Krystal Rand’s ‘Croc’ bag business transforms into six-figure operation
A Sunshine Coast mum who could not stand lugging around wet duffels after swimming has taken her idea for a bag made from ‘Croc’ material and created a six-figure business.
Sunshine Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sunshine Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A single mum turned businesswoman is connecting a community of mothers through her successful “indestructible” bag design she created alone.
Krystal Rand, 36, aimed to make a waterproof, versatile yet fashionable bag not long after her daughter Florence, now aged three years old, was born.
Shopping trips, swimming lessons and beach days meant lugging around different bags.
Wet clothing after swimming school or drink spills aso soaked into her bags.
Ms Rand did her research and bought a bag made of EVA foam from the US but what came in the mail was ugly and bulky, so she started the conversation with other mums and decided to pursue the business idea forming in her mind.
She started her brand Kove and Co Tribe Bags in October 2022, after 18 months of designing and manufacturing her own bag made of “Croc material”, or EVA foam, which is waterproof, stands upright and comes in neutral tones.
Ms Rand’s product sold well on launch day, and the business turned over $250,000 in its first year.
Kove and Co Tribe Bags has now made $380,000 since launch, with its best month raking in $50,000 in revenue.
“I got listed in the Top 10 Beach Bags for 2024 on One Fine Baby and highly recommended in the national SHE-com Awards in the Women’s Bags category, so it was really encouraging to see how our product is filling a gap in the market,” she said.
Ms Rand went full-time into her business in February.
She previously worked as a L’Oreal sales representative and then in a part-time administration role for a yoghurt brand.
Ms Rand said the business has grown since she started working full-time and sales and revenue rose by 40 per cent compared to the same time last year, but it feels like a “beast” with ever so much to do as a solo mum running her operation alone.
Ms Rand said she wanted the product to be a conversation starter for mums to form friendships, hence naming her product a “tribe bag”, and the brand grew through word of mouth.
She described running the business as a rollercoaster and said she would have never started if she knew how hard it was going to be but she knew she was onto something.
Ms Rand said her days would consist of work, cooking, cleaning and then putting her toddler to bed before she would pack orders until midnight.
She said her efforts were worthwhile when she saw strangers on the street using the bag she designed.
“I get butterflies, it’s so exciting,” Ms Rand said.
Her future dream is to run her own commercial warehouse with a small attached townhouse, and she wants to hire other mothers who are “amazing workers” but need flexible hours.
“I want to build an empire of mums,” she said.
Ms Rand said it was so tough but so rewarding to create her bags, and advised one must just “give it a go” and view the investment as a “really valuable lesson” even if the business failed.
Warnings after deadly shark caught in Maroochy River
Multiple sightings of sharks have been reported after a bull shark was hooked and released at the Maroochy River mouth.
Teenager bitten by dingo at K’gari
A teenage boy has become the latest person to be bitten by a dingo on the heritage island, with several others already reported since the start of 2025.