News 16 Talking Shop 16 Suppliers Snapshot 36 & 56 New Products 58 The Baby Products Association

Angelcare make it official

Angelcare are pleased to announce that they have completed a name change for their business in the UK from Hardenberg & Co. to Angelcare Corporate UK Ltd.

Rahul Sharda – Head of Transformation & Strategy comments: “It is our intention to operate under the Angelcare banner worldwide and continue to position our organization as a leader of consumer household Abby McAllister products. This will have no impact to our ongoing and future partnerships, but over the next few days and weeks, you will see some changes (e.g., email address, details in your systems, etc.) being implemented, but we assure you that there will be no disruption to our regular operations. Our teams are at your side, and I am also personally available as we move through this transition period.”

In other exciting news, Angelcare UK would like to announce the appointment of Abby McAllister who is joining the business as Sales Manager her responsibilities include managing all existing and new business within the UK market. She brings 15 years of experience in the industry previously working at Joie the Gro Company.

Abby commented: “Having joined Angelcare at the end of February I already know that I have found the right fit and made the right decision in joining the team. The Angelcare business is currently going through positive changes with emphasis on NPD and new business. I’m excited for the future and feel humbled to be working with such a receptive and talented team.”

Abby is currently in the process of contacting all customers, but if you would like to contact her, please do so by email amcallister@angelcaregroup.com or by phone 07815549953.

Noordi company

donates 140 prams to Ukrainian refugees

Award-winning pram company Noordi recently teamed up with Save the Children to donate 140 prams to Ukraine refugees.

As the crisis unfolded, the Noordi team decided to help refugees arriving in Lithuania by providing them with much needed travel systems and prams.

Photographer Francesco Malavolta’s image of prams (pictured) was a stark reminder of the practical difficulties faced by women and children fleeing their homeland. Many had to leave their prams behind as they rushed to board crowed trains and buses.

As a family business Noordi was keen to help other families and, with the help of Save the Children, volunteers and van drivers, they were able to get prams to refugees as quickly as possible.

BabyStyle’s JJ Hits The Road

All the team at BabyStyle are preparing one last time to wave off the enigmatic long-serving delivery driver, Jon Ison that so many people know simply as ‘JJ’ as he heads into retirement.

After over a million miles of service, and an incredibly low number of prangs, Jon has decided to take early retirement this month and he will be very much missed by his colleagues and many of the retailers he has delivered his cheery smile and unending banter to on a regular basis.

Instead of sitting behind the wheel every day he is looking forward to enjoying Leicester City finish another Premier League season, closely followed by a summer of sitting down with a drink in his hand and watching his beloved Leicestershire county cricket team.

JJ is a genuine close friend to Andy Crane and many others at the company and he will be missed each and every day. Here’s wishing you all the very best Jon; enjoy your wind down.

Do you have an innovative new product idea? The Baby Products Association’s 2022 Concept & Innovation Awards are now open for entry and the Association invites the nursery industry and wider community including students and budding entrepreneurs to submit interesting product ideas for consideration.

The Association is keen to promote excellence and innovation in the nursery sector and these annual awards encourage this. Over the years, the judges have been presented with numerous interesting and innovative ideas; many of which have proceeded to market.

Robert Anslow, managing director of the Association explains: “The judges are almost always pleasantly surprised by the ingenuity of many of the entries received. In the past we have seen everything from special gadgets to aid feeding and weaning; new compact products to make travelling with babies and young children easier; to sleep solutions and even toys.

“On occasions, the judges – who are all industry experts with many years combined experience in all aspects of baby products from design and manufacture; to safety and compliance; to retail and marketing – have advised entrants that their idea could prove too ambitious in terms of manufacturing costs and realistic retail prices. There are often also concerns on how some designs would be able to comply with rigorous testing and safety standards. However, there have also been many success stories, with the products which began as a seed of an idea presented to the judges now thriving in the market place. The majority of entrants are also grateful to receive knowledgeable and valuable feedback before embarking on what could potentially be an expensive journey to production.”

The entry form for the 2022 Concept & Innovation Awards can be downloaded from the website at www.b-p-a.org and the only clause is that the product idea must not be for sale prior to Harrogate international Nursery Fair which takes place from 16th to 18th October 2022.

Six premium venues

The Baby & Toddler Shows are a cost-effective way to get your brand in front of your target audience of new and expectant parents, who come to the shows ready to see, test, try and buy pregnancy and baby products.

Having organised and delivered 37 successful shows to date, in untapped areas of the UK, the Baby & Toddler Show team delivers the best exhibitor to visitor ratio in the market.

Contact them for the opportunity to drive high volume direct sales and sampling in six premium venues, which attract audiences from Greater London, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, Liverpool and Bristol.

More information and contact details are available at babyandtoddlershow.co.uk

Award winning skincare

Mini U scooped Bronze for Best Baby & Child Skincare Brand at the 2022 MadeForMums Awards

Mini U, the newly relaunched skincare, bath and body care brand for newborns, toddlers and children, was awarded the prestigious industry accolade based on the effectiveness of its products, ease of use, quality and design and worth of money.

Alongside winning Bronze in the Best Baby & Child Skincare Brand category, Mini U’s Golden Grapefruit Hand Wash took home Silver in the Baby & Child Skincare Product and the brands Tropical Berries Hair & Body Wash was awarded joint Bronze in the Baby & Child Bath & Body Wash category.

www.miniu.co.uk

In the words of the parent tester: “The adjustable handle height is great as I am a foot shorter than my husband! The pram feels robust yet stylish, giving a smooth ride for my baby.”

Noordi introduces Luno All-Trails

Scandi range scores another Made for Mums Award

Noordi’s latest model, the Luno All-Trails, has just won a Made for Mums Award.

Testers found it was great for “pushing across gravel, grass and on pavements” and loved the one-handed steering.

Testers also found the pushchair very simple to fold. They liked the fact that the car seat can be fitted using an Isofix base or car’s seat belt, while clever touches such as the magnetic seat buckle, ThermoCot and peekaboo window in the carrycot scored well.

They also felt that All Trails represented value as all accessories are included.

And the judges loved its eco-credentials, such as the use of recycled materials and solar power during manufacturing, and its ‘made in EU credentials’.

Contact: donna.mccullough@johnstonprams.co.uk

ClevaMama grows their UK Sales Team

ClevaMama is delighted to announce two new members of the ClevaMama Family, Lara Wilson and Laura Docherty, who have joined us to focus on and support our UK retailers. The UK is a very important market and we look forward to continuing to build relationships and investing in here for ongoing growth. Lara Wilson – UK Key Account Manager

Lara has joined ClevaMama Family as the UK Key Account Manager. She has 7 years+ experience launching many brands in the UK and EU. The last 3 years she has been in the Baby Industry working with UK and International Partners. She begins her new role working closely with our UK partners and building relationship with new distribution and sales channels. Lara is very excited to have come aboard, and we look forward to the journey together.

Contact: larawilson@clevamama.com

Laura Docherty – UK Key Account Manager

Laura joins the ClevaMama Team with over 5 years’ experience in the Baby & Nursery Industry in sales and account management from wheeled goods and strollers. Laura is dedicated to working hard with her retailers to provide the best service, Product Training, Retail advice. She is very excited to come on board and to deliver the best results for her accounts, Laura sees ClevaMama as a brand with great ambition and huge Growth potential in the UK.

Contact: lauradocherty@clevamama.com

awesome individuals to join their team

With global heads full of wits & giggles, phil&teds is a top place to work! Led from their support office in NZ – with an additional four sales & marketing offices based worldwide – teamwork makes this dream work baby, and they’re looking for awesome individuals to join their office based in Windsor, UK! What they’re looking for in a nutshell: • You’ll need to know how to sell – you can’t be al l talk, no action!; • You’ll need some account management / B2B sales experience & you also probably wanna move up to more solutions selling, rather than just order taking; • Coming from retail can be a bonus, ‘cos you understand about products and having that ‘hands on approach’; • You’ll give good phone from day dot – a world class, natural conversationist!; • You’ll be steady yet driven to hit the goals – a team player is what they need!;

You might be tech savvy & a data junkie – ‘cos understanding all that is what makes an awesome & focussed salesperson right?!!

Sound intriguing to you? Then send through your CV and cover letter to pickme@philandteds.com If you’ve got the goods, personality, passion & drive – then they’re all ears!

Hippychick share their story in latest podcast

Husband and wife team, Jeremy and Julia Minchin, behind baby and toddler brand Hippychick are the latest guests to share their behind the scenes story on the family business podcast It Runs In The Family.

Julia and Jeremy joined mother and daughter podcast hosts, Liz and Leila Willingham, on episode 30 of It Runs In The Family to reveal how they are committed to making life that little bit easier for families with young children, their dedication in supporting local businesses to flourish and providing an award-winning service to customers.

Listeners learnt how they balance business with parenthood, how they create a family feel with staff and customers alike, and the joys of seeing your partner in their element. The episode covered:

• How Jeremy’s paragliding accident put the Hippychick team to the test • Changing sectors and undergoing a cultural shift to join the family business • How Julia and Jeremy pushed through uncertainty and built their brand in the early days • Juggling parenthood with the business, and how it can feel like an extra child of your own

A new episode of It Runs In The Family is released every other Wednesday and is available to download and stream on all major podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.To never miss an episode or to discuss recording a family business story, please visit lizleanpr.co.uk/podcast-runs-in-the-family/

www.hippychick.com

Doudou et Compagnie is back in the UK with bébélephant

With over 20 years of experience, the iconic Parisian brand of Doudou et Compagnie, with its trademark giftbox presentation, has become a staple in nurseries all over the world. They pride themselves as being the Doudou (blankie) specialist.

And now, after a brief interlude, this most gorgeous of brands is back in the UK and is being distributed by bébélephant.

Each creation is imagined and prototyped by professional stylists with traditional and chic French know-how which cultivates its original values of creativity, quality, security, innovation and softness.

Doudou et Compagnie is particularly focussed on texture and details to satisfy and bring untold pleasure to babies and toddlers Doudou will be exhibiting at the Distoy show in central London on 17-20 May. Contact bébélephant for a ticket.

For a brochure and stocking options (including dropship), email info@bebelephant.com or call 020 8202 1467