Rugs, hugs and UX love: how a personal touch delivered a new mum an award-winning E-Commerce brand

A near-obsessive focus on the user experience and cracking the delivery code with the help of a friendly local courier has helped a new mum weave an award-winning and fast-growing baby rug brand – all from her pint-sized Bondi apartment.

Rugabub, a bespoke E-Commerce brand that delivers unique playmats that look like designer rugs to parents across the country, has soared from a pipedream to one of Australia’s top homegrown baby rug startups, thanks to owner Dana Weil’s unique business model. In the first full year of business, Rugabub had a year-on-year turnover of 700,000. A year later in 2022, this figure had more than doubled, surpassing $1,400,000. Rugabub was also awarded an Australian Good Design Award in 2022, 1st Place and Editor's Choice in the Baby Accessories Category of the Clean & Conscious Awards 2023, and a 2023 Parent & Baby Award.

Dana says the Rugabub model places user experience (UX) at the heart – an experience she says starts from the moment an order is placed, through to the parcel arriving in top condition on time to the customer’s doorstep. She insists it has not only helped her standout from a crowded baby mat market but has seen the mumpreneur make lifelong friends with some of her customers.

For Dana, the Rugabub journey began in Sydney in 2020 just weeks after COVID-19 led to global shutdowns, with borders closing and everyday life griding to a halt. Spurred to action after her husband lost his job as a helicopter pilot to the pandemic – when their baby was only two months old – the new mum launched the E-Commerce start-up that she says was born from a market gap and the inside scoop on what mums really want.

Dana says, “We’d just had a new baby mat delivered and although it was very simple, it just didn’t blend in with our decor. This was the light bulb moment that led to me to design play mats that would blend in with people's decor beautifully. 

“I know how much little bits of beauty and being in a space that brings joy can mean to a parent, so I began creating baby rugs and mats that looked like designer pieces without sacrificing functionality.

“But beyond the rugs the important element of my business is the customer experience. Parents are time poor and don’t want more mental load. When they order items online, reliability and timely deliveries are worth their weight in gold. While a top UX experience isn’t necessarily always part of the E-Commerce business model, especially when you have low profit margins like we do – for us it has remained paramount. 

“Our customers mean everything to us and that’s why personal interactions are my top priority to deliver the best experience for them.”

For Dana, the biggest hurdle to creating the perfect business model quickly became delivery partners, admitting she worked her way through just about every parcel and courier company in the country before finding one that was reliable and aligned with her own business model.

“At our height we were shipping 1,000 rugs a day and I was honestly on the verge of hiring another person just to fill the operations role as the endless delays and hands on problem solving required was creating headaches for our business and customers,” says Dana.

“But then we found CouriersPlease. Their values not only aligned with ours, but the UX experience they offer rivals mine. Delivery queries are most often solved instantaneously and that not only saved me from hiring another person but allowed Rugabub to flourish.

"The exceptional customer service at CouriersPlease truly stands out. Our Business Development Manager, Kim Murray is always just a phone call away, ensuring I receive answers to anything urgent within minutes."

Dana says she’s even become friends with her local courier Russell and is able to directly call his mobile for second pickups.

“Russell has honestly saved me on more than one occasion, and I feel like he’s now a part of the Rugbabub team,” she says.

Likewise with Franchise Partner Adam, “He constantly goes above and beyond for me when I get a container in and quickly need to ship back orders. They know I’m a family business, they know how much is at stake and they bend over backwards to do their part.”

“My customers mean the world to me and to have this level of reliability and trust with our deliveries has proven to be the final winning ingredient for us. To be able to pick up the phone and call Russell and to be able to quickly track down a parcel on the same day or organise a redelivery has absolutely played a major role in Rugabub’s success.

“It’s a big part of the reason now have a brand that’s embraced by parents across Australia who know how much we value their time and how hard we’ll work to give them a great experience, from the product to the shipment.”

CouriersPlease is Australia’s fastest growing franchised courier service and provides shipping solutions for E-Commerce retailers. CEO Richard Thame says being a vital part of an inspiring startup journey like Rugabub’s remains one of the best parts of his job and is fundamentally why the franchise is continuing to expand so exponentially.

Richard says: “When it comes to E-Commerce, good customer service and reliable deliveries can mean the difference between success and failure. That’s why, just like Dana, we recognise just how important the human element is and aligning with businesses like Rugabub is precisely why we do what we do.”

ENDS