The Supply Side: Monica + Andy expands product launch with Walmart
Monica Royer, co-founder and CEO of Monica + Andy, never set out to own and run a children and family brand of organic cotton clothing and other personal care items. She worked in the pharmaceutical industry for a decade after earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
When Royer’s daughter was born 15 years ago, she began looking for clothing that did not irritate her baby’s sensitive skin. They say necessity is the mother of invention, and it was in Royer’s case. She set out looking for baby clothes free from harsh chemicals and irritants and found slim pickings. And by 2014, the idea for Chicago-based Monica + Andy became a company.
“At that time, I also saw a need for a more organic parenting lifestyle, so the vision was kind of beyond apparel,” she said. “But I understood that we really needed to go category by category, and there was no way to launch it all. We really worked to build trust with customers for a decade before we ever launched into Walmart.”
It turned out Royer’s brother, Andy Dunn, knew about quality clothing. He started and grew Bonobos, a direct-to-consumer men’s apparel brand valued at $300 million when he sold it to Walmart in 2017. Walmart sold Bonobos six years later after failing to successfully integrate the brand into its mass retail model.
Royer said the brand name symbolizes the close relationship the siblings have enjoyed, being only one year apart in age. She started Monica + Andy as a direct-to-consumer brand with a few boutiques or physical stores in Chicago and New York City. The product line included baby and children’s clothing made with ethically sourced and Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)-certified organic cotton, free from chemicals and naturally hypoallergenic. It was important to Royer to use only organic cotton that met the global standard.
Royer found support from her brother, who co-founded the brand and is also chairman of the board. Dunn, who worked for Walmart from 2017 to 2023, returned to Bonobos as an adviser when Walmart sold it. Royer said she didn’t grow up with Walmart, although there was a store in the suburbs where she lived as a child. It was years later that she began to understand the Bentonville-based retail behemoth and its role in bringing more organic products to the masses.
“We wanted to take our high-quality cotton children’s clothing brand to the masses, and Walmart was there for us,” she said.
By early 2023, Monica + Andy made its way into more than 1,100 Walmart stores. The brand was dubbed M&A for Walmart, and it included baby clothing ranging from preemie to 18 months in stores and offered up to size 5T online. While the stores carried a limited edition of patterns and prints, a wider selection was available on the retailer’s website. That business has continued to grow, according to Royer.
She said the Walmart merchant team for infant and toddler clothing helped her lean crew learn how to manage the wholesale business, which is different from direct-to-consumer.
The M+A brand went into stores right away, and that doesn’t always happen with direct-to-consumer brands. Royer said Walmart offers so many ways to reach customers through its stores and online, which is the best of both worlds for smaller brands looking to grow their business. Royer said the brand wants to be everywhere consumers are because everyone deserves access to high-quality organic cotton baby and children’s wear, regardless of their ZIP code.
Since 2023, Monica + Andy has continued to grow its retail presence, selling on Amazon and, more recently, Costco. Royer said the brand recently launched a skin and haircare line that will be in about 1,000 Walmart stores by August and is already sold online.
“Our vision was always to deliver the best products that touched babies’ skin first,” she said. “We put a lot of thought into skin care over the years, and the timing was right for this new product launch for us and hopefully the market as well.”
Royer said she worked with a cross-functional team of buyers at Walmart for the skin and haircare line of products.
“We started with Walmart because they have been such an incredible partner for us in apparel,” she said. “Their team seems to have such a vision and knows who they are serving. I don’t want to speak for Walmart at all, but they seem so unified and trying to bring the best products to American families.”
Monica + Andy recently launched four items into Walmart and online that include an everyday lotion, baby shampoo and wash, bedtime cream and soothing baby balm. Royer said a fragrance-free variety of each of those products will also be available at Walmart in August, along with a gentle baby laundry detergent in a scented and unscented version.
Editor’s note: The Supply Side section of Talk Business & Politics focuses on the companies, organizations, issues and individuals engaged in providing products and services to retailers. The Supply Side is managed by Talk Business & Politics.