Totes Babies: Shopping with Babies Made Simple!
- KLS
- a few seconds ago
- 8 min read
For the 231st feature of our "Together Talks" campaign, we collaborated with Totes Babies and Founder, Lindsey Fleischhauer. Use the Totes Babies on shopping carts from Target, Walmart, H-E-B, Safeway, Kroger, Publix, Albertson's, Aldi, Sam's Club, Hy-Vee, Lowe's, Home Depot, Meijer, Piggly Wiggly, Winn-Dixie, Sprouts, Wegmans, Food Lion, Giant Food, Reasor's, and many more!
"Together Talks" feature # 231: Totes Babies presented by KLS - Your Trusted Shipping Solutions In The USA
What separates you from your competition? What have been the biggest challenges? Goals for upcoming year + Next phase of the company?
What were your concerns to transition to starting your own business? What have you learned since becoming an entrepreneur? What aspect of entrepreneurship do you appreciate the most? Share a decision that you made that was detrimental? What is your why?
Story of how it was created?
Totes Babies launched in 2018, but the idea came to me when I had my first son—who’s about to turn nine in April. He was my first child, and like so many new moms, I just wanted to get out of the house. Sometimes, when you have a baby, you simply want to make yourself feel presentable again—get a little dressed up and step back into the world.
One day, I decided I was going to do just that. I got myself ready and headed to the grocery store with him in his car seat. He was not a baby who liked to be worn—he wanted to stay in his car seat at all times. When I got to the store, I quickly realized I couldn’t get everything I needed because his car seat took up the entire shopping cart. I couldn’t fit groceries in with it.
I ended up leaving my cart there, full of items I couldn’t buy, and went home frustrated. I remember thinking, There has to be another solution. This can’t just be the way it is. I started researching, and there really wasn’t anything out there solving this specific problem.
So I began sketching ideas. My dad holds over 40 patents, primarily in retail store fixtures, and I had worked in that space as well, doing sales for the company. I went straight to him with the concept. He did most of the sketching—because I am terrible at drawing—and we collaborated on refining the idea. We also connected with an engineer we knew and leveraged friends overseas who worked in manufacturing. Slowly but surely, it all started to come together.
It took about a year. I remember going to a baby show in downtown Chicago with a very amateur prototype—literally made from materials we found at Home Depot. We walked that show floor and said to ourselves, “Next year, we’re going to be here as exhibitors.” And we were. The following year, we had a booth at that same baby show. That was such a full-circle moment.
Of course, launching any business comes with ups and downs. It’s challenging. It’s overwhelming at times. But we kept learning from every mistake and every obstacle, and we’re still learning today.
What separates you from your competition?
Our flagship product, the Totes Babies Car Seat Carrier, is what we launched with. We now have additional products, but that was the first.
What makes it unique is that, at the time, there was really only one other product that addressed this issue—and theirs required you to remove your baby from the car seat and place them into a cloth carrier. Ours keeps the baby securely in the car seat. You don’t disturb them. You simply convert the car seat into a stable, sturdy carrier system.
It’s incredibly strong, with adjustable aluminum rods that provide structure and durability. There’s no flimsiness to it. For that specific product, we truly only have one direct competitor, and our design offers a completely different—and more convenient—solution.
What have been the biggest challenges?
The biggest challenge was simply getting started. My dad and I both had experience in retail store fixtures, but that’s very different from launching an actual consumer product. We knew how to build prototypes for fixtures. We knew buyers at places like Target and Walmart—but for store fixtures, not for consumer baby gear.
So we were learning as we went. How do you bring a product to market? How do you get into retail as a product brand? How do you navigate packaging, safety standards, distribution?
Social media was another steep learning curve. In the beginning, I had no idea what I was doing. I was running Facebook ads and essentially just throwing money out the window because I didn’t know how to target properly.
I remember hearing Sarah Blakely say that if you ever have the opportunity to “hire up”—to bring in someone who knows how to do something far better than you do—you should do it. That really stuck with me. So we hired someone early on to handle our Facebook ads, and we still work with that person today.
As we’ve grown, I’ve learned that if there’s something I know someone else can do better, we bring them in. You can’t do everything yourself forever. Entrepreneurship is about evolving and building the right team as you go.
Goals for upcoming year + Next phase of the company?
We started with the Totes Babies Car Seat Carrier. Since then, we’ve launched an iPad holder, an iPhone holder, a keychain product, and a shopping cart cover. We also sell products under TBI—Totes Babies Industries—primarily on Amazon.
This year, our goal is expansion. We’re adding more products in the baby gear category while continuing to grow our Amazon portfolio under TBI Industries. That includes aluminum drying racks, bamboo drying racks, and other household items.
We’re also entering the game space—board-game-style products. My eight-year-old is actually helping us brainstorm and develop one right now, which has been such a fun experience.
So the focus is growth: growing the baby gear line, expanding TBI Industries, and continuing to build out our Amazon presence alongside Totes Babies.
What were your concerns to transition to starting your own business?
Starting anything is scary. Whether you’re inventing a product, becoming a realtor, becoming a teacher—taking that leap is intimidating.
In the beginning, I did what many people do: I asked others for their opinions. And sometimes those opinions weren’t encouraging. I heard things like, “That’s a terrible idea,” or, “That’s dumb.” And those comments can flood your mind with doubt.
But eventually, I realized something important: what other people think is none of my business. They’re not paying my bills. They’re not fulfilling my dreams. I had to shut out the noise and move forward.
That applies to anyone starting anything new. So many people talk themselves out of opportunities before they even begin.
With a baby product specifically, there are also layers you don’t initially think about—safety testing, compliance requirements, liability concerns. And moms are incredibly opinionated on social media, which is understandable. So we had to figure out: Where do we get safety testing? What certifications are required? How do we ensure everything is done properly?
There was a lot to learn, but we figured it out step by step.
What have you learned since becoming an entrepreneur?
I’ve learned that sometimes you just have to jump in. If you sit around second-guessing every detail, you’ll never launch.
I was a theater major in college and didn’t really use that degree much afterward—just a few auditions here and there. But funny enough, it has helped tremendously in business. There’s an element of “fake it till you make it”—not in a dishonest way, but in building confidence. When you’re doing customer service, attending trade shows, pitching buyers, handling everything yourself, that background in acting and directing actually comes in handy.
You end up doing everything in the beginning. And with every challenge, you learn something. You make a mistake, and you say, “Okay, we’re not doing that again next time.”
We’ve also had to pivot—especially when tariffs and supply chain issues came into play. We didn’t panic and say, “That’s it. We’re done.” Instead, we asked, “What can we do differently?” And we made adjustments. That’s a huge lesson: you cannot get stuck. You have to pivot.
What aspect of entrepreneurship do you appreciate the most?
The flexibility. It never really turns off—I’m working all the time—but I have three young boys, and the flexibility is priceless.
For example, my son just got on the bus for a field trip, and because we live close to the school, I was able to walk over and wave to him. Those little moments matter.
I don’t have to ask permission to be there. I don’t have to report to someone else. My dad and I work together, and we work very well together. We each know what we need to do for the business.
That freedom and flexibility—while still working incredibly hard—is something I truly appreciate.
Share a decision that you made that was detrimental?
There’s nothing catastrophic that stands out, but one learning moment involved a product called the Boogie Bracelet.
We started with the car seat carrier and later launched an iPad holder, iPhone holder, and a keychain. During the pandemic, we had the idea for a wearable product that could hold baby wipes—something you could easily grab wipes from on the go. We went through so many prototypes. I still have them in my desk.
The product hasn’t been a big seller online. At trade shows, people see it in person and buy it. But on Amazon, Walmart, and our website, it hasn’t performed strongly.
Part of the issue was positioning. It was categorized as a bracelet—essentially jewelry. And if someone actually wore it as a bracelet, it looked a little Flintstones-inspired. That wasn’t resonating.
So we’re rebranding it as the Tiny Totes Keychain instead of the Boogie Bracelet. Now it fits into the keychain category rather than jewelry. We believe it has potential as a TikTok Shop product, especially for tweens and teens who might attach it to a backpack as a novelty item.
Not every product will be a hero product. But instead of scrapping all the inventory, we asked, “How can we pivot this? How can we reposition it?” We originally marketed it as a mom product, but it’s really more of a fun tween accessory. That shift in audience and branding has been a big lesson.
What is your why?
My family—especially my kids. My oldest is very invested in what we do. He wants to be an inventor. He watches Shark Tank constantly and always wants to rewatch our episode, even when I don’t.
Seeing their excitement and showing them they can pursue whatever they want means everything.
I also genuinely love working. I love being my own boss. And I love working with my dad. The fact that we’ve been able to build this together over the years has been incredibly special.
Piece of Advice
If you want to start a business, change careers, or pursue something new—just go for it. Don’t overthink it to the point that you talk yourself out of it.
Jump in. You will learn along the way.
Put your blinders on. Don’t listen to the naysayers. Just do it.
Promo Code
Purchase from their site, Totes Babies, and use promo code below!
TOTES25 -> 25% off!
In Closing
KLS wants to thank Totes Babies and Founder, Lindsey Fleischhauer, for today's "Together Talks" feature. Follow along for their journey with their social handles below!