How Stephenie Barbuto made a bib parents can barely see
Stephenie Barbuto is the founder of Clearly., which makes clear, disposable bibs for babies and toddlers. The conversation covers how word of mouth helped reach customers, why manufacturing research cost six months, and how a simple product message keeps the business focused.
Test whether a product can be made the way you intend before building a timeline around that assumption. Early customer feedback, a focused offer, and realistic planning can teach more than waiting for perfect conditions.
What’s the short story of how your business started, and what makes it genuinely different from the other options your customers have?
I am a mom of three, and I kept running into the same small problem. I would dress my kids in a cute outfit, and then mealtime meant covering the whole thing with a big, bulky bib, or skipping the bib and ruining the outfit. So I created the bib I wished existed. Clearly. is a clear, disposable bib for babies and toddlers. You can see the outfit right through it, which is why we call it the invisible bib. What makes it different is simple: traditional bibs cover the outfit and then go in the laundry. Ours protects the outfit, stays almost invisible in photos, and when the meal is over, you just toss it. Because cute outfits deserve to be seen and saved.
How did you win your first customers, and where does most of your new business come from today?
My first customers were moms like me, finding us online and on Instagram and sharing it with each other. When a parent sees a toddler in a white dress get through pasta night with the outfit still perfect, they get it instantly, and they tell another mom. That word of mouth is still the heart of it. Today new business comes from our own site at clearlybibs.com, from social and creators showing the bib in real life, and from retail, including baby boutiques like Polliwogs in North Carolina and wholesale through Faire. I am also a luxury real estate agent in Fort Lauderdale, and I fund Clearly. with my real estate income, with no outside investors.
What’s one decision that changed the direction of your business, and one mistake that taught you the most?
The decision was to fund the brand myself and grow it alongside my real estate business, instead of waiting for the perfect time or an investor. That made every step real, and it forced me to keep the product and the message very simple. The biggest lesson was manufacturing. I was determined to make my product in America. I spent six months searching, calling, and following every lead I could find, and every door closed. For a product like mine, at a price parents can actually pay, it was damn near impossible. I finally made the call to produce overseas, and that search cost me half a year. My lesson: wanting it done a certain way is not a plan. Find out early whether something can actually be done, then build your timeline around reality, not hope.
What has changed in your industry or in what your customers expect over the last couple of years, and how have you adapted?
Parents now find almost everything through their phones, and they decide fast. They expect a product to make sense in one photo, work when they are traveling or eating out, and be easy to reorder. They also care more about what things are made from, so we are clear that our bibs are BPA free and PVC free. I adapted by keeping our message to one instantly clear idea, she is wearing a bib, you just cannot see it, and by showing real families using it in real moments instead of polished ads. On the retail side, I partnered with a retail and PR team this fall so the brand can reach buyers and gift guides at a scale I could not reach alone.
If you were advising someone starting out in your industry today, what would you tell them to do first, and what would you tell them to ignore?
Do first: find one real problem you have lived yourself, and solve it in the simplest way you can. Then put it in front of real customers early and listen to them. Ignore: the pressure to look big before you are. You do not need outside money, a huge launch, or ten products to start. One good product, honest pricing, and steady follow through will teach you more than any perfect plan. And build in extra time for the boring parts, production and shipping always take longer than you think.
Thank you to Stephenie Barbuto and the team at Clearly. for sharing what actually worked with Leaders Perception readers.
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