur, and you’ve got the Smelly Kids Company. Parents Andrea and Franklin Thomas—who met back when they were working as chefs—were inspired by their own kids to make natural bath and body products.
“We were consumers of other bath and body companies that did not accommodate certain skin sensitivities that our children had,” said Franklin Thomas, COO, Smelly Kids.
The family originally started with three products. Today their collection includes close to 25 products, from lip balm to foaming soap. “[The kids] come up with the names, the scents,” explained Andrea Thomas, CEO, Smelly Kids. “It has to be something that the kids like, because if our own kids aren’t going to use the product, then why would we sell it?”
With the help of an Amazon grant and the assistance of Amazon’s Black Business Accelerator program, the Thomases aren’t just expanding their ecommerce business—they’ve also been able to move operations from their home to a brick-and-mortar shop.
“Amazon programs have been extremely beneficial for us,” said Franklin Thomas. “We used the grant money to transition into a storefront, where we’re able to create more personal experiences for customers as well as make products in a more commercial environment.”
As Smelly Kids grows, the Thomases said Amazon is able to keep up; helping them scale year over year.
“Being connected to Amazon helps me stay closer to my family. It’s important for our kids to see the business, see where hard work and where a dream can go,” said Andrea Thomas, CEO, Smelly Kids