Ex city banker, mum of 2 started a home based baby gift business www.4little1s.com and sharing her experiences In terms of the next few months, I am very interested to see how the baby market reacts generally to the economy, but am not too worried from the latest data I can find:
- Hippychick announced sales up 25%
- Nursery Market up on last year
- Average price of a nursery item now stands at £26.64
- Baby carrier market seems to be tipped for the market to watch
- Real nappy sales appear to be growing significantly (more on this below)
To me, this seems like an ideal time to get into the baby market, there are some strong products coming to market at the moment and despite the financial market concerns, expenditure in the nursery market is still strong. One area I noted and have been keeping a very close eye on over the last few years has been the growth of real nappies. There has been an amazing 40% increase in use in the UK as revealed by the EC report, 2005 saw sales of £5m jump to £7m in 2007. Bambino Mio, one of the main players in this area has reported 'substantial' sale volume and indicate a real consumer focus in the ethical market. (Fair trade is a clear example of this and we would all be advised to keep a very close eye on this area.) Look out for REAL NAPPY WEEK to raise awareness in this area and I suggest reading the EC report in the meantime.
Below I list some headline facts and figures relating to real nappies that might be of interest according to some of the sources I have found on various websites.
It is estimated that real nappies could save you around £500 on the cost of keeping a baby in nappies.
Real nappies 'all in' cost about £50. (nappies,waterproof covers etc) This is roughly a couple of months of disposables.
Generally made of superabsorbent chemicals, paper pulp, plastics and adhesives.
Approx 3 billion nappies are thrown away in the UK every year according to Market Intelligence April 2004
Nappy schemes now play a key role in local authorities' waste strategies
Ten top tips to help the environment from the WEN website
- Use an energy efficient washing machine
- Wash soiled nappies at 60oC
- Wash wet nappies and waterproof wraps at lower temperatures along with the rest of your laundry
- Avoid tumble drying – hang nappies out to dry or use an airer
- Avoid soaking – store nappies dry in a lidded bucket
- Avoid using unnecessary chemicals such as conditioners and sanitizers
- Use eco-detergent
- Never iron nappies or wraps
- Use washable liners
As always, if you would like to visit our baby gift web site it is