How Babylist is building a media empire for new parents

The Modern Retail Podcast

Babylist is making moves to be more than just a registry for soon-to-be parents.

The company has been building a media business over the last four years, becoming its fastest-growing revenue stream.

"The original business model was affiliate," said Lee Anne Grant, Babylist's chief growth officer. "So it was working with a ton of different retailers and getting paid a commission. And then, fast forward 13 years later, we are now this platform with a bunch of different offerings like health, e-commerce, content -- anything a family needs."

Grant joined the Modern Retail Podcast and spoke about how the company has grown over the last decade. This includes growing its media business and expanding into health and wellness.

Grant joined Babylist four years ago. She began as a consultant, given the task of building the company's media business. Now, she's its chief growth officer -- overseeing new business opportunities like media and health care -- to help Babylist expand beyond its registry roots. This includes a retail concept the company opened in LA last year as well as a content business catered to its customers.

As she sees it, a company like Babylist has the potential to be a media giant. Its customers read its newsletter and seek it out for educational content. Which is to say: new parents are looking for any help they can get, and that's great news for advertisers. Alongside that power, Grant also makes sure that Babylist maintains trust with its customers."

We have pretty strict editorial guide guidelines, both for our organic editorial as well as our paid," she said. "We actually say no a good amount."

Grant sees a bunch of potential as Babylist continues to grow. "We're very much an audience company," she said. "We're not as big as Amazon, but the amount of money that new parents, expecting parents [as well as] grandma spends -- it's a big enough opportunity to keep me excited to stay here."