Two sisters who joined forces to launch a business three years ago are now making more than £7million year – and their concept really is one of a kind.
Bianca Roccisano, 36 and her sister Bridgett, 30, launched a revolutionary tape for women in 2018.
Booby Tape, as it’s called, came about from their own struggles to find underwear that worked for all women and all clothes.
It’s essentially a stick-on bra that also lifts and supports women's breasts. It's there to help women feel good, they explain.
“What’s nice about Booby Tape is that it started from an actual struggle,” Bridgett, from Melbourne explains.
“Whenever I had an event to attend, I was going to the hardware store and buying gaffer tape and different electrical tapes, and was taping my boobs up and ripping my skin off in the process,” she said.
“I thought to myself, this is ridiculous, I'll just buy boob tape. So I jumped online and I couldn't find it anywhere! And that's when we knew we needed to do something.” Bridgett told The Mirror.
“We started the idea in our kitchen – and quickly discovered that other women had the same struggles.
“Not everyone can afford a boob job, which is why that's one of our taglines: ‘say goodbye to a £10,000 boob job.’ You don't have to alter your body with surgery. We're here to help for £10,” Bianca says.
The duo were already in business when they came up with the invention in 2018. Their first project was a fashion business called Melbourne Stylists in 2011. At the time, Bianca was 25 years old and Bridgett was 21.
“We were taught to dream and think big by our parents, who showed us the importance of working hard for your money and the value of every dollar,” Bridgett explained.
They started with a £52,000 loan from a bank and repaid that debt within three weeks after the company went viral online in Australia.
The Roccisano sisters said they applied the same approach to Booby Tape.
They took £13,000 out of Melbourne Sisters and started spreading the word.
“Even though we only had a little bit of product at the time, our philosophy was that if we wanted to be a global, multimillion-dollar brand, we needed to look like one.” Bianca said.
So the duo spent £500 on a photoshoot and started sharing their work on social media.
“This financial year the turnover is set to be £5.3million in profit due to rapid expansion of the business. Next year we are estimated to be over £10million,” she added.
That’s not to say it’s been an easy journey. The pair say they were knocked back by people’s assumptions of them - but perseverance pays off.
“There have been so many struggles within the business with Covid being the biggest to date.
“It is incredibly tough being two young females in business. We have dealt with assumptions of people thinking we are silly or not that bright or people try to take advantage of your prices.
"It has also been tough with the legality side of things, trying to trademark, for instance.”
Today, the two sisters manage a team of 10 at their head office in Australia.
“We also have lots of agencies around the world helping us with distributors and more.
“We actually have distribution centres in Australia, China and America. It is incredibly exciting to have different stock levels around the world.
“Our main goal is for Booby Tape to be known as the generic brand name for breast accessory solutions — essentially, what ‘Kleenex’ is to tissues.”
They also want to empower women.
“You can see on our Instagram that we have women of all sizes, with no editing — we showcase stretch marks and all. We embrace the female body and it's truly becoming a female empowerment brand.”
Booby Tape is currently sold online at Pretty Little Thing, Revolve and in Selfridges as well pharmacy and supermarket chains in the UK and Australia.
Its celebrity clients include Lizzo, Sofia Richie, Molly Mae and Demi Lovato.
“We are incredibly grateful for the success so far, that being said we are also incredibly competitive and believe this is only the beginning of Booby Tape,” the sisters said.
The company is now aiming for 20,000 stockists in the next few years.
“Booby Tape is our baby and our goal is to create a global brand. That's what we're here to do.”
