Problem:
Women deserve a better way of getting professionally fitted for bras. The lack of care and proper training within the bra industry means that bra-sizing confusion is a never-ending debate. Inefficient practices result in 80% of women wearing bras that don’t fit properly and billions of pounds lost every year in size- and fit-related exchanges and returns.
Solution:
Combining state-of-the-art computer vision with data from real-life women (our co-creators), Brarista is bringing professional bra-fitting to bra-wearers’ homes. Its technology makes it possible for clients to find their best fit across product lines simply by using their phone camera.
Researching this technology to ensure its usefulness and accuracy is technically complex. Brarista is working hard to continue building, testing, and improving the current prototype before conducting technical trials.
The ongoing pandemic gave Brarista an opportunity to collaborate with Boost Innovations Ltd to apply its technology to fit breast prostheses online for breast cancer survivors (classified by the NHS as a higher-risk group). Research shows that getting bra-fitted using a tape-measure results in a 70% inaccuracy rate, but this is still the most popular method used by high street bra-fitters and online bra-fitting guides. Brarista hopes that its technology will improve the accuracy by at least 40% to be on par with professional bra-fitting by eyesight.
Traction:
2018 - Won the Most Innovative Idea at the UCL Innovation and Enterprise Launch Programme
2019 - Team formation and acquired trial interests from the industry
2019 - Selected as a startup to be mentored by DeFine Network EU (a European Commission-funded FashionTech Community).
2019 - Selected as one of seven startups to join Women in AI & Data in Israel with InnovateUK
2019 - Highly Commended Award at the Academy’s Enterprise Hub Launchpad Competition Final
2020 - Crowdfunded successfully and matchfunded with NatWest Back Her Business
2020 - Acquired a new research client to apply its technology to fit breast prosthesis online
To find out more abut Brarista visit https://www.brarista.co/
“[The programme has helped by] providing the network of supporters, coaches and mentors that help me grow as an entrepreneur.”
