[ENTREPRENEUR FOCUS] Mamie Bouillotte: the modernized hot water bottle

Mamie Bouillotte: the modernized hot water bottle

Why did you create a hot water bottle brand? How did you come up with the idea?
 
We all have a grandmother who told us how she warmed her bed when she was little. The hot water bottle, for us, was that: not really an object of our time, nor very fun and we didn't see ourselves using it one day. Then in November 2020 we confined ourselves (remember), in a house, with a few friends and a hot water bottle... The hot water bottle was as we imagined it, old-fashioned and outdated. But after a few weeks of living together we tried it anyway, and we had to admit that it was also warm and pleasant.

This became our confinement project: find modern hot water bottles, create a website, and see if it might interest other people besides us. We quickly found the name, then in a few days we had V0 of our site. All that remained was to have the right products. We ordered around fifteen hot water bottles from different suppliers, made our selection, and off we went!

Where are you today?
 
The first year we didn't really sell much. On the other hand, it was nice to get started, to try everything: accounting, logistics, after-sales service, marketing, purchasing, automation... Since we were learning every day, that suited us. The second year was a little better without being crazy. Then in 2022 there was an energy crisis, the government asked us to wear turtlenecks and down jackets. The price of gas and electricity has increased significantly, and our sales at the same time.
 
We were able to recover our investment and develop our activity for the 2023 season. New website, new logistician, new models, launch of B2B, development of marketing...
 
Among our pride, we are sold at BHV, at Fleux, at Nature & Découvertes, and in many concept stores in France and abroad. We deliver within 24-48 hours throughout Europe, and we donate 1% of our annual profits to an environmental protection association.
 
We remain very small, without salaries or employees, with our jobs on the side, but the activity is going well, we are learning, we are having fun, and we plan to do much more.

What are the objectives in the coming years?

In the short term, develop our product offering. We are selling 3 water bottles today, available in sizes and colors, making 19 products. Next year we would like to offer dry hot water bottles: those with seeds, which are microwave safe.

In the medium term, among our main areas of development, B2B is key. We have managed to get listed in department stores and in many concept stores, but not yet in pharmacy networks, for example. Integrating good sales agents, or even distributors, would take us a big step forward.

In the long term, become (even more) a reference brand on the hot water bottle market, in France and then in Europe.

Is there any other relevant information you would like to share?

No, it's already not bad. Simply wish you a torrid winter and give you a little promo code to thank you for reading me so far: ALUMNI20.

Website : https://mamiebouillotte.fr
Contact : hugo@mamiebouillotte.fr
Insta : @mamiebouillotte