My 1st Years
My 1st Years is a UK-based DTC e-commerce retailer selling personalised baby and children's gifts — including clothing, blankets, toys, and keepsakes — customisable via embroidery, printing, and engraving, and shipping to 20+ countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersNorthampton, United Kingdom
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What My 1st Years does
My 1st Years is a UK-based direct-to-consumer e-commerce retailer specialising in personalised gifts and products for babies, toddlers, and young children. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Northampton, the company operates a single online storefront selling customisable items including baby clothing (bodysuits, sleepsuits, dressing gowns, cardigans), blankets (fleece, cellular, cashmere), kids' clothing, backpacks, soft toys, wooden toys, big toys, children's books, nursery furniture, and jewellery, plus curated gift sets. Its differentiator is in-house personalisation services — embroidery, flocking, printing, and engraving — applied to items such that names, birth dates, or messages become bespoke keepsakes; personalisation is included at no incremental price on most items. The product range spans from £8 entry-level bodysuits to £140 premium cashmere blankets, with up to 50% promotional discounts and Clearpay buy-now-pay-later available at checkout.
The business monetises almost exclusively through unit-priced one-time direct product sales, supplemented by the Milestone Rewards loyalty programme that drives repeat purchases. Distribution is wholly DTC via its Shopify-powered storefront; the company does not operate physical retail or third-party marketplaces. It claims delivery to 20+ countries and UK next-day fulfilment for orders placed before 4pm, with free luxury gift packaging on eligible orders. Customer segments include parents of newborns and young children (primary), parents of older children (toddler through ~8 years), gift-giving friends and relatives, and a smaller corporate/business gifting segment. The company has cumulative delivery scale of 1M+ personalised gifts.
A central pillar of competitive positioning is a portfolio of character and institutional licensing partnerships — Disney, Beatrix Potter/Frederick Warne (Peter Rabbit, Flopsy Bunny), Bluey, Paddington, Gruffalo, Peppa Pig, and the Natural History Museum — overlaid on its personalisation capability. The brand has accumulated credibility signals including 5-star Trustpilot reviews, features in Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, and a notable royal association (Prince George wearing one of its personalised dressing gowns). The company is privately held, has raised approximately $9M across two rounds (2010 seed and a 2017 Series A led by Beringea with Hargreave Hale), and operates with a 101-250 employee headcount.
My 1st Years firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- My 1st Years
- Legal name
- My 1st Years
- Website
- https://my1styears.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- My 1st Years is a UK-based DTC e-commerce retailer selling personalised baby and children's gifts — including clothing, blankets, toys, and keepsakes — customisable via embroidery, printing, and engraving, and shipping to 20+ countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
My 1st Years industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Personalised Baby and Children's Gifts
- NAICS
- Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Retailers (45942), Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (459120)
- SIC
- Retail-Family Clothing Stores (5651), Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Kids & Baby Specialty Department Stores (CRAGAGAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Kids’ & Baby Apparel Retail (CRAAABAD), Kids & Nursery Décor Retail (Décor Accessories, Wall Art, Growth Charts) (CRAIACAH), Seasonal & Holiday Gifts & Decor Retail (CRALAJAD)
Keywords
Where My 1st Years is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Northampton
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
My 1st Years business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Direct Product Sales: The company generates revenue through direct-to-consumer e-commerce sales of personalised baby and children's products. Revenue is primarily one-time transactional purchases with individual product sales ranging from budget items to premium cashmere pieces.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Unit pricing across all products with personalisation included |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels9 records
My 1st Years product offering
Product offeringCore offering
My 1st Years designs, personalises, and sells a curated catalogue of baby and children's gifts — including personalised clothing, blankets, soft toys, wooden toys, big toys, backpacks, books, jewellery, nursery furniture, and gift sets — through its own direct-to-consumer e-commerce website. Every item is customisable in-house through embroidery, flocking, printing, or engraving with a name, birth date, or message, and is offered with free luxury gift packaging, next-day UK delivery, and the Milestone Rewards loyalty programme.
Product overview
My 1st Years is a UK-based e-commerce company specialising in personalised baby and children's gifts. The company offers a unified portfolio of customisable products centred on its signature personalisation service (embroidery, flocking, printing, engraving), with core product lines spanning baby clothing (bodysuits, sleepsuits, dressing gowns, cardigans, shoes, booties, wellies), blankets (fleece, cellular, cashmere), kids clothing, backpacks, soft toys, wooden toys, big toys (outdoor, ride-ons), books, nursery furniture, character-themed gifts (Disney, Peter Rabbit, Bluey), jewellery, and adult gifting. Products are sold individually and as curated gift sets. The company also operates a Milestone Rewards loyalty programme. The business positions itself on craftsmanship, personalisation expertise, and next-day delivery, with operations spanning 20+ countries and 1M+ personalised gifts delivered.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Personalised Baby Clothing
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 1 million personalised gifts delivered across 20+ countries
Companies that use My 1st Years
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
My 1st Years technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
My 1st Years partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Natural History MuseumcoreCollaboration with the Natural History Museum on licensed products such as personalised dinosaur-design well boots. The partnership brings authentic natural history content to children's products, featuring dinosaur and fossil patterns on waterproof rubber boots.
- Beatrix Potter (Frederick Warne & Co)coreLicensed partner for Peter Rabbit, Flopsy Bunny, and other Beatrix Potter characters. Products include personalised clothing, blankets, accessories, and toys featuring beloved characters from classic children's literature.
- DisneycoreLicensed Disney character merchandise featuring various Disney characters across baby clothing, accessories, and gift products.
- BlueycoreLicensed Bluey character products including backpacks, clothing, and accessories featuring the popular Australian animated character.
- FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)minorProducts bearing FSC certification indicate responsibly sourced materials, particularly for wooden toys and related products.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
My 1st Years competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Getting Personal: UK personalised-gifts retailer offering engraved, printed and embroidered products across home, kids and occasions. Closely comparable on personalisation mechanics (engraving/embroidery), gifting occasions, and UK direct-to-consumer model.
- Funky Pigeon: UK personalised cards, gifts and homeware retailer owned by Card Factory. Comparable on personalised gifting and UK e-commerce; overlaps in personalised keepsakes, mugs and photo gifts though stronger in cards than apparel/toys.
- Scribbler: UK personalised greeting cards and gifts retailer. Comparable on personalisation technology (text/photo customisation) and UK gifting occasions (new baby, birthdays), though more skewed to cards and homewares than kids apparel/toys.
- Alex & Alexa: Curated online retailer of premium designer children's clothing, toys and gifts. Comparable on premium kids gifting positioning, international shipping, and character/licensed product mix.
- Not On The High Street: UK-headquartered curated marketplace for personalised and bespoke gifts (including large baby and kids categories). Directly comparable on personalisation focus, gifting occasions, and UK DTC customer base, though operating as a multi-seller marketplace rather than a single-brand store.
- JoJo Maman Bébé: UK maternity and baby/children's apparel and gift retailer. Comparable on personalised baby and kids clothing/gifting, premium-leaning positioning, and UK retail footprint via DTC + stores, although broader assortment than My 1st Years.
Others
- Menkind: UK personalised and novelty gift retailer. Adjacent on personalised gifting and UK DTC model, but skews to men's gifts and tech/novelty rather than baby/children, positioning them as a thematic rather than direct competitor.
Broad incumbents
- Mamas & Papas: Established UK baby and nursery retailer across clothing, gear, toys and furniture. Comparable on baby/kids product breadth and gift-occasion merchandising, with a larger physical-store footprint and broader category set than My 1st Years.
- Etsy: Global marketplace with a large personalised-gifts and kids monogram categories. Competes for the same personalisation-led gifting occasions but serves them via thousands of third-party makers rather than a single branded storefront.
- Petit Bateau: Heritage French baby and children's apparel brand with UK presence. Comparable on premium baby/kids clothing category but lacks the personalisation and gift-occasion merchandising that anchors My 1st Years.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
My 1st Years social profiles
Digital presenceMy 1st Years financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
My 1st Years leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
My 1st Years funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
My 1st Years M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about My 1st Years
What does My 1st Years do?
My 1st Years designs, personalises, and sells a curated catalogue of baby and children's gifts — including personalised clothing, blankets, soft toys, wooden toys, big toys, backpacks, books, jewellery, nursery furniture, and gift sets — through its own direct-to-consumer e-commerce website. Every item is customisable in-house through embroidery, flocking, printing, or engraving with a name, birth date, or message, and is offered with free luxury gift packaging, next-day UK delivery, and the Milestone Rewards loyalty programme.
Is My 1st Years a public or private company?
My 1st Years is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was My 1st Years founded?
My 1st Years was founded in 2010. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is My 1st Years based?
My 1st Years is headquartered in Northampton, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does My 1st Years make money?
One revenue line is on record: direct Product Sales.
Who are My 1st Years's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Getting Personal, Funky Pigeon, Scribbler, Alex & Alexa, Not On The High Street and JoJo Maman Bébé. Menkind is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Mamas & Papas, Etsy and Petit Bateau.
Does My 1st Years have an API?
No public API is recorded for My 1st Years.
What industry is My 1st Years in?
My 1st Years's product category is Personalised Baby and Children's Gifts. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAGAGAD, Kids & Baby Specialty Department Stores, with a secondary code of CRAAABAD, Kids’ & Baby Apparel Retail. Its NAICS code is 45942 and its SIC code is 5651.