You might not know the company by name, but if you’ve ever had your baby’s photograph taken in the hospital shortly after birth, chances are you’re familiar with Earth City, MO-based Growing Family, a marketer of in-hospital infant photography. On Aug. 24, New York-based Sentinel Capital Partners sold the direct marketer to another New York-based private equity firm, Falconhead Capital. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. New York-based investment bank Goldsmith Agio Helms represented Growing Family in the deal.
According to David Solomon, managing director at Goldsmith Agio, virtually all parents who allow Growing Family to photograph their newborns end up joining the Growing Family Club, which provides members with tips and advice as well as discounts and samples. Membership is free to all new moms. In addition to infant photographs, Growing Family sells family commemorative photographs, birth announcements, and gifts.
Through its permission-based relationships, Growing Family has in its database nearly 70% of all new parents in the U.S. and Canada each year. It partners with more than 2,200 U.S. and Canadian hospitals.
“Growing Family is unique within the direct marketing world, benefiting from a one-to-one selling relationship created with new parents in the hospital,” Solomon says. “This transaction provides Falconhead with an exciting platform focusing on this attractive and hard-to-reach demographic.”