Apricotton is making bra shopping less awkward and building a movement along the way

From a TikTok blackout to a trade war, not to mention a viral appearance on Dragon’s Den, it’s been a rollercoaster ride of a year for Apricotton.

The Toronto-based startup, which designs bras specifically for tweens and teens, is riding a wave of momentum. With sales climbing, five new products set to launch this year, and an upcoming launch on Amazon, Apricotton is growing up fast and staying true to its mission of making bra shopping less awkward for young girls.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” said co-founder Jess Miao, who started the company with Chloe Beaudoin while they were both students at Western University’s Ivey Business School.

What started as a school project designing a "fake" business turned into a purpose-driven brand. Apricotton offers bras that are made to fit growing bodies, with sizes ranging from AA to DD. Miao says it’s not only a product but a promise to young girls that their changing bodies are normal, and that puberty doesn’t have to be so confusing.

“When I was going through puberty, I was embarrassed to even tell anyone I was wearing a bra,” she said. “I remember changing for gym class in the washroom stall instead of in front of everyone in the changing room.”

Miao later helped her younger sister shop for her first bras, only to find that out of 15 options, maybe two fit properly. That experience became the inspiration for launching Apricotton in 2020.

The company now leads a growing online community of nearly 200,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram, where they talk openly about puberty, bras and body confidence.

“I’m very proud of how I’ve come far personally, being brave to help other girls like myself who are in that position when they’re 12 and embarrassed,” Miao said.

Last year brought both growth and growing pains for Apricotton.

In early 2025, a temporary TikTok blackout in the U.S. cut off one of the company’s major sales avenues.

“That was very stressful because a lot of our sales come organically from TikTok,” Miao said.

Then came threats of U.S. tariffs, a shakeup that presented a serious challenge to the company’s expansion plans into the U.S. market. But the team pivoted quickly.

“We found a U.S. fulfillment centre, so the trade situation actually kind of propelled us to do something we were already planning to do,” said Miao. “Now we’re able to serve our U.S. customers faster and cheaper.”

And then there was Dragon’s Den, the kind of national exposure most startups dream about. Miao and Beaudoin recorded their pitch last spring, but the episode didn’t air until January.

“They also had posted reels and TikToks, cut-up clips of the episode online, and they went viral,” Miao said.

A TikTok clip from the episode on January 2 has pulled in 2.6 million views. Miao said the episode’s release sparked a 5,000-follower jump overnight and an increase in sales.

“Sales skyrocketed,” said Miao. “It just brought us a lot of credibility too, with customers finding us and then seeing that we were on Dragon’s Den and then purchasing.”

They’ve celebrated their wins, but Miao says funding hasn’t come easy.

“It took us a lot of time to raise our pre-seed round,” Miao said. “More access to capital and funding for women, I think, could help.”

Apricotton still found plenty of strength in its supporters.

“Nobody successful has ever really made it by themselves,” said Miao. “So many people have reached out to support in different ways. When you’re building your company, you’re not just building the products, but you’re really building the community behind it.”

That support system includes the team at the Accelerator Centre in Waterloo, where Apricotton joined the AC:Studio program, an early-stage incubator designed that supports founders as they build scalable businesses.

“They’ve been really helpful mentors that are specialized in very specific areas to help your business,” said Miao.

Apricotton is now preparing for its next phase of growth, including product expansion and a stronger push into the U.S. market.

“Last year in Q4 we launched four new products in just one quarter,” Miao said. “So that was a lot. And this year, we’re planning on multiple product launches as well, probably five, and expanding into not just bras, but other products, which will be extremely exciting, all based on customer feedback.”

One major milestone Miao is looking forward to is Apricotton’s expansion into New York City to reach more U.S. customers who struggle to find age-appropriate bras.

“We have very good sizing accuracy, very low return rate, and on top of that, more girls can find teen bras, which are typically very difficult to find because they’re usually made for a child’s body size,” she said.

For Miao, that full-circle moment has already arrived. She’s gone from helping her sister shop for her first bra to building a brand that’s supported thousands of girls across Canada, the U.S., and Europe.

“In our most recent photo shoot, my sister Cindy was actually modelling the bras,” she said. “So she went from the kind of same situation where she was really shy about bra shopping and we created a bra for her — and now she’s so proud to be wearing it and being our brand ambassador.”