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Colugo, a direct-to-consumer brand, makes strollers that are accessible and affordable; many call Colugo “the Warby Parker of strollers”. While most stroller brands sell their products through retailers, Colugo has no middleman markup, allowing them to price their products much cheaper than comparable models on the market.
Introduction
Parents can be tough customers and the market has competitors like Graco, Chicco, and Bugaboo, have been around for decades. In a flooded market, Colugo decided to keep things simpler and avoided loading their stroller with unnecessary accessories (like basket organizers) to keep the overall price and weight low.
Colugo, a direct-to-consumer stroller brand, makes strollers that are the most accessible and practical.
You can choose from various colors and seasonal kits – warm cover for winters, breathable net for summer, and more.
Besides offering overall lower prices, the brand offers a 100-day trial period and free shipping.
Tennis star Serena Williams says she uses a stroller made by the brand Colugo for little Olympia, and is the only model they manufacture (aptly called, The Stroller).
“I’ve conquered a lot of things…blood clots in my lungs- twice… knee and foot surgeries… winning grand slams being down match point… to name just a FEW but I found out by far the hardest is figuring out a stroller,” Serena tweeted in January 2018. By December, she was posting pictures on Instagram of Olympia dozing in a Colugo.
Colugo has grown quickly over the last year. Flush with cash from other high-profile investors (who also happen to be parents and have used the Colugo stroller), the company is no expanding its product line.
Also, the fact that there are already few direct-to-consumer stroller brands in the market indicates that consumers are willing to trust such startups.
About Colugo
Ted Iobst is the founder of Colugo. He thought of the idea after he himself experienced (as new parent) how difficult it was to buy the right stroller. Ted developed this Colugo while getting his MBA from Wharton.
“I realized that the pain points I was experiencing, all parents were experiencing. Once I realized that we could lower the price, improve the product and improve experience, we just had to do it because [there’s] the opportunity to make parents’ lives easier,” says Iobst.
“One benefit of being a direct-to-consumer brand, besides being able to offer a lower price, is that we have a direct channel of communication to our customers,” says the founder.
Colugo is a gliding mammal found in Southeast Asia. Iobst says the ‘co’ in Colugo provides a sense of community and the ‘go’ in the word provides a sense of motion (to parents and families).
Colugo “The Complete” Stroller
Colugo now also offers a full-size stroller called “the Complete”, another stroller that is cheaper than the most comparable product on the market. this stroller retains most of the features of the original Compact, its easy fold and easy to maneuver, but “The Complete” is designed for more rugged terrain and is lot more sturdy.
The stroller comes with a larger storage basket, plusher seat, a larger sun cover, and is compatible with an infant car seat. The stroller also comes with a rain cover and machine-washable printed textiles.
For this stroller, colugo has designed a unique bassinet that converts from a bassinet directly into a seat; the main portion can recline to 175 degrees, and a barrier prevents the infant from rolling out. Other strollers usually offer elaborate bassinets that need to be attached to the stroller, and needs to be replaced with a full seat when the child is older. While Colugo’s conversion kit still costs almost fifty dollars, comparable bassinets are priced much higher.
Colugo Stroller
The Colugo has been designed keeping the city parents in mind. It’s sturdy, rolls smoothly, easy to maneuver, lightweight and easy to fold. The Colugo stroller weighs a manageable 16 pounds. Designed for kids six months and older who weigh less than 55 pounds. It comes with clever accessories like rain cover that folds into a little bag.
It’s also designed to be “easier to carry than a bag of groceries,” according to Colugo. It appears to break down into a very small bundle, and is meant to be stored and carried easily. It can be opened and closed using just one hand (when you’re holding your baby in the other). Folds into a compact size that’s easy to store when not in use. It has a shoulder strap for easy carrying.
It comes with a UPF 50+ sun shade (removable, machine washable outer layer), and rain cover.
No-puncture, swivel tires suited for variety of city terrain.
There’s a large storage basket (you can also buy the Colugo diaper bag). There’s no mesh pocket on the back of the stroller (something that could have easily been added).
The stroller has a nice handle bar cover that looks far more durable and less likely to get torn.
You can purchase any of Colugo products on their official website.
Also Read: The Warby Parker of strollers is here.
Colugo Pride Stroller
Colugo Pride Stroller with cool rainbow look supports the LGBTQ+ Community.
Most strollers are designed to help parents with their day-to-day struggles but for the LGBTQ community members, simply becoming a parent or even being recognized as a family is a struggle. Colugo has designed the Pride stroller as a way to support the work that Family Equality Council does for the LGBTQ community.
The Colugo Pride stroller has been in partnership with Family Equality Council. Colugo will be donating 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the Pride stroller to the Family Equality Council. With this initiative, Colugo will be one of several organizations providing visibility to the members of the LGBTQ community.
The navy blue-colored stroller features a rainbow (in support of Pride) on both the canopy as well as the seat.
“On the Pride stroller, you might notice that our rainbow has black and brown stripes. In partnership with Family Equality Council, we have included black and brown in our rainbow because every member of our community is important to us. And it’s a nod to the inclusive Pride flag designed in Philadelphia, the city where Colugo was founded,” Rob Spalding, COLUGO
If you already own a Colugo stroller but without a rainbow flag, you can swap your existing design for the Pride for an additional $50.
StrollerBoards is a family managed website with me (Ben) and my wife doing most of the work. We are proud parents of two wonderful kids and love reviewing baby travel gear. We have a firm but friendly “democratic parenting” style and offer several practical solutions backed by extensive research. Our own experience with raising two children prompted us to share our knowledge. Read more.
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