WAGI SA PINOY IP
What IP Management Means to Spinkie’s Magic for Moms, by Moms
By Janina Lim
When celebrities start their own families, many of their fans gush over any sneak-peak they could get into their new lives, new homes and even the nursery rooms for the newest family member. For childhood bedrooms with an ethereal charm, the likes of Khloe Kardashian, Marian Rivera and many celebrity moms around the world have proven that these spaces can be made more magical with the touch of Spinkie products.
Whether it’s the Dreamy Canopy tulle that drapes across the crib or the plush, stylish dolls that give ready comfort for children, Spinkie’s products are becoming a fixture of nursery rooms that little ones carry as they grow up.
“Spinkie has definitely become part of many little girl’s lives. We’d even get repeat orders because they’d lose the bunny doll and they can’t sleep without it,” said Spinkie Founder and CEO Mutya Buensuceso.
This year, Buensuceso herself just made her own dream come true with a collaboration with some of the most beloved global characters she grew up with. As revealed on their social media channels, Spinkie’s newest friends are Cinamoroll, Kuromi and My Melody, some of the most popular characters and IP assets created by Japanese entertainment firm Sanrio Co., Ltd.
“This has been on our bucket list. If there’s one brand of characters we want to work with, it is this,” Buensuceso said. The launch of the collaboration comes at a special time for Spinkie as it celebrates its 14th birthday this August 10 and reminisces its exhilarating business journey that is not without its fair share of challenges.
The idea of Spinkie was born on a checkup at the obgyne. Buensuceso, then carrying her firstborn, noticed how a neck pillow at the clinic failed to do its job of keeping newborns from bobbing their fragile heads. This gave birth to the Butterfly Pillow that was protected as an industrial design.
Now, Spinkie has come a long way from 2010 when the brand first came to market, from tallying and shipping out orders right off of a dining table at Buensuceso and her husband’s condominium in Singapore, where they used to work, to now having two alluring boutiques in prestigious shopping centers in the Philippines which accounts for about 70% of its worldwide sales. The brand has also diversified from decor into a broader lifestyle brand and a fashion line with the mission to make princess dreams come true.
Today, 70% of its sales also derive from Spinkie’s celebration clothing line, a collection of whimsical dresses. Their lovely layers and dainty flowing ruffles would make every girl twirl for the perfect snapshot on their birthdays and other special occasions. Whether it is against the backdrop of an idyllic old town or a magical forest, little girls are sure to bloom with grace in a Spinkie dress.
The evils of IP violators
Like any fairytale, Spinkie had also dealt with the blow of evil forces. At the height of its rising popularity, when it caught the eye of celebrity moms around the world, intellectual property (IP) infringers came for Spinkie products and spoiled the party. Counterfeiters made exact reproductions of its Dreamy Canopy while using its brand and even their marketing photos without authorization.
But with a trademark registration at IPOPHL, Spinkie was able to chase down the IP violators on various global retail platforms such as Alibaba, eBay, Amazon and Instagram.
Buensuceso urged others to register their IPs. The proces, she said, has been made “very fast and very efficient” with the shift to online mode. An added laudable service, Buensuceso pointed out, is the direct hands-on contact with information officers who guide applicants not just on the registration process but also on the several ways to leverage IP protection.
“Without the trademark, [online platforms] would not be able to take down the images and the posts for sale. I would have lost half of what our business makes if I didn’t stop it,” Buensuceso said. She shared that their strategy to diversify their product offerings was in part due to the rise of IP infringing activities stifling Spinkie’s growth. With more products on the table, counterfeiters would have a harder time playing catch-up with Spinkie’s next trending move.
For moms, by moms
Today, Spinkie is not only fulfilling its role as fairy godmother to little girls. The brand has granted the wish of several mothers, too: a flexible working arrangement. This allows them to be part of their children’s everyday life while still making a living. The approach takes root from Buensuceso’s own desire to be closer to her own children while keeping the wheels of her career in motion.
“The vision for Spinkie is really to create magic for children. And the best partners in doing that are mothers, whether it’s creating magical spaces or moments,” Buensuceso said.
Ann, one of Spinkie’s long time-employees, owes her success in building her family’s home to her journey with Spinkie.
“Di kami nagutom nung pandemic. Tuloy-tuloy kami salamat sa Spinkie [We didn’t go hungry during the pandemic. We were able to keep going, thanks to Spinkie],” said Ann, who is one of Spinkie’s growing network of sewers and stockists, most of whom are mothers, who believe in and have chosen to grow with Spinkie.
Word for women entrepreneurs
Having built the Spinkie brand with a social purpose at its core, Buensuceso advised women entrepreneurs to do the same to survive the inescapable headwinds that come the way of any starting business.
“The first thing we need to have is a vision and a purpose. No business can withstand the test of time without both. The purpose is particularly important because it’s the reason why you endure. If profit is the ultimate reason, that’s very superficial as a driving force,” Buensuceso added.
Women entrepreneurs should also be agile in adapting to evolving market demands. “You have to be flexible in changing strategy along the way,” Buensuceso said, sharing how Spinkie learned this when they diversified to increase their relevance to more consumers, when they had to launch various gimmicks and marketing tactics in between the COVID-19 lockdowns and when they had to push Spinkie to the backseat for seven years as Buensuceso had to return to the corporate world.
“We were building our own home then. My husband was just starting out his career. So we asked ourselves ‘How can we make ends meet?’ I had to go back to work,” Buensuceso recalled.
During this long pause, the CEO did not lose sight of her vision for Spinkie. In 2016, she began to shore up her resources and plan out strategies to relaunch the brand and ensure its success in the Philippines. And like a flower that blooms after a long winter, Spinkie was relaunched in 2018 with a handful of sewers and stockists and a P200,000 capital broken down for operating costs and marketing.
Today, Spinkie has become a leading brand in children’s celebration clothing. And last year, owing to her efforts to protect her brand and wield it to empower moms and little girls, Buensuceso earned herself the World Intellectual Property Organization National Awards, a first for a Philippine resident.
Spinkie’s success shows that when magic meets the market, there is no fairytale ending. What women entrepreneurs have is a stream of opportunities to make better choices and create their own happiness. “Like Spinkie, we’re in our 14th year and if we did not evolve and respond with speed and agility to the changing business environment, we won’t have anything right now,” Buensuceso added.