BabyQuip, a Santa Fe-based startup that provides a rental service for baby gear, on Tuesday announced it's expanding into a new service — BabyQuip Party.
The party gear rental service includes items such as soft play zones, ball pits and lawn games alongside equipment like kids' tables and chairs and diaper changing stations. The service connects people hosting parties with independent contractors who provide the gear and equipment.
Gear providers are fully vetted, and all rentals are sanitized, delivered, set up, disassembled and picked up by those providers, according to a news release from the company.
Launching the party gear rental service "was a natural step for BabyQuip," Fran Maier, a serial entrepreneur who founded the startup in May 2016, said in a statement.
"From helping families create a kid-friendly and extra-fun party environment, to giving hosts an affordable, commitment-free alternative to purchasing gear that's expensive and inconvenient, BabyQuip Party solves some of the pain points associated with family events," Maier said.
The startup, which currently has 16 employees, doesn't have any hiring planned on the corporate team as part of the new service's rollout. The nearly 1,600 providers the company works with for its baby gear rentals are supporting the party rental service, according to an email sent to Albuquerque Business First by a representative for the company.
The new service comes about four months after BabyQuip launched a dedicated mobile app for its baby gear rentals. That app accounts for over a quarter of BabyQuip's business, Maier told Business First in March.
Since its founding, BabyQuip has brought in over $7.5 million in funding to date and, in 2020, appeared on an episode of the hit pitch television show Shark Tank. Its baby gear rental service operates across the U.S. and in Canada, Mexico and Australia, while the party rental service is currently available in over 45 cities in the U.S.
