How Apricotton boosted its marketing budget and its exports with Creative Export Strategy support

Sector: Fashion design
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Creative Export Strategy support: Creative Export Canada funding

About the company

Launched in 2020 by Jessica Miao and Chloe Beaudoin, Toronto-based Apricotton helps teen girls by designing bras with adjustable features that can be worn throughout the stages of puberty. The company’s website and social media channels also offer “Big Sister Advice” to youth to help support their health and well-being as they grow and mature — a core element of their personal approach to the business.

The export challenge

For its first three years, Apricotton created its own marketing for social media, relying on organic (free) social media advertising and working with Canadian influencers. In 2023, the company started expanding to the U.S. and the UK, which quickly generated up to 27% of its sales. Seeing the opportunity these new markets offered, the company knew it needed a dedicated marketing budget. That’s when they came across the Creative Export Strategy.

The export project

In 2023, Apricotton received funding from the Creative Export Canada (CEC) program’s Export Development Stream to launch a targeted marketing campaign, partnering with U.S. and UK-based social media influencers. Alongside this campaign, Apricotton applied for trademarks in the U.S. and UK to build their brand name. They also hired a website designer to create tailored landing pages, videos and social media posts to enhance the American and British customer experience.

The outcome

Apricotton’s marketing campaign, with paid ads that were amplified by more than 50 U.S. and UK influencers, allowed the company to double its sales in the U.S. and the UK. The two markets now represent a whopping 60% of its sales. Growing global brand awareness and customer demand enabled the company to expand to another major market – the European Union. Apricotton even sold out of its bras over several production runs. The funding also enabled the company to contract a company to fulfill and ship orders and hire a web developer to optimize their website.

Advice for potential exporters

“The support we've received from the Creative Export Strategy has been just phenomenal for our business. We 100% recommend the Creative Export Strategy funding to other founders, especially ones in the creative industries who are looking to start exporting.”