Is it worth engaging in the production of T-shirts, mugs, bags, and other merchandise with logos? Firstly, the size of the customized products market is projected to grow to $1.35 trillion by 2031. Secondly, unexpected segments like jewelry and personal care products are emerging in this market. Thirdly, there is a clear path to building a major player in this market following the recipe of this startup.
Project Essence
Bizay is a platform where small and medium-sized businesses can order customized products of almost any type. Printing business cards and promotional materials, manufacturing boxes, bags, mugs, sweatshirts, backpacks, sunglasses, headphones, and many other items with company logos, including shampoos, soaps, slippers, and robes for hotels and short-term rental apartments.
The startup’s uniqueness lies not in offering to print and manufacture customized products—many companies are currently engaged in this.
Its innovation lies in the efficient organization of production and logistics processes. This allows Bizay to keep prices 50% lower than competitors, while still ensuring reasonable manufacturing times and meeting promised delivery deadlines.
Bizay itself has no manufacturing facilities. It orders raw goods from third-party suppliers, and printing and logo application are done by external contractors.
For each operation in each region, the startup has at least 3 similar suppliers and contractors, from which it selects the most optimal in terms of prices and deadlines at any given moment. Incoming orders are accumulated to ensure reasonable prices, while the order flow is split into separate parts for parallel production—increasing speed and reducing risks.
To manage all these processes, Bizay had to develop its own supply chain, production, and logistics management system. So, Bizay can be considered an IT company, in the same sense as Uber, Tinkoff Bank, or Dodo Pizza are considered IT companies.
The startup originates from Portugal, with strong positions in Europe and South America. It has recently raised another €18 million in investments to enter the US market. In total, Bizay has attracted €72.3 million in investments, including the current round.
What’s Interesting
The most crucial aspect is that efficient business process organization, leading to lower costs and faster service, is as important a competitive advantage as the ‘uniqueness of the idea.’
Perhaps, it’s even more critical 😉 After all, any good idea will eventually be copied. But creating a system of efficient operational processes and consistently maintaining it at the required level is a skill possessed by very few.
One vivid example is McDonald’s. Some may recall a scene from the movie “The Founder,” based on Ray Kroc’s book “Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s“—where they meticulously arranged kitchen equipment and the process of preparing and serving burgers on a chalk-marked tennis court.
In this sense, Bizay can be called the ‘McDonald’s of the customized products market.’ They replaced well-arranged kitchen equipment and staff movements with refined algorithms of their IT system.
However, fine-tuning operational activities makes sense only in large markets—where a potentially huge volume of orders can come your way, and where there are numerous competitors that you must outperform in terms of price and speed while maintaining standard quality.
But is the market for items like business cards, T-shirts, and logo-branded mugs that significant?
Surprisingly—yes! The global customized products market size was $858.8 billion in 2021, and it is expected to grow to $1.35 trillion by 2031.
For instance, the custom T-shirt printing market is expected to exceed $3 billion by 2025.
The personalized packaging market is projected to grow to $59.77 billion by 2032. This market, in particular, is expanding due to the rise of takeout and online food ordering—where food is usually packaged in branded boxes and bags.
Bizay specializes (for now?) in the B2B market, focusing on small and medium-sized businesses that need small batches of goods at reasonable prices.
However, the B2C market for customized products is also growing.
For example, the personalized gifts market (items with individual images and inscriptions) is already at $30 billion and is expected to grow to $42 billion by 2030.
The largest groups of buyers for such personalized gifts are people aged 16–24 and 25–34, suggesting that the demand for these gifts may continue to grow.
Another unexpected market where demand for customized products is rising is the jewelry and costume jewelry market. In 2023, its size will be $31.6 billion, and by 2030, it is expected to grow to $54.86 billion.
The growth of this market is due to the wide availability and affordability of 3D printing and laser engraving technologies, and social media is spreading this trend among mass consumers.
In the fall of 2022, I even wrote about the startup Cloud Factory, which started printing custom jewelry on 3D printers. Companies can gift these jewelry items instead of tiresome logo-branded T-shirts, and influencers can sell them to their followers. This Estonian startup raised €2 million in investments, but since then, several similar ones have appeared.
Another unexpected market for customized products is self-care items like body and skin creams made to personal recipes or small batches of products branded by influencers. In 2022, the size of this market was already $26.2 billion, and by 2030, it is expected to grow to $48.65 billion.
A more traditional custom furniture market combines both B2C and B2B aspects, but it is surprisingly significant too. In 2023, its size will be $30.89 billion, and by 2028, it is expected to grow to $45.92 billion.
Where to Go
The direction of potential movement is clear.
We are targeting a large market of customized products, where a significant number of small and medium players are active. The goal is to build a major player that can outpace competitors in terms of prices and order fulfillment speed while maintaining standard quality.
Crucially, we deliberately avoid creating our own production facilities and instead focus on refining operational processes and an IT system. Through this, we aim to establish an efficient chain connecting third-party suppliers and manufacturers.
Ideally, it shouldn’t matter what kind of products we manufacture using this approach—whether it’s mugs, T-shirts, furniture, or jewelry. Although perfection is not always achievable 😉 Therefore, we may choose to concentrate on particularly large or growing segments of this market. This allows us, firstly, not to complicate the task unnecessarily and, secondly, to gather all available forces to secure a leading position in the chosen segment.
Which segment do you find most interesting and promising for yourself from a business perspective?
About the Company
Bizay
Website: bizay.co.uk
Latest Round: €18M, 22.12.2023
Total Investments: €72.3M, Rounds: 5