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Austlen Baby Co.

Shelf transformed a Swiss-Army-knife stroller into a stylish, go-everywhere family essential.

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Where The Work Pays Off

The initial brand launch at the ABC Kids Expo brought the full experience to life. Buyers described the booth as "fashion accessory meets stroller"—a clean, elevated presence that felt nothing like the typical toy-industry aesthetic. Retail buyers were immediately drawn in, and thanks to the strong brand positioning,Austlen was quickly accepted into major retailers. The founders saw firsthand how every touchpoint, from product to booth props, shapes perception and drives differentiation.

How Shelf strategically positioned the product to match the brand:

By expanding our role into product design, we influenced everything from color and material choices to the overall aesthetic direction. To ground these decisions, we studied lifestyle brands that resonated with modern parents and discovered that Warby Parker was the top style reference among their audience.

From there, we developed three stroller concepts inspired by three Warby Parker frames: one rooted in workwear and denim, one sleek and automotive, and one with a refined color story. This shift honored the customer’s taste and lifestyle—elevating the stroller from a functional item to a design statement.
Alison and her team worked on the development of the Austlen brand from the ground up. They cleverly explored every aspect of our how our brand could be experienced, from more typical brand development (packaging, web, collateral), to even the finer details of styling our product design (materials, fabrics, colors) to best convey the Austlen feel. Their holistic approach resulted in a solid foundation of our brand from the very beginning. 



Our product launch took place at the largest baby products trade show in North America. The lifestyle video and trade show booth design were instrumental in securing “Best in Show,” our industry’s highest award. The strength of the brand presence drove immediate retailer confidence and resulted in orders from nearly every specialty retailer in the U.S. during the event.We are continually complimented on how well thought out and mature our brand feels. We couldn’t ask for a better creative partner. 



Leslie Stiba, Austlen CEO
We are continually complimented on how thoughtful and mature our brand feels. We couldn’t ask for a better creative partner.

Alison and her team developed the Austlen brand from the ground up. They explored how our brand could be experienced, from traditional brand development (packaging, web, collateral) to product styling details (materials, fabrics, colors) that convey the Austlen feel.

Their holistic approach created a strong brand foundation that’s lasted a decade. Our product launch took place in 2014 at the largest baby products trade show in North America.

The lifestyle video and trade show booth design were instrumental in securing “Best in Show,” our industry’s highest award.

The brand presence drove immediate retailer confidence and resulted in orders from nearly every specialty retailer in the U.S. during the event!

Leslie Stiba, CEO Austlen