Easy, Affordable and Cute as Pie

Hannah Porter’s relatable personality is connecting with parents with her online children’s store Bear & Moo providing a vibrant line of cloth nappies, clothing and more, with quality and affordability at its heart.

The journey through parenthood is a constant juggle. There is no perfect way to do it and no perfect solution to the many challenges that come our way. All too often, it can be easy to find yourself sucking away the joy by comparing your journey with the ‘perfect’ Instagram mum who appears to have it all together – who doesn’t seem to have a washing pile the size of Aoraki to fold and put away (and another equally as large pile still to wash); who has immaculately presented children and not a hair out of place. This lack of ‘realness’ is alienating and potentially damaging to those struggling with the reality of a newborn, two-year-old tantrums and even eight-year-old emotions. Enter Hannah Porter.

Hannah is the founder and director of online children’s store Bear & Moo and a breath of fresh air when it comes to parenting online. She is real, down to earth, genuine and relatable. She is all of that in real life too – which is even more heartening. What you see is exactly what you get. She laughs as she tells me one of her most engaged stories on Instagram recently was in response to asking her audience where she could find the newest Whittaker’s chocolate flavour in store. ‘I am not well put together. I am wearing cheap jeans, the state of my house is madness, and I don’t care!’ She is relatable, and real.

In June 2018, with two small children aged three and 18 months, Hannah made the decision to create a side hustle that would allow her the flexibility of working from home. ‘I had worked in corporate roles and also in the wedding industry, but with little children I didn’t want to go back to work in that capacity. I had always been interested in e-commerce so I started to think about what I could sell.’

Immersed in life with little children and with a passion for sustainable, environmental choices, Hannah and husband Richard were no strangers to cloth nappies. ‘What I noticed was that there was a gap in the market, and in people’s knowledge. At the time cloth nappies were really expensive and there was a misconception that they were really complex to use. So I ordered 300 cloth nappies from China and decided to sell them [under the brand Bear & Moo, named after their children]. I thought if it doesn’t work that’s okay, and if it does it might be a nice bit of pocket money on the side.’

What Hannah hadn’t counted on was the power of social media. ‘Social media allowed us to build organically and bring a community of people on the journey with us,’ she explains. ‘I was a mum at home, with kids, talking to other mums at home with kids and educating people on cloth nappies.’ She was also providing an affordable alternative; with price point a key driver for Hannah. ‘I want to save people money, while giving them choice.’

Eighteen months after launching, the spare bedroom was bursting and a decision had to be made. While Hannah was hesitant about moving the ‘side hustle’ out of home, she knew for growth to happen it was the only way forward.

‘We found a great warehouse not too far from home. It is 240 square metres and when we moved in we had two wooden shelving units in it. The kids used to come to work with me and ride their bikes around in there. Now, four years later, we are bursting at the seams.’

Hannah’s initial 300 cloth nappies sold out quickly, as did her second. ‘I started to think, what else could we sell? Which led to wet bags, cloth wipes, nappy inserts and the list kept growing from there.’

Six years later, they have a plethora of items available ensuring Bear & Moo is growing with their audience – clothing, sheets, lunchboxes, toys, books and more are all available. ‘Alongside the Bear & Moo brand we have our favourite local and international brands and also our own clothing range, Hello Poppet, which was launched and named after our third child, Maddie.’

Working with designers here and internationally on the designs of their products, Hannah (and Richard who joined the business in 2020) laugh at the challenges that come with finalising colours, designs and patterns. ‘It is hard to think ahead and figure out what people will like, and sometimes we think a particular pattern will fly out the door and it doesn’t – but that is all part of it,’ shares Hannah. ‘We have found our place in the market – fun, bright and vibrant pieces that are designed with affordability and quality in mind.’