Brarista Wins Innovate UK Inclusive Innovation Award: A Win for Every Body

We are proud to hold the Innovate UK Inclusive Innovation Award for our efforts to tackle the return rate crisis of lingerie and help all women, no matter their shape, have easy access to buying bras. This recognition supports our goal of fighting against goods not fitting properly, which costs UK consumers billions, helps shops reduce their lingerie returns, and boosts the confidence of customers.

Why Inclusivity Drives Retail Success

As many as 80% of women find it hard to find their true bra size, resulting in unnecessary returns and disappointed buyers. Brarista helps by using information from over 15,000 fitted women and vision AI to suggest the best bra size for everyone. No matter if someone is looking for lingerie for comfort or a maternity bra, our chatbot fits their needs easily, even without a fitting appointment.

For retailers, this means:

• 3x more accurate fittings than manual measurements.

• 15% lower operational costs due to reduced returns.

• Higher engagement from shoppers who trust their fit.

The Technology Behind the Fit

The bra fitting tool from Brarista is far from being a generic chatbot. Lingerie professionals set it up to recognise differences, such as the variations between sister bra size pairs (for example, 32DDD and 34DD), and changes in cup size. Moreover, we also partnered with the most experienced pro bra fitters in the industry to help us validate the product.

To illustrate, a customer who doesn’t understand the bra size calculator is assisted with simple instructions, and other customers discover the reason a bra size chart might suggest other measurements.

Retailers benefit from e-commerce fitting technology that:

• Automates bra size conversion for global shoppers.

• Reduces lingerie return rates by guiding customers to the right size.

• Scales bra fitting accuracy 24/7, freeing staff for higher-value tasks.

Real Impact for Real Businesses

One business that uses Brarista claimed a 40% reduction in returns after putting our AI for lingerie businesses into practice. In addition, both full-coverage and sports bras reportedly sold well, indicating that technology focused on all types of women can boost both loyalty and revenue.

What’s Next for Brarista?

Being named an Innovate UK Inclusive Innovation Award winner affirms our commitment to meeting the unmet needs in bra shopping specifically, and underserved people with changing bodies during pregnancy and nursing in general; as a group, they frequently are not accommodated by the existing fitting tools designed to cater to every body. During the next stage, we are focusing on three main developments:

1. Expanding AI Capabilities for Maternity and Nursing Needs

The body changes during pregnancy and after childbirth pose special fitting problems, but there is little professional help available. With this grant, we are optimising our AI bra fit algorithm to be 80 per cent accurate in suggesting bras to changing breast shapes in pregnancy and nursing. This involves:

• Partnering with maternity bra brands to prototype solutions directly with 100 maternity shoppers, gathering real-world feedback to improve usability.

• Piloting a hyper-targeted virtual bra fitting experience tailored to pregnancy-related concerns (e.g., underwire discomfort, band stretch, post-surgery fit for mastectomy patients).

2. Enhancing User Experience for Inclusivity

We aim to bring bra fitting technology to everyone, even the people who are neglected by the wider lingerie retail market. This includes:

• Redesigning our bra fit guide to reflect the diverse needs of pregnant and nursing individuals, with visual aids and step-by-step guidance.

• Launching a bra fitting quiz that addresses common issues like:

  • “How does this style compare to my usual M&S 34GG?”

  • “Is this maternity bra suitable for my third trimester?”

3. Partnering with Eco-Conscious Brands to Reduce Returns

Inclusivity is central to the project, which falls under our overarching goal of minimising fashion returns due to better fit prediction. We are partnering with eco-conscious brands to:

• Test how better fit guidance for maternity and nursing bras can lower lingerie return rates (currently costing the industry £10 billion annually).

• Develop brand-aligned tone updates for retailers targeting sustainability, ensuring chatbots communicate care instructions and size conversion tips clearly.

The work will place Brarista as the first AI-based solution to tackle the problem of pregnancy and nursing bra-fitting issues at scale, capturing the lucrative maternity lingerie market of 4.5B USD, and supporting our B2B value prop: lower returns, higher customer satisfaction.

Ready to Transform Your Lingerie Business?

If you are dealing with lots of lingerie returns in your store, Brarista has a successful strategy to help. The goal of our bra fit technology is far more than selling bras, because it also involves building trust, including everyone, and helping people become repeat customers.

Sign up for a demo to understand why Brarista is the top choice for bra fitting in the retail sector.