Bathing in success

The bath time category continues to grow and evolve. Are you cleaning up in this category?

Bathtime products will always be purchased by parents as bathing a baby or toddler becomes an established daily routine. Bathing a baby or toddler is a time for complete one to one interaction. This routine is also one that requires parents stay with their child and guarantees quality time between parent and infant.

Through great innovation, product ranges have continued to grow and develop – from towels, bath thermometers, baby baths, bath supports - all the way through to bath time toys. This category offers a great fast moving footfall generator.

When we look at when new parents will invest or start to research items needed for bathtime, Shnuggle’s Head of Marketing, Lynsey Parkes feels that this is something that is considered prior to birth commenting: “Parents ultimately look for products which make bath time as stress free as possible as it can be daunting for both new parents and young babies. We also know from direct feedback that consumers have come across the Shnuggle bath through research – whether that be via mum to mum word of mouth, influencers, award wins or parent forums. Research begins from very early pregnancy and investment can really be any time – some parents will wait until the ‘big purchases’ are secured, other may wait for baby showers or some may be early planners. A baby bath is considered an essential so will be on the list of things to buy prior to baby being born.”

Toynamics UK & Ireland’s Head of Marketing Emma Damerell would agree commenting: “Parents start researching what they need when pregnant, and tend to invest in bath seats to have ready for when baby arrives. Our Skip Hop Moby Smart Sling 3-Stage Tub is a very popular product for first time parents; and our bathtime accessories, like Bath Rinsers, are a favourite gift at baby showers.”

Anxiety when first learning how to bathe baby can also be high with so many worries that surround this which is why we can see great product innovation within this category, with Lynsey stating: “Handling a newborn is always tinged with anxiety, especially for first time parents. Bath-time in particular causes concern – even though baby has survived in fluid for 9 months, the fear of placing baby in the water is strong. Is the temperature right? is baby safe? will baby drown? – all very common thoughts.

“We initially designed the Shnuggle Bath to take away as much of that worry as possible creating a ‘tub’ perfectly fitting for newborns with the extra security of our ‘Bum Bump’ which keeps babies in a safe position so parents feel more relaxed and bath-time is an enjoyable, fun experience. We are constantly being messaged by parents whose babies hated bath-time and it was a time of dread for all concerned. Then they switched to Shnuggle and it was giggles all the way!”

As an established brand within this sector we also asked Lynsey if they offer any advice or work with any other organisations/influencers/bloggers and if this adds an additional layer of consumer confidence? “Social media is a huge influential platform and is a big part of our marketing focus. The best recommendation for parents is from parents and social media allows influencers to visibly show how much their children enjoy the Shnuggle products which will be a big tick for parents looking for what products to buy. There is also an aspirational element too – consumers who see celebrities with certain products will want them for themselves.”

What about innovation, how does this impact this category and why is it important? Emma explained that for Toynamics, it is a focal point within their business commenting: “We’re always looking at what our customers need which helps shape the development of innovative new bathtime products. For example, we’ve just launched a bathing seat that is suitable to be used in a sink, the Skip Hop Moby Softspot Sink Bather – it has multiple benefits, is super portable for travelling, and given the cost of living crisis bathing baby in the sink means little water is needed.”

Shnuggle as a business also views this is an important element with Lynsey telling us: “There is always room for innovation as parenting styles change with each generation and we continually look for ways in which to make parenting that little bit easier. We have significant innovative launches planned for 2023 which tap into both customer feedback and demand, yet also our own creative thinking in terms of what products we can offer that would benefit both parent and child.”

One thing is for sure when we look at this category is that baby baths have always been popular choice. Emma confirms this stating: “There’s always steady growth in this category, and innovative new launches help drive this. For example, the Skip Hop 3 Stage Baby Bath Tub that grows with your child from newborn until 6 months, and we’re excited for the new Skip Hop Softspot Sink Bather.”

How does this category perform when we look at trends? Does this the growth in this sector rely on trends? “It’s really about making parenting easier and stress free as much as possible, so although the bath-time category isn’t necessarily trend based, there is a strong demand for products which offer a great solution for parents and allow baby to enjoy the bath-time experience, something we pride ourselves on offering at Shnuggle.” Said Lynsey. “We have seen significant growth for our bath product, in particular our Toddler Bath which saw terrific growth last year, so the demand to continue the standalone bath experience as baby grows up is high and certainly helps with water costs.”

Of course Bath Toys are also a great way to upsell, we asked Emma what elements she feels parents look for when selecting items? “Quality products that will provide peace of mind and be safe for children to play with. Our stack and pour buckets are hugely popular and this is down to the simplicity of the toy, and the water play element that children love – we’ll be launching a refresh of character designs later in the year. Parents are looking for toys that will make the witching hour easier and enhance the experience for both parent and baby.”

Finally, we also asked both Emma and Lynsey what type of benefits retailers could gain by stocking products that fall within the bathtime category? “Baby baths are considered an essential so will be on the list of things parents will be looking for prior to baby’s arrival. It is important that parents are shown bath options when looking for the bigger purchases as it would be an easy add-on purchase which will benefit the retailer.” Said Lynsey. With Emma adding: “Consumer demand for bathtime products makes them a great sales opportunity for retailers. A trusted brand with a selection of bestselling bathtime products is a sales driver, and will help keep parents in storeshopping bathtime and across categories.”