A truth that dawned on Pruthvi Gowda when he became a father to his baby boy was that “kids grow out of things at a very fast rate”.

Floral

He says, “While we might pass down certain things to cousins and siblings, most of the kids’ products end up in landfills.”

This realisation was the stepping stone to laying the foundation for GroClub — a Bengaluru-based startup that has created a circular economy by lending baby-use products such as bicycles, cribs, beds and strollers on a subscription basis.

Green Curved Line

As the idea of the company brewed in his mind, he reached out to his friends Hrishikesh H S, Roopesh Shah and Sapna M S for support.

Green Curved Line

He says, “Four of us are parents of kids between 5 and 14 years of age. They could relate to the problem of them outgrowing things too. Apart from that, all of us believed that with our startup, we could pitch in and reduce the mounting trash in the landfills.” The four friends decided to launch the company in January 2022 and are currently operating in Bengaluru.

Green Curved Line

Explaining how the subscription works, he says, “The parents only pay 50 percent of the actual cost of the product in subscriptions and also take a step towards sustainable living. The products are therefore reused but not second-hand.”

The products are refurbished for every new user. “The process of refurbishing renews the product and does not cause as much carbon emission,” he explains. For instance, the refurbishing of a bicycle releases about 80 kg of carbon as compared to 330 kg of carbon released to manufacture a new one.

Throughout the subscription, the customer gets free delivery and maintenance service.

Green Curved Line

“Our bicycle subscription costs about Rs 6,000 per year or Rs 500 per month while the cost of buying a bicycle can go as high as Rs 20,000. Therefore, it is not only environmentally sustainable but also cost-effective,” adds Pruthvi. The startup has a subscriber base of 5,700 subscribers and made a revenue of Rs 3 crore in 2023.

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