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Tired of buying “stuff” for kids? A Kitchener-Waterloo startup has a local solution
Dec 1, 2014 | Exchange Magazine | LINK

Waterloo – If you’ve ever found yourself wandering aimlessly around a toy store, or melting down on Christmas morning because of the amount of “stuff” your kids have received, a new startup in Waterloo Region has a solution, and it’s just a click away.

Marmanbee.ca is an online marketplace where parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and others can go to buy experience-based gift packages for local kids and teens. Launched in October, Marmanbee.ca offers everything from rock-climbing lessons, to knitting classes, to hockey skills training.

“This is an opportunity for kids to try a new adventure, to learn about themselves, and to create memories with loved ones that will last a lifetime,” says Marmanbee CEO Sandra Muir.

Every experience comes gift-ready in a package that includes colourful socks, temporary tattoos, and other items related to the experience. For example, the KW Symphony concert package includes musical instruments.

“Kids, particularly young kids, don’t always understand the concept of an experience gift,” says Muir. “The package gives them something to open and it tells them a bit about what they are going to do. It also feels good as a gift giver to have something to physically give a child or teen to open.”

The Marmanbee packages feature local vendors in Waterloo Region and surrounding areas, with services for kids aged 2-19. “There are so many great companies in our own backyard. The opportunities for fun and unique gift packages are endless,” says Muir.

Muir created the company while doing her MBA at Wilfrid Laurier University, as part of the Laurier LaunchPad program. As an aunt to 11 nieces and nephews, godmother to three, and with many other kids in her life, she had been searching for a gift-giving solution for kids and teens.

“I was already buying experience gifts for my own nieces and nephews, and my market research validated that many others – including kids – also valued experiences,” she says.

Muir is also part of a newly identified market segment known as “Professional Aunt, No Kids,” or PANKs – a term first coined by Melanie Notkin, founder of the Savvy Auntie brand. A survey found PANKs spend $9 billion US every year on kids.

“It feels good to give my nieces and nephews something unique. It’s also the type of gift that brings us closer together, and creates shared memories, which is the greatest gift you can ever give or receive.”