By Ed Avis
When Carlos Perez decided to launch his own costume company after the Spanish company he was working for went bankrupt, he knew a major change in focus was required.
“Many costume businesses in Europe, especially in Spain, were focused on price and low quality products,” Perez says. “So I decided to develop a more quality-oriented business, taking care of the details of the products, the packaging, the photos, etc.”
Perez launched My Other Me (commonly known as MOM) in 2013. His commitment to quality costumes worked and MOM began to fill an important niche in the European costume market. Their costumes – including some licensed characters and many new creations – found their way into retailers throughout Europe.
Before long, Perez realized he needed more capital to fuel growth, so in 2016 he sold the business to Alicante, another Spanish business that manufactures toys, decorations, gardening items, and other such household goods. Perez remains the MOM’s general manager.
Four years later – in 2020 – the company moved into the U.S. market. Sales in America now comprise about 10 percent of MOM’s business, Perez says. Customers here appreciate the quality of the company’s products, he says.
“In the end, we do not just produce costumes – we create real characters,” he says. “Our design team obsesses over the details. It’s not enough for them to say, ‘OK, this is nice. It’s cheap. Let’s go.’ No, they take care and work until finally we have a nice, detailed, high quality product.”
The company employs three designers and works with three freelance designers. Together, that team produces 120 to 130 new products each year. Today, the company also produces wigs, make-up, décor and related items.
The creativity of MOM’s designers is evident in many of the company’s creations. For example, among MOM’s most popular costumes are those that a new parent can wear that pairs the parent to a baby -- such as a baby costume that looks like a popcorn bag, which pairs with a movie vendor costume for the parent; or a baby carrier that looks like a lobster paired with a chef’s costume for the parent. Innovative costumes for pregnant women also are popular, such as a skeleton costume with a baby skeleton in the belly.