Since the mid-2000s Robert and Elizabeth Antunovich, a Colorado couple with two kids, had dreamt of selling a comfortable, fashionable, and practical baby wrap that promises to support infants better than anything else on the market. In 2007, the couple began a soul-searching journey around the world and launched their business at the same time, running operations remotely and slowly watching as more people came across their unique product online.
Today, the gospel of Boba has spread far and wide. The company is now centered back in the Antunovich’s hometown of Boulder and has expanded its offerings from cozy wraps to a larger variety of carriers after forming a partnership with Beco Baby Carriers in 2016.
This year, Boba is rolling out a distinctive new spring and summer collection of carriers which combine seasonal chic and comfort with conscientious design. All of its items are ergonomic, hip-healthy, and maximally adjustable to suit any baby up to 35 or 45 pounds.
Following in a long tradition of partnerships with charitable and medical organizations, a portion of all sales of the collection will also be donated to Boulder’s Emergency Family Assistance Association for COVID-19 relief. (For a laundry list of all of the other charitable causes Boba has championed over the years, check out the impressive list on the Organizations We Support portion of their site, which also catalogues their babywearing-related research and volunteer projects.)
It’s clear that Boba practices what they preach. Their extensive Boba Reads blog gives an even more detailed sense of the company’s values, featuring essays detailing visits to pregnancy centers, summaries of new research on parenting and child development, suggestions for best practices for new parents, and much more.
Of course, the site offers plenty of information about the benefits of Boba’s carriers specifically, but for the Antunovichs and their team, Boba is about more than just selling their product. They want to help customers learn how to integrate their wraps and carriers into their wider parenting routine.
“I especially love getting out there and working with academia, pregnancy care centers and hospitals on education and the importance of keeping babies close,” Elizabeth Antunovich explains in an essay on their website.
In our current day and age, many companies are thinking beyond their bottom lines and finding constructive ways to remain rooted in their community and give back. Boba has been at this for years. They are the rare brand who has completely based their approach to business around a wider effort to help people—in their case, growing families. For Elizabeth Antunovich, being at the head of this type of company truly makes her job feel like something beyond work—something closer to maintaining a life philosophy.
“Challenge is great,” she says. “Building a business is fun. Contributing something useful to the world is fulfilling. But doing something that you love is the ultimate.”