Funzee Uses Public Feedback To Design Its Fun Adult Onesies

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Idea about Funzee started in 2008, today Funzee is global company with warehouses in UK, Germany, and the USA. Their focus has always been on fun onesies for adults although they have introduced some other fun apparel and may do more in the future. Below is our interview with Mark Heselgrave, director at Funzee:

Q: Where did the concept of Funzee begin? Tell us something more about Funzee and your history?

A: The idea for funzee started in the UK in 2008. Our student son was then, and still is, a big fan of the TV show Scrubs and there is a famous episode where our hero, JD, is woken up to go out drinking and he is wearing an adult onesie. We thought it would be fun to get one similar for our son’s birthday but the only ones we could find online were in the USA and they wanted $30 just for the shipping. So we thought we would set up a basic UK site with just one simple pale blue adult onesie design and see if anyone else out there was interested. Well they were, and we went on to create dozens of other styles and sizes, as well as setting up websites to focus on other countries. The first style we designed was made by a factory in India and the quality was rather poor but fortunately customers were forgiving because they supported the idea and frankly they didn’t have much choice. We now source from professional factories around the world and the quality of our products has improved hugely which is just as well as the market is now much more competitive. Our aim has always been to focus on fun onesies for adults. It’s difficult to try and make out this is some sort of designer fashion item.

Q: What geographic markets are you focusing on currently?

A: We now have warehouses in UK, Germany, and the USA from where we can efficiently fulfil orders, and we are pleased to be back selling to the USA since that’s where our inspiration came from. In fact the USA is now probably our biggest market and we have thousands of funzee fans here. We are just now testing a dedicated French website and we may introduce a Spanish language website shortly. In terms of sourcing our products, we work with factories in several countries which we know can produce our designs efficiently and deliver on time.

Q: Are there major differences in the products bought or sold in the different markets?

A: We collect and analyse a lot of online data from the different websites. The adult onesie market is obviously seasonal with the gift giving season (Q4) being by far the most active. In the USA, Halloween is a huge market whereas in Germany Carnival is popular. The market also has a longer cycle. If the product becomes very popular, as it did in the UK in around 2013, it starts appearing in all the major retail stores but then it dies down again and reverts to being a largely online product. In terms of styles, the USA like footed pajamas with integral feet whilst in Europe they prefer to have unfooted styles with the option of separate socks.

Q: What’s the coolest use of Funzee adult onesies you’ve seen?

A: We have seen some great fancy dress outfits made up using one of our funzees as the base. There have also been some amusing pics of groups out on bachelor parties or bridal showers. But it’s also nice to see our products used for fundraising. For example in the UK we supported a charity pajama party that raised funds for research into brain disorders.

Q: What are your plans for the future?

A: We will continue to respond to feedback from the public. That’s how most of our designs have come about. We will develop some new styles each year and if they sell well they will become part of our permanent catalogue. In the longer term we may include new sections on our websites for Festival gear (flags, hats, sleeping bags etc.) and more extensive party costumes (masks, fancy dress etc.)

Q: How would you convince the reader to start using your adult onesies?

A: Our view is that adult onesies are not really a fashion item and are not to be taken too seriously. However they are a fun, versatile garment which for $35 or so will give you good long term value. The best way to convince people is get them try them as loungewear – something to change in to after you come back from college or work when you want to relax. They are comfy and warm – after all that’s why babies have them. We manufacture in 7 different adult sizes to try and get a really comfortable, loose fit. Some people use them as pajamas and for the more adventurous you can wear them to parties, festivals and fundraisers. They get you noticed and make an interesting talking point. In our view they are suitable for everyone, young and old.

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