Bambino Mio

Guy and Jo Schanschieff started selling reusable nappies at a time when the prevailing thought was 'you must be mad to wash nappies!' “From an early age, I'd wanted to run my own business, but first I had to have a product that I believed in. We'd started in the early 1990's in a nappy laundering service but I soon realised that the potential was in selling the nappies we had designed. At the time 98% of mums were using disposable. Washing nappies was old fashioned and far too time consuming. How could we compete?

“It took a lot of hard work. To get the world to accept our message we had to do a lot of marketing. That's marketing in the widest sense. It didn't mean a bit of consumer advertising. We had to change a lot of opinion. We've lobbied parliament; we've used every PR technique we could. We've made sure that our distribution system was right; we've made sure our product was right. At the beginning, we were definitely ahead of our time. We've had our knock-backs such as when a report came out claiming there's was no environmental benefit to washable. We've had to fight companies with huge marketing budgets. Disposable nappies are the single most promoted consumer product in the world.

“The market was slow to grow but has taken off massively in the last 18 months to two years. Reusable nappies are now mainstream. There isn't a major retailer in the industry that doesn't stock reusable nappies. Many nursery retailers are selling more than one brand. Some 25 percent of Mums mainly use washable nappies.”

Has the environmental movement helped? “Certainly new parents are more receptive to protecting the environment, but I like to think that we have had a major hand in persuading them that using washable nappies does help. And, most importantly, we've persuaded them that using washable nappies doesn't hurt! They are easy to put on baby and easy to wash!”

Saplings of Shropshire

Saplings also started in the early 1990's. In 1992, Philip Ludlow Smith was 20 and Tim Cottrell, 21. They had met at college and are both qualified cabinet makers. So why did they embark on the risky business of setting up their own company? “We both were of the type that worked long and hard,” says Phil. “And if we were going to do that then neither of us wanted to do it for other people. We wanted to make money for ourselves.” Their training suggested something in the furniture business, while Tim's family connections suggested nursery. “It was very helpful in the early days to have someone around who knew the nursery business and stop us making too many mistakes.” The two started by hand making cots in a little wooden shed on an old airfield and selling 50 cots was a good week. Their big break came when they entered into a joint venture with a manufacturing facility in Lithuania.

So to what do they attribute the success of Saplings? “We still feel we are a little company although our turnover is now very significant. We can react quickly to our customer's needs because we have a lean operation. There's Tim and I with five in the office and seven in packing. We receive pallets from the factory, but unlike many other companies each pallet contains headboards, bases, or some other component. We then hand pack everything in Shropshire. This has many advantages. We can ensure that none of the pieces are damaged when they leave us and if anything should happen in transit, in the shop or at home, we can quickly and easily replace the part. We have always aimed to supply good quality products at good prices which is what the market wants!”

gro-group

gro-group is the brainchild of Rob and Ouvrielle Holmes and grew from the tremendous success of the grobag. “When our son, Samuel was nine months old, he was driving us insane by kicking off his covers every night. It was only after our Austrian sister-in-law suggested trying a baby sleeping bag that Sam slept for 12 hours for the first time since he was born, and we felt human again. The name grobag popped into my mind and that's what we called the sleeping bag! A year later, the idea of finding a manufacturer and selling grobags was hatched. After many months of research into making sleeping bags suitable, safe and legal in the UK, we launched the company in 2000. Baby sleeping bags were the norm in Europe at this time, but it took a while before they caught on in the UK. Now it seems that every baby sleeps in a sleeping bag and we have had to take steps to ensure that grobag doesn't become the generic name for baby sleeping bags.

So why is gro-group successful? “Our success has been mainly due to our benchmarks - quality, safety and the consequent brand loyalty. The design and quality of the product is very important and we have spent both money and time making sure that the grobag is right in every little detail from the size of the armholes to fastenings that can't scratch. But having a brilliant product comes to nothing if nobody has ever heard of you. From the very beginning we have marketed and promoted the grobag. Our link with the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths has proved very fruitful and has enabled us to establish a reputation for doing things the right way. Our biggest challenge has been managing growth - from a standing start to a turnover of over £8.5m in less than seven years.” Rob comments: “It's been a real roller-coaster ride and I have gone grey since starting the business, so much so my friends now call me Mr.Greybag!"

Hippychick

Hippychick began eight years ago with the launch of the Hipseat. Now it sells a wide range of products and employs 12 (soon to be 14) staff. Julia Minchin had always wanted to run her own business. “We had moved down to Somerset and I had just had Tom, my first child. We came across the Hipseat, made a number of improvements and Hippychick was born!

“I think that our success stems from the passion we have for our business. We like to source and develop products that genuinely help people. Life doesn't stop after you have given birth. You can still live your own life and our products are there to help you. Having good products and providing an excellent customer service is vital, as well as strong marketing and PR to ensure you get the sell through. If we treat our customers well they will return. We keep our promises. We attend most of the relevant trade shows - that's 16 shows this year - because we believe it is important to put yourselves in front of your customers. We also believe in corporate social responsibility. What we do has a major impact. Every decision is looked at for this point of view. We regularly donate to charities both here and where we manufacture. We recycle as much as possible and buy fairtrade products where we can. It's important to put something back.

“Our biggest challenges have been in financing our growth and sourcing the right new products. Both Jeremy and I have had to learn to delegate. That wasn't easy for either of us but you can't do everything. It's also been hard juggling life. We now have three children - four if your count the business, all competing for our time and attention. Now our challenge is to build the brand.”

Mamas & Papas

Mamas & Papas must be the biggest success story in the nursery trade. It was started in the early 80's when Luisa Scacchetti was pregnant. Being Italian, she loved fashion, style and colour! But the UK market for prams was navy blue, navy blue or navy blue! As for fashion or style, forget it! A pram was for pushing baby around, not for looking good! Luisa and husband, David, decided to bring a bit of Italian sunshine to our drab lives. "When we first came to the nursery industry and we were looking for products for our first child, we were surprised at the very few concessions to style and fashion. We believe that these elements, along with comfort and safety should be inherent in every Mamas & Papas product. Taking inspiration, from everyone and everything, we created a whole new world for a baby. A world of colour, shape, design, individuality, simplicity and creativity. A world where quality was essential, no expense was spared, no detail missed.”

The company began trading in 1981 and is now one of the largest nursery companies in the UK. From prams and pushchairs, the company now sells everything a mother could wish for. It has expanded into retailing with its own chain of shops and onto the internet with a comprehensive website.

And why has Mamas & Papas been successful? “We always strive to understand and anticipate the needs of pregnant women and their partners, their babies and young children to facilitate the design and development of a range of innovative and stylish nursery related products. By anticipating the ever changing needs of the pregnant mother and their families whilst remaining true to our core values, we are proud to be the UK's number one designer nursery brand.”