How to Start a Blanket Business (2024) [Steps, Ideas, Guide]

Are you looking to start a blanket business and want to pursue your career in the clothing or textile industry? We can help you achieve your goals.

Whether you’re a fan of casual comfort or have a keen eye for unique designs, setting up a blanket business can be the right opportunity in 2024.

Do you want to know what the global market size of blankets is worth?

A recent research report by Statista – from 2018 to 2027, the global blanket market showed significant growth.

In 2018, it was worth around 6.7 billion U.S. dollars worldwide, and experts predicted it would climb to about 9.9 billion U.S. dollars by 2027.

You can see in the image how the global blanket market is growing.

The graph indicates a positive sign of profitability, and the growing demand for comfortable clothing makes the blanket a profitable business.

Research, learn the fundamentals, analyze the industry, understand the business concept, create a business plan, and set up your venture.

In this post, we’ll outline every step that needs to be considered, from choosing a niche, conducting research, and planning to selling blankets.

Are you ready?  Let’s jump into the details.

Blanket Business Description

Selling blankets is a simple and profitable business idea. Blankets are popular comfort clothing products, which are essential items for every household.

Whether it is a home, hotel, office, hospital, or even for vehicles or buses, the blanket is the most helpful product to provide a comfortable peace.

You can start the blanket business with different ideas:

• Blanket manufacturing
• Retail blanket store
• Whleosale blanket business
• Selling blankets online

Choose a business model that is suitable for your resources, budget, and ideas.

Before choosing an idea, consider the market demand, competition, and customer needs.

Blanket Manufacturing

You can manufacture blankets to sell them. This is the best business idea to start.

Gather raw materials such as cotton, wool, or fleece, Then buy equipment and a sewing machine.

You can sew blankets focusing on a specific problem or target customer (baby blankets, throw blankets, bed blankets, etc).

Blanket making requires basic sewing skills and proper resources, so if you are interested, then consider the idea.

Mainly, blanket manufacturers sell their products to wholesalers, retailers, and bulk buyers. Also, many individual manufacturers sell their products at e-commerce marketplaces.

B2B (business-to-business) relationships with wholesalers or retailers and B2C (business-to-consumer) relationships through direct sales.

Start Retail Business

Open a retail store to sell the blankets directly to consumers.

The primary business model is B2C.

Open your store targeting a high-potential area with high foot traffic, near shipping malls, tourist destinations, college campuses, gift shops, department stores, etc.

The process:

• Sourcing prepared blankets from manufacturers or wholesalers
• Merchandising and displaying blankets
• Managing inventory of the shop
• Marketing and advertising

Requirements: Retail space, sales staff, inventory setup, and marketing budget.

Wholesale Blanket Business

If you do not want to start with a manufacturing and retail business model, then a wholesale blanket business idea can be a good choice.

You can purchase blankets in bulk from manufacturers and then sell them to retailers, adding a profit margin.

Specialize in a particular type of blanket to target a specific audience (hospitality blankets, promotional blankets, institutional blankets, etc).

The process:

• Sourcing blankets from manufacturers
• Negotiating prices with retailers
• Managing inventory
• Logistics and distribution

Resources you need: manufacturer connection, relationship with retailers, warehouse space, and a solid distribution network.

Blanket Online Store

Selling blankets online is not difficult but requires basic marketing, shipping, packaging, branding, and website optimization skills.

How to sell blankets online

You can sell blankets at online marketplaces or by creating your own website.

Setup e-commerce store

Online selling is a proven and best idea to sell products online; you can reach a wider audience globally.

Set up an e-commerce website using platforms like – Shopify, WordPress (WooCommerce), Wix, Squarespace and Magento.

Here is the difference between those platforms (fees, pricing, features, use, etc).

The process:

• Setting up an e-commerce website
• Customization or store design
• Add products (images, description)
• Marketing and advertising
• Shipping and fulfillment

The process to start selling products on Shopify

1. Choose and customize
2. Add products to your store.
3. Start selling your products.

Create a store on online marketplaces

Create a store on a few selected online marketplaces to sell your blankets. For example, you could create an Amazon store, an Etsy store, and a Shopify store.

Consider one of them managing the store properly; “Amazon” can be the best.

Benefits to start with Amazon:

• FBA (fulfillment by Amazon): Amazon can store, pack, and ship blankets for you.
• Provide a seller central dashboard to manage your listings, inventory, and orders.
• Amazon also provides an advertising platform to reach potential customers.

Note: For FBA, Amazon takes a fulfillment fee depending on the product category, size, and weight, around 5% to 15% of the selling price, plus a per-unit storage fee.

To learn more about the selling process, you can visit the Seller Central official website.

Use social media (SMM) and websites (SEO, content marketing) to drive traffic organically to your store so that traffic will convert to leads and sales.

Choose a business model that aligns with your resources, budget, and ideas. Before finalizing your decision, consider market demand, competition, and customer needs.

How To Start A Blanket Business?

1. Define Your Niche

You need to focus on one specific niche for selling blankets, this helps to target the right customer.

When planning to start an online, wholesale, or manufacturing, considering a specific niche is important to operate or manage your operation easily.

However, for opening a retail store, you can focus on different types of blanket niches depending on market demand and customer preferences of the target area.

Benefits of focusing on a niche:

Here are some niches you can focus on: find the trending and high-selling blankets. When choosing a niche, consider your interests, expertise, popularity, competition, and demand.

Choose a niche according to material, purpose, season, size, price, features, etc.

2. Market Research

To start a successful business, market research is the essential process, this helps to understand the market need, trend, growth potential, opportunity, competition, consumer demand, and many helpful insights related to the market.

Before diving into the business, conduct a proper market analysis on your (potential customer, market competition, product, and niche).

Identify potential customers for selling blankets:

Here are some ideas of target customers who may be your potential consumers.

• Individuals (for home use, outdoor activities, and personal comfort)
• Hospitals and healthcare facilities
• Retailers (both physical stores and online)
• Sports and outdoor enthusiasts
• Schools and educational institutions
• Travel industry (airlines, buses, cruise ships, etc.)
• Interior designers and home stagers
• Tourism and adventure companies

Additionally, look at what other businesses are doing in your industry and try to copy their strategies and planning (operation process, selling method, designs, pattern, etc).

You can learn from your competitors:

• Analyze their marketing campaigns.
• Review their pricing strategies.
• Study their customer service policies.
• Benchmark their operations

Do not follow your competitors blindly, as copying a brand is legally prohibited, such as not copying their brand name, logo, product designs, advertising campaigns, marketing material, website design, and content.

However, you can learn from their working processes.

You should not do this when learning from other businesses:

• Directly copy another business.
• Ignore your own strengths and weaknesses.
• Underestimate the importance of differentiation.
• Neglect innovation and creativity.
• Disregard customer feedback.
• Fail to adapt to changing market conditions.

This way, you will be on the right track to starting a successful business.

There are many ways to conduct market research:

• Analyzing past growth data
• Online product selling reports
• Social media engagement
• Google Trends data
• Local businesses selling data

SWOT Analysis: Conduct a SWOT analysis to know the ( strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) of your competitors and other businesses.

Demographic Research: Demographic research is the best method to study the demand for a targeted product. Consider the following factors:

• Age
• Gender
• Income
• Occupation
• Location
• Marital status
• Family size
• Lifestyle
• Interests

Identifying target customers:

Analyze the popularity of different blanket designs, trends, and types. Gather customer interest data, review buying patterns, and monitor social media engagement to identify your ideal target customers.

Analyze market competition:

Understand the competitive landscape, analyze your competitors, study other blanket businesses and brands, identify their pricing models and product quality, and differentiate your offerings to stand out.

Research about products:

Thoroughly understand the features of your products, the manufacturing process, pricing and packaging strategies, distribution methods, branding elements, and any other relevant aspects.

3. Write a business plan

You must write a business plan to define your vision, goals, and objectives. To create a business strategy and implement it in the right way, writing a plan is the essential step.

A researched business plan helps you to identify the target market and a financial strategy. Also will provide a roadmap to becoming successful.

A blanket business plan should include:

• Business Summary: In this section, write and include the data according to your target market, goals, overall blanket business operation, and establishment plan.
• Research: Write the complete details about customer’s needs, demand, industry trends, market competitions, competitors, and the opportunity to enter this industry.
• Define your business: Define your product’s niche, product type, unique selling proposition, and strategy to differentiate from competitors, etc).
• Business model: Explain different types of business models (manufacturing, retail, wholesale, and online selling).
• Marketing plan: Outlines marketing strategies to promote your products – social media marketing, paid advertising, brand promotion, local marketing, influencer marketing, etc.
• Financial plan: Identifies key financial aspects – startup costs, funding options, profit statements, and ongoing expenses.

4. Legalities and Registration

For blanket business, you always be informed and understand the legalities, registration requirements, licensing, permits, and taxation process.

Choose a business structure:

• Sole proprietorship
• Partnership
• LLC (Limited Liability Company)
• Corporation

Consider a business entity focusing on your business requirements, ownership, and budget. Each type of structure has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Obtain license and permits: To operate a business legally, fulfill the legalities, depending on your location, state, and city.

Comply with tax law – Federal, state, and local tax laws.

As well as obtain an employer identification number (EIN) from the IRS.

Before taking any action consult a legal attorney or advisor, because the legal requirements (license, permits, tax) can differ depending on location.

5. Estimate The Startup cost

To estimate the initial cost for a blanket business, first decide on the business model.

We have already discussed different business models.

The startup cost can be different depending on your business ideas.

You can estimate the startup cost by focusing on the requirements:

• Manufacturing: Raw material, equipment, machinery, and packaging.
• Retail: Buy or rent cost, store setup, furniture, inventory buying cost.
• Wholesale: Warehouse setup and inventory (bulk blanket) buying cost.
• Online store: Website setup, hosting, domain, store fees, and buying inventory.

Additional investment, including legal requirements (if necessary), business insurance, space (rent/buy), marketing expenses, staffing, utility, ongoing expenses, etc.

The minimum startup costs for a blanket business can range from $5,000 to $10,000. Actual costs may be higher or lower, depending on specific requirements.

Once you calculate your initial startup cost, find the best funding sources:

• Personal savings
• Family and friends
• Small business loans
• Government programs
• Crowdfunding

Before deciding on a funding option, thoroughly research accurate financial needs and your requirements. You can consult a financial advisor or mentor to make informed decisions.

6. Sourcing Materials (Manufacturing)

You should also be prepared with the right equipment and raw materials before getting started; here we mentioned a list; check out them.

Equipment for blanket making:

• Sewing machines
• Cutting table
• Iron
• Needle
• Scissors
• Pins
• Measuring tape
• Bobbins
• Seam ripper
• Fabric marker
• Safety scissors

The raw material you need:

• Fabric (such as cotton, wool, fleece, etc.)
• Thread
• Interlining
• Zippers or buttons
• Labels and tags (for branding)
• Packaging materials

You can source material from many sources:

• Online retailers
• Fabric store
• Craft fairs and markets
• From wholesalers

No matter where you source your blanket-making material, consider the quality and pricing.

7. Choose a blanket business name

Do you know how important is a business name for your startup line? A brand name is necessary for everyone to create an identity in the industry or market.

So, choose an attractive, web-friendly, unique name for your business line.

So, when choosing a name for your business, follow the given points.

• The name should be (memorable, unique, and easy to pronounce).
• The name should accurately reflect your brand and be related to the blanket.
• Avoid using numbers (numbers, underscores, utensils, and symbols) in a name.
• Research and follow legal regulations (don’t use copyrighted names)

Use the business name generator tool to generate unique and brandable business names.

It is also essential to trademark the name to protect your brand’s identity and ensure proper usage in all marketing materials.

Also, buy a domain name:

Once you choose a business name, check the domain availability to register.

Consider domain extensions (.com, .net, .org, .co, .us.) depending on your country code or target location; if the domain is available, register it.

Namecheap and GoDaddy are two popular domain registrars you can consider them.

8. Marketing and Promotion

Create a proper marketing strategy to grow your business.

When you want to sell anything in the market, people want to know about your brand, trust, authority, and details.

So, to launch your blanket in the market (mainly online), create a strong online presence on different platforms.

• Social media marketing
• Email marketing
• Content marketing
• Influencer marketing
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising

Create social media profiles – share your blanket photos, pricing, features, and designs.

Create a website: A website can also help in promotion, marketing, and building a trusted brand. This can also help to create a solid online presence in the digital world.

So, create a professional website to showcase your business as a brand, no matter the size (small scale or large scale); web presence is vital.

Final Thought

Hopefully, you learned valuable information about starting a blanket business; we have discussed the essential steps to start the business from scratch.

With the growing demand of the textile industry, you can also establish a successful venture. Required to learn and understand the market, as well as create a unique strategy to stand out.

Still, if there are any other doubts, comment and ask your queries.

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