Summary
How to start a scrubs business? If this question has kept you awake for a while, you can take a deep breath now and relax. Why? Well, that is because you have finally found a guide that tells you what you need to do to start a scrubs business with less cash and as quickly as possible.
The medical scrubs industry underwent some gruesome transformations during the COVID era, but what happened afterward is interesting. Market trends post-2022 suggest that this industry will grow tremendously. The global medical scrubs market will grow to $73.10 billion by 2030.
More fascinatingly, until 2022, the scrubs industry’s global market share was dominated by the Asia Pacific region, with nearly 43.61%.
The growth that scrubs businesses have seen so far is truly unimaginable. But what about 2024 and beyond? What is happening in the medical scrubs industry currently, what is its future, and how to start a scrubs business?
Let’s find answers to all of these questions in this detailed guide for starting a scrub business.
The Medical Scrubs Market is Growing
The estimated market value of the global medical scrubs industry will be around USD 48.48 billion in 2024. Multiple studies show that this market will steadily grow from 2024 to 2031.
Do you know what this steadily growing market indicates? Well, it means that starting a scrub business will be profitable for you!
What is fueling this growth in the medical scrubs industry? There are multiple key factors pushing this growth upward, including:
- The rapidly expanding healthcare sector is looking for more doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals.
- The need for standard uniforms to maintain hygiene in hospitals and clinics is increasing as the number of medical professionals grows.
- There is a need for comfortable scrubs that professionals can wear for long hours.
Also, the healthcare industry is demanding medical scrubs made from eco-friendly materials. The most preferred eco-friendly fabrics for making scrubs are:
- Organic cotton
- Bamboo fibers
- Tencel or Lyocell
- Recycled polyester
There is serious hype surrounding sustainability in the medical field, and one reason for this is the growing need for environmentally friendly uniforms.
In a nutshell, the need for online scrubs business is swiftly rising. And this is your best chance to launch one and join the big names that are excelling in this business.
Now that you know that starting a medical scrubs business is right, let’s explore what benefits you will gain from it.
Benefits of Starting an Online Scrubs Business
Here are the five benefits of starting your own online scrubs business.
Low market concentration
There are multiple small and medium-sized online and offline scrubs businesses, but no one dominates the market or the competition. Well, this is why you can easily start your online scrubs business.
The market is fragmented, and with many competitors catering to local or niche markets, there’s still no single big player. Another reason no one is ruling the industry is competitive pricing.
Humongous market
Starting an online scrubs business opens a broad market for you. Put simply, you can take your business anywhere across the globe. Since you operate online and not in any confined physical store, you can reach an audience worldwide.
Moreover, there is no doubt that in 2024 and beyond, every business operating in the digital space will be using social media platforms. So, you don’t have to worry about being restricted to a single local market. You can use advanced tools and social media to do targeted marketing to reach healthcare professionals across different geographies.
Easy product customization and personalization
Setting up your scrubs business online means you can easily tap into the product customization and personalization market.
You can integrate a uniform product design tool that allows customers (hospitals/clinics/medical professionals) to personalize the uniform with their name or logo and place orders. Incorporating this product design tool will also let them see a 3D preview of their customized scrubs.
Thus making online uniform customizations and purchases easier for them.
You can start a custom uniform business online like Stitchlogo, Uniform Advantage, and more. Want to learn how?
Higher earning potential
If you launch your medical scrubs business online, you will generate a better income. Comparing its earning potential with a traditional brick-and-mortar business, you have a higher chance of making more money. Why? Because of the low overhead costs and incoming bulk orders.
Market reach will also help you get more orders from across the globe, giving you some amazing earning opportunities.
Easy scalability
An online scrubs business allows you to scale your business as and when needed without any hassles. The flexibility of scaling your medical scrubs business gives you the confidence to work seamlessly.
Furthermore, having an online business means that most of the processes will be automated, including order processing, customer service, etc. Such automation will reduce any unnecessary burden on your staff members, ensuring stabilized business operations and growth.
How to Start a Scrubs Business?
As promised, let’s learn how to start a scrub uniform business.
Below are the steps you must follow to launch your online business and ensure it goes live without any hassles.
Without further ado, let’s look at everything in depth!
Whom to target?
Who are your target customers? Clearly, your target customers are professionals working in the healthcare industry.
- Professionals like doctors, nurses, and surgeons.
- Healthcare facilities like hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes.
- Lab and research technicians
- Medical students who are looking for durable scrubs.
- Veterinary technicians who want to wear something comfortable when working with animals.
- Home health aids or caregivers who have to rush for home calls.
- Support/admin staff healthcare workspaces
Your target market is pretty much any professional or student who is working in healthcare workspaces.
Create your own scrubs business brand
The next step in the ‘How to Start a Scrub Line’ guide is to create your own brand.
Creating your brand may sound tricky. However, the right guidance can make it easy. Don’t worry—we have your back!
When building the brand identity, keep the following things in mind:
- Define your brand’s mission, vision, and core values: For example, Mediclo, the medical apparel business, presents itself as a brand committed to maintaining sustainability on earth by offering medical professionals eco-friendly and stylish scrubs.
- Identify and share your Unique Selling Propositions (USP): CODENXT, the online scrubs business, is a global brand that sells the most stylish and comfortable scrubs. What’s unique about them is that they launch limited edition scrubs that perform well and last long. Moreover, they have their own affiliate program that attracts more buyers.
- Create an easy-to-remember visual and verbal identity: When creating the brand identity for your online scrubs business, you must be very thoughtful about the visual elements. Your customers will remember you for a long time if you use some easy-to-remember patterns, icons, or images in all of your marketing materials.
Similarly, by establishing a unique brand voice while communicating with customers, you can ensure that they will recall your business every time they hear it. Given that you are in the medical scrubs industry, it is advisable to maintain a slightly formal, caring, and friendly tone and style for your brand.
For instance, FIGS presents itself as a company that honors and empowers medical professionals by offering fashionable and cozy scrubs. Its brand voice directly targets its potential customers—young professionals in healthcare. Moreover, its logo is on point!
Create a business plan
Once you know your target customer and what your brand would look like, the next step is to write down everything in depth. To start the scrubs business, create a comprehensive business plan that includes all the details about the executive summary, description, marketing and sales strategy, etc.
Also, jot down your financial projections, product line, and operation management plan!
Here are the important components that you should include in your medical scrubs business plan.
Decide your budget
Another important thing you should learn about how to start a scrub uniform business is budgeting! Creating your business budget will take you a long time, and it should, too. You cannot afford to make mistakes when calculating the budget, as your business’s current and future operations rely on it.
To create your scrubs business’s budget, here’s what you need to do:
- Find your revenue resources and examine your past earnings and their sources if you already run an offline business.
- Subtract your fixed costs from the revenue, such as employee salaries, rent, insurance, taxes, asset depreciation, etc.
- Subtract your variable expenses like utility costs, hourly wages, raw materials, etc.
- Set aside your emergency funds.
- Determine your net income and potential profits.
- Finalize the budget.
Choose the perfect supplier
To ensure the success of your scrubs business, you must also onboard a good supplier. This is as critical as selecting the right brand name.
You should study and analyze the following criteria well before selecting the supplier.
- Price
- Quality
- Reliability
- Responsiveness
- Flexibility
- Lead time
- Location
- Terms and conditions
Additionally, you can call for bids to shortlist the suppliers. When assessing the submitted bids, score each of them, see if the supplier can meet your needs, and verify their legitimacy.
Once you choose to go ahead with a supplier, remember to monitor their performance regularly to avoid any gaps that can cause you trouble.
Choose your sales platform: a marketplace or your own website
Starting a scrub business online means you have to make a final choice between a marketplace or a website.
Now, selecting the best place to sell your products online can help enhance your sales capabilities. It is a tough choice to make. But if you are considering whether the uniform design tool will work on the two platforms, the tool can integrate well with your website or online store.
What’s the difference between the marketplace and your own website? Well, let’s see:
- Your own website: Opting for an independent eCommerce website will allow your customers to directly purchase scrubs from you. Generally, websites are built using platforms such as Magento 2, Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.
- A marketplace: You can easily sell your products on third-party marketplaces like Amazon, Facebook Shops, eBay, Walmart Marketplaces, etc.
However, if your USP is selling customized scrubs, then it is best to build your own website.
If you’re going forward with selling customized medical scrubs on your website or store, then the next step is creating a storefront!
Create a storefront with a product
Start by selecting an eCommerce platform of your choice, such as WooCommerce, Magento 2, or Shopify. Create your account on the platform and pick a template that suits your branding.
Next, customize the storefront by adding your logo, theme colors, and products. Start by setting up your product categories, images, and descriptions.
Add product design tool
Integrate the product design tool! Before you configure any tool for product customization, shortlist and find the best tool that offers you cool features.
Listed below are a handful few features that your tool ‘must’ have:
- AI-powered artwork generator
- Custom image uploading
- Image resolution warning
- Clipart customization
- Option to edit/remove background
- Industry-specialized layouts
- Dynamic live pricing system
Additionally, take the demo trial for hands-on experience before investing in the product design tool.
Set up a system for ordering and delivery
To establish an efficient ordering and delivery system, integrate a user-friendly interface for product browsing and order placement.
Incorporate secured payment gateways for smoother online transactions. Also, configure a backend system to manage inventory levels, order processing, and shipping logistics.
Lastly, collaborate with reliable shipping partners that guarantee timely and efficient delivery to customers’ doorsteps.
Market your scrubs business
Launching your medical scrub business online requires you to use both traditional and digital marketing methods.
However, if you are looking for the best marketing methods that will drive amazing results for your business, here’s what you can do:
- Email marketing: Send regular newsletters and promotional messages to customers on your email list. You can encourage repeat business by keeping your customers updated with your business’s latest news, promotions, and newly launched products.
- Partnership/Collaboration: Partner with local hospitals, nursing homes, nursing schools, and other healthcare organizations. By doing so, you can easily endorse your products and also enhance your sales potential.
- Participate in trade shows: Trade shows or events can help you network and be a part of healthcare communities. Such events will also allow you to showcase your customized medical scrubs and spread the word about your brand among potential customers and other industry professionals.
- Offer attractive discounts: To easily attract more customers to your scrub’s storefront, you can give them offers and discounts. Such promotional activities will help you get first-time buyers on board. Additionally, you can run loyalty programs to build trust among your customers and generate more business.
Final Thoughts
The medical scrubs market is thriving, and it’s crucial for you to analyze it comprehensively. Moreover, the evolving market shows a rising trend toward sustainable fabrics and easy customization.
So, if you are ready to launch your own online scrubs business, then start by researching the market. Follow this step-by-step “how to start a scrub uniform business” guide and go live with your own store. Integrate an AI-powered uniform design tool to make it easier to launch better scrubs for your customers and enhance the healthcare experience for professionals.
To launch your online medical scrubs business that’s fueled by an advanced AI-based uniform design tool, get in touch with PrintXpand’s experts.
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