My Carry Potty’s Amanda Jenner said the show had been brilliant and that the new colour ways had gone down well, while Cleebo told how its safe, hygienic, user and child friendly way of effectively clearing the nostrils of dry nasal mucus had received lots of positive press in the three months since launch, with major retailers now looking at stocking it.

Jeremy Minchin, Sales Director for Hippychick, commented: “This year’s Kind + Jugend was a terrific show, very positive for us and the industry as a whole. The BPA pavilion was superbly organised, positioned and well attended. It was really encouraging to see a strong presence of UK retailers noticeably support the BPA in Cologne. For us personally, the show was a great success, we are delighted to have cemented overseas distribution, with a number of new partners across a broad range of our products.”

“The Pavilion was a huge success and even more exhibitors want to join next year,” said the BPA’s Christel Davidson. On the first day of the show, Christel took me to the buzzing meeting area to chat to exhibitors. All were clearly enjoying being part of the Pavilion and agreed that it was quickly busy.

Leigh Newton, Sales Director for NScessity,  received some quality leads on the first day. The company’s Second Skins range of baby swim suits were expected to do well, taking UV safety levels to a new high. Available in a multitude of colours and designs, they are sure to be a hit with retailers.

Commenting on another successful year at Kind und Jugend Rachel Jones of Totseat said:

"Kind und Jugend is a crucial show for Totseat in terms of the opportunities it presents for meeting new customers and catching up with our international network.  Having first exhibited at K&J some six years ago, with prototypes, I would recommend it to anyone in terms of being able to assess the international potential of a product. We are thrilled Totseat has become the leading brand of travel highchair and that its worldwide potential is being realised.

"From a UK perspective, it's now over to Hippychick - which makes eminent sense for a business at our stage of growth. And yes, we will be back next year, without doubt!" she added.

Roger Cheetham, managing director of child safety specialist Clippasafe commented: “There was a really positive buzz at this year’s Kind + Jugend as it celebrated its 50^th anniversary. With over 19,000 visitors filling the halls, the show certainly felt a lot busier compared to 2009. Footfall to our own stand over the three days was up by approximately 40 per cent, with the number of quality new leads increasing by a similar amount.

The new additions to our Home Safety Range – the Tap Strap, Socket Protector and Magnetic Cupboard and Drawer Lock – attracted plenty of attention from delegates and I am pleased to say that there was a lot of interest in the prototype for our new Secure Belt Travel Pillow. Feedback from the show suggests that this will be a big seller when it comes to market early next year.

The event also provided the potential to broaden our range even further. We could well be seeing a series of new product launches and partnership announcements from Clippasafe over the next 12 months.”

Over at Tippitoes, the Uptown Changing Bag immediately caught my eye – perfect for all fashion conscious mothers who do not want to compromise on style or practicality. The design features a quilted fabric main body and leather look finish, all in a clean and chic ivory colour. Underneath the elegant exterior are hidden all the practicalities of a modern changing bag, including easy changing mat, removable bottle holder and a plethora of useful pockets for all those essentials.

Also from Tippitoes, the Boys Toilet Trainer is a simple but practical solution for toilet training boys. The design offers clips that will fit on most modern toilets, simply select the rim clip that best suits the toilet and clip on the hinge arm. It has an easy clean no splash or drip self washing design and is safe to use with no need for a step stool.

The I-FEEL from Chicco is a new bouncing chair that introduces babies to their first multi-sensorial experience: the play panel has different tunes, nature sounds and New Age melodies, along with different shades of coloured lights to guarantee a relaxing and peaceful atmosphere. A soft toy, shaped like a bird, hangs from the bar and has lots of tactile and sound features. The I-FEEL also comes with an MP3 connector slot.

The pure.bio toiletry range, also from Chicco, contains carefully selected natural ingredients from organic farms, combined with soft and delicate scents and is sure to be popular with retailers looking to extend their natural and organic range or add to their existing line of Chicco products.

Nicole Daley, Public Relations manager for Orbit Baby was keen for us to see its innovative range of pushchairs. The company has experienced tremendous success in the United States where its premium products are favourites of A-list celebrities.

Kind und Jugend is always an important time of year for British heritage brand Silver Cross, and 2010 was no exception. This year has seen the world’s oldest nursery manufacturer continue development of the prolific Surf pram range, which has proved enormously popular both in the UK and overseas. There were a host of new fabrics and colours on display, generating huge interest in the state-of-the-art pram and pushchair.

Further exciting developments included brand new additions to the range of lightweight strollers, and also some new soft activity toys, with the launch of the ‘Riverbank’ collection, which joins the well-established ‘Homegrown’ range.

In addition to these exciting exhibits, Silver Cross gave the world its first glimpse of the brand new Studio Collection range – featuring high quality, solid wood nursery furniture and beautiful ranges of bedding and décor.

With the excitement generated on the Silver Cross stand for these new products and developments, Britain’s favourite nursery brand looks set for a very productive 2011!

Orbit Baby’s newest product, the G2 pushchair, is the result of a two-year process of real world user research and advanced engineering by the Orbit Baby design team and has already received rave reviews. Orbit Baby’s G2 is a four-piece modular system that includes a pushchair chassis, seat, rocker frame, and carrycot. The pushchair seat can be transformed from forward-facing upright, to parent-facing reclined, with just a squeeze of the side levers. The G2 also has a patent-pending QuadShockTM 4-wheel suspension system. What’s more, all Orbit Baby fabrics and foams are eco-certified Oeko-Tex Standard 100.

Orbit Baby’s G2 is supported by a complete line of accessories, including: Car Seat Adapter for Maxi-Cosi, Stroller Panniers, Green Edition Footmuffs, Stroller Travel Bag, and Weather Packs. In select countries outside of Europe, the Infant Car Seat,Toddler Car Seat, Stroller G2, and Bassinet Cradle G2 are sold separately. A fantastic product that makes transitioning from out and about to home to sleep so much easier, UK parents who lead busy, well-travelled lifestyles will love the entire range.

Over at CONCORD, Andreas Hess, Creative Director, was kind enough to talk me through an impressive range of developments. Demonstrating the Concord ABSORBER XT child car seat for Group 1 he pointed out its double-layer safety shells and, demonstrating the Isofix system, explained the high level of travel safety provided. The height and width of the headrest is adjustable, while an additional point in its favour is its very comfortable reclining position. New ideas for the seat design include a step and recessed grips that enable children to climb in and out of the seat unaided.

Hippychick

The CONCORD TRANSFORMER T PRO is based on the CONCORD TRANSFORMER T safety technology, but is two child car seats in one, suitable for Groups 1 and 1/111. With its special impact cushion it can be used for children from nine months; without the impact cushion it can then be used from age three through to twelve years. The newly developed CONCORD AIR meanwhile, will be introduced to the public as a pilot series. The Group 0+ baby seat is incredibly light, making it easier to carry around by day or transfer from the car to buggy. In the 2011 collection, all CONCORD car seats are available in six new, up to the minute designs.

   The CONCORD range of buggies has also been extended. The two Travel System buggies, the CONCORD NEO and CONCORD FUSION are now also available within the Quantum Series. The sporty CONCORD NEO buggy is offered in the 2011 COLLECTION in six new, up to the minute designs. It also has a new, spacious luggage net with plenty of room for the shopping. The practical parking brake on the handle is also new.

   There is also a new buggy model: the CONCORD QUIX. Thanks to its new wheel concept, the small lightweight smart buggy combines compact dimensions with a very comfortable ride. Together with an extremely long backrest, it can be transformed to make a flat surface to lie down on.

In the LIVING line, the CONCORD SPIN is a compact highchair that can be folded flat in just a few steps and as the legs can be adjusted to four different heights, the child is always at the right height to see what’s going on. It is available in three designs with covers in contrasting colours.

   The new 2011 collection from Kiddy includes two 3-in-1 travel systems: the ‘kiddy sprort’n move’ and the ‘kiddy click’n move’.

The sport’n move is a sporty all rounder. Parents can choose from a three-wheeled and four-wheeled model in four attractive colour combinations black/blue, black/charcoal, navy/black, silver/black and red/pink. An infant carrier, carrycot or seat unit can be easily fixed on the robust aluminium chassis and removed just as easily.

The kiddy click’n move is a chic ‘about town runner’, says the company, available in the classic colours of black, charcoal grey, navy and red. If parents like to go bright, they will love the new designs in turquoise, green, orange, beige, black and red. With a simple ‘click’ they can switch between infant carrier, carry cot and seat unit.

   Bright Starts is the award winning infant brand developed and distributed by Kids II. From the first product in 1969 that kept infants from slipping in the bath tub to today’s eco-friendly swings and bouncers, Bright Starts has contributed to the industry greatly. The InGenuity Collection, Comfort & Harmony and Bright Starts toys are all collections under the Bright Starts umbrella. “With these product collections, we have successfully combined unprecedented and meaningful advancements with sophisticated styling, such as not having to change a battery in a swing the first year of baby’s life,” said Peter Jackson, Executive Vice President of marketing and product development.

The InGenuity Automatic Bouncer (above) is an example of the brand’s unique advancements. Unlike other bouncers that just vibrate; it provides automatic, natural bouncing that mimic’s mum’s gentle motion. The HybriDrive technology provides a hands free option to soothe baby during times when bouncing baby is not an option. HybriDrive also extends the bouncer’s battery life to more than twice that of a typical bouncer.

   JJ Cole Collections has extended its soft collection with the Wearable Blanket, a100% breathable cotton, sleeveless design that fits over regular sleepwear, eliminating the need for loose blankets in the cot while keeping baby covered and warm all night.  Machine washable and flame resistant, it offers extra safety through a back harness for use in car seat, swing or bouncer.

Responding to the requests of parents, JJ Cole Collections has also developed a car seat cover which fits over car seats and standard size strollers while allowing safety straps to lie directly on the child.  Wind and water resistant it protects baby from the elements in any season.  It has a soft inner fleece lining for comfort and warmth and a removable top for easy temperature control.

   ICandy was proud to release its latest product, the Strawberry. Featuring beautiful soft touch fabrics the Strawberry has a one hand STEP AND STAND FOLD system to enable the lightweight chassis to be free standing when folded and features the unique iCandy MEMORY system which includes an auto alignment seat unit which clicks back into the last used position when unfolded.

The ICandy Cherry Special Edition was also unveiled at the show. Inspired by the iconic Union Jack, the company is confident that it has created a must-have stroller for any fashion conscious parent.

   Mamas & Papas presented all the products in its range stylishly as ever. We loved Baby Snug, a two piece seat that adjusts as baby grows – simply by removing the seat insert. Ideal as baby’s first seat, it has been ergonomically designed to provide comfort and support. Easy to clean and lightweight, it is perfect for inside and outside use. It also comes with a tray to aid play times and mealtimes. The first stage is for use when baby can support his own head, the second stage for when baby outgrows the first stage seat.

Commenting on behalf of changing bag brand Koochu, Suzanne Hobday said: "Kind and Jugend was a very successful first trade show for Koochu. We met many new potential retailers from small independents to large department stores and lots of interest from distributors overseas. Kind and Jugend has given Koochu the confidence that this will be a very successful season."

Having really made its mark last year, Bloom was back with its urban cot/crib and a range of other cool and contemporary furniture and gear to reflect modern living. We loved the Coco, a stylish baby lounger and the Otto a table and chair set suitable from 18 months.

   The Baby nest cover from Popolini stood out too, as comfortably made from knitted organic terry, it allows parents to transform any nursing pillow into a baby’s nest.

   LebensQualitat has created a product line that protects against skin irritations. Called Sign of Nature, this line of clothing and accessories is actually made from wood!  Gabrielle Diller explained that beneath aiming at sustainability with the wood based fibre Tencel, the whole production from spinning, knitting, finishing and making-up takes place in Germany using modern and ecological production technologies. Great as a gift purchase, UK retailers wanting to offer something a little bit different should find out more about this company.

   Learning Curve’s Lamaze brand remains dedicated to offering parents products that focus on infant development, while at the same time providing opportunities for them to bond and interact with baby.  Lamaze introduced a new line of books for babies at the show which, featuring content written by prominent child development expert Dorothy Singer, includes several new soft books, board books and book and plush gift sets that offer parents and baby an opportunity to bond through the experience of sharing a book. Each book also includes play ideas, ways to use the book, benefits of reading to a child and gives an overview of developmental stages for each age range.

Just a small selection of products available at the show, to find out more read the review in full at www.nursery-industry.co.uk

Orbit Baby

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