Baby products company Frida is expanding into a line of personal care products for children ages 6 to 11 that will be sold at Walmart and on Amazon, the company exclusively told CNBC. CEO Chelsea Hirschhorn said the launch marks a natural next step for the company, which has seen its first customers age into new categories, and offers an opportunity to secure shelf space in a category that is largely untapped and unexplored. “Actually, it wasn’t necessarily just that this opportunity was created in the retail environment or in the culture, but it was really the lack of genuine, thoughtful innovation for this stage of parenthood that felt like a rinse and repeat of our playbook in mother care and baby care,” Hirschhorn told CNBC. Hirschhorn, who created the company when her first child was a baby, said the gap in the market is one she has seen firsthand as a mother of four. As her oldest son grew, she said there were plenty of options in the baby and teen aisle, but nothing in between to address the personal care needs of toddlers. While the new category marks a significant step for the company, it said it ensures it won’t alienate core customers looking for baby products. Since its launch, Frida has generated more than $2 billion in retail sales and has grown approximately 30% annually over the past five years, the company exclusively told CNBC. Although it started as a baby products company, it has now diversified into pregnancy, postpartum, and now children’s products. According to a report by Kings Research, the child personal care market was valued at approximately $82 billion in 2022 and was expected to reach $137 billion by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate of almost 7%. Hirschhorn said Walmart has been curating and launching a new aisle dedicated to child care, where parents can find products among baby and adult options. That dedicated shelf space, along with Walmart’s nationwide reach and emphasis on value, made it an ideal destination for Frida for Kids, she added. “Walmart came to the table in a really exciting way and said, ‘We see an opportunity in a dedicated location for everything from teen deodorant to shampoo to nail care to oral care because this parent deserves convenience above all else,'” he said. The new products span categories including body wash, deodorant, electric flosser and more, in the price range of $6.99 to $19.99. Hirschhorn said each of the products was designed specifically for children in this age group without relying on certain ingredients that might not be age-appropriate. “It’s an obvious gap,” he said. “When I finish shopping for tear-free baby shampoo and walk down the aisles in the personal care section, the only thing that catches my eye is… the men’s section.” Retail innovation in the tween space has expanded in recent years. Companies like Sephora have seen explosive growth in children’s interest in beauty, while clothing retailers have created more specific sizes for tweens. It coincides with Generation Alpha reshaping part of the retail landscape, as the digitally native and internet-savvy cohort becomes increasingly important for brands to capture and build loyalty. Alpha begins roughly with babies born in 2010 and continues with babies born in 2025, according to Merriam-Webster, but those start and end dates are up for debate. Hirschhorn said Frida is taking note of that trend. “Otherwise, this is a pretty fragmented shopping experience for parents who are ready to graduate to the diaper aisle,” he said. “There isn’t a holistic experience for all personal care products for kids that age, so that was a really important part for us, just as it was in mother care.”
