Developing Snoozzzy

SLEEP DEPRAVATION CAN HAVE A HUGE IMPACT ON ALL THE FAMILY. LOUISE LILOF FOUNDER OF THE SNOOZZZY RANGE OF WEIGHTED BLANKETS TELLS US WHAT INSPIRED HER TO TAKE THE LEAP INTO THE WORLD OF AN ENTREPRENEUR.

As a new mum of two girls who are very close in age, I quickly realised that my own sleep would become something that was a bit of a luxury. Thankfully my eldest, Isabel, quickly fell into a nice sleep routine which was more than manageable but her younger sister, Florence, was a different story!

As she got older Florence would wake roughly four or five times a night for no other reason than wanting a cuddle before drifting back off to sleep again. As I am sure you can imagine this was a bit of a killer, especially when combined with a toddler who didn’t often sleep in and working full time, and so I decided to see what was available on the market that might help her.

That is when I came across weighted blankets and their potential benefits to aid a full night’s sleep.

However, all the options on the market were very clinical looking, they were all dark grey or blue, with mixed reviews on the distribution of weight and ease of cleaning- which is obviously a must when thinking about any product for a child! I set to work researching all the pros and cons of the designs and options that were available and put together a list of things I liked and what I would change – and so the idea for Snoozzzy was born. I was very fortunate that my role at the time was for a small network running an ecommerce site so I had a number of contacts I could utilise for their expertise when it came to sourcing suppliers and manufacturers. Also, my boss could see the potential in both myself and the product and so was happy to invest in the plan to give the idea a kick start. Once Florence had been sleeping with her blanket for about one week she was sleeping through every single night. I was like a new woman! When developing the Snoozzzy weighted blankets I tried to keep my ‘mum brain’ on and Florence in mind- it had to be something she would want to use and that would also be easy for me to incorporate into our bedtime routine. The first thing I decided was that all the options I would provide would come with a removable, machine washable, soft, and cuddly cover which would be covered with a fun print that a child would want to be theirs. The weighted part of the set was also to be sewn into small squares which would hold the beads in place so the weight was always evenly distributed and where it needed to be all night long. Because I know what children can be like I decided to spend some of the investment on strength testing all the stitching to make sure everything was as strong and safe as possible as no one wants to wake up to a bed full of tiny beads. Since the full launch of the product and the brand I have been very conscious to listen to the feedback of my customers and some small changes have been made along the way. For example, labels were moved as they were upsetting to some children with sensory needs also the range of cover designs has been extended and is something I am always working on and next hope to launch a cotton set. I have also branched out into the smaller, more mobile weighted lap pads. As I launched the business with the importance of sleep in my mind it has been truly overwhelming to learn all the other areas that a weighted blanket can help. I have had amazing feedback from customers who have found the blankets a great help when it comes to Tourette’s, juvenile arthritis, autism, restless leg syndrome, ADHD, sensory processing disorder, anxiety – the list seems endless.

You can find Snoozzzy blankets at www.snoozzzy.co.uk