Frida, the Miami-based company that sells baby and parent products, continues to seek permits for its 270,716-square-foot distribution center in Westlake Industrial Park in West Jacksonville.
The company seeks tenant improvements at a cost of $1.5 million for HVAC, electrical and office build-out work at the warehouse at 11007 Development Way, which is Building 1 at Becknell at Westlake Industrial Park.
Becknell Services LLC is the contractor. Becknell Industrial of La Grange, Illinois, is the construction manager. Craig Kouri Architect of La Grange is the architect.
The city also has been reviewing a permit application for a $1.7 million project for Frida to install pallet racking in the building.
Apex Storage LLC is the contractor for that project. Apex Companies specializes in material handling, storage, automation and rack repair.
Frida describes itself as a “born in Sweden, made in America” company and calls itself the brand “preparing parents for the unfiltered realities of parenthood.”
Frida, the parent company of Frida Baby and Frida Mom, sells bath, breast care, grooming, health care, oral care and other products for babies and mothers. It also sells fertility supplements and tests.
Products include NoseFrida the SnotSucker and Windi the Gaspasser.
Frida.com says its flagship NoseFrida was invented by a Swedish pediatric ear, nose, and throat doctor.
“NoseFrida is now helping parents across America provide smart, safe and hygienic snot-free relief to their stuffed up little ones,” the site says.
A job posting June 20 confirmed that Frida intends to open in Jacksonville.
It seeks a senior fulfillment program manager for its domestic warehouse in Jacksonville. The position will be responsible for managing Frida’s logistics service provider and “establishing expectations and labor requirements for fulfillment, receiving/transfer, and inventory control.”
Another posting the past week for an inventory manager says the position will join its warehouse operations team based in Jacksonville.
“This person will be responsible for accuracy, metrics, and process optimization of all Frida inventory worldwide. The ideal candidate will have an excellent attention to detail, be a highly effective communicator and have strong computer skills.”
Frida says at frida.com that it holds more than a 70% share of its main category and that its products can be found in more than 50 countries and in more than 40,000 stores throughout the U.S.
It says its products are “in every retail channel from mass-market, grocery, chain drug, and specialty stores.”
Frida.com says Frida Baby’s “cult-favorite products” are available at Amazon, Target, Walmart and the website.
Becknell at Westlake Industrial Park is a three-building project off Pritchard Road in Westlake, where Southeast Toyota and BJ’s Wholesale Club, among other companies, have a significant presence. The park is west of Interstate 295.
Becknell Industrial is the developer. Colliers is the landlord’s representative in tenant negotiations.
Colliers Associate Seda Preston said June 22 that the 270,716-square-foot Building 1 is leased by a single tenant and occupancy is expected right away.
She could not speak on behalf of the tenant nor confirm Frida Baby.
She and Colliers Senior Vice President Guy Preston comprise the leasing team.
Frida says it a brand built to support parents.
“Since the launch of our cult-favorite NoseFrida, The SnotSucker, we’ve innovated and launched over 100 products that provide quick and easy solutions to age-old parenting problems,” it says.
Frida said it also launched Frida Mom in 2019, “with products to help women with the transition through the fourth trimester into motherhood.”
Marketwatch.com reported in August 2017 that CEO Chelsea Hirschhorn, a former New York-based lawyer and millennial mom of two boys, “stumbled on an opportunity to expand upon the booger and burping-filled biz in 2014 when she bought the company FridaBaby from her neighbor in Miami.”
At the time, the only product they had was the NoseFrida nasal aspirator, an alternative to the bulb syringe.
Hirschhorn set out to rebrand the business with “catchy, relatable slogans that would attract new parents sluggishly strolling down the baby aisle.”
To raise money, Hirschhorn partnered with friends who started their own investment firm, Garnett Station Partners.
She expanded the brand with a line of parenting items. She also has four children now.
Hirschhorn went from three employees to 20 in 2017. The majority of her revenue comes from wholesale distribution, and direct-to-consumer channels.