Children's bike manufacturer Frog Bikes is gearing up to increase its head count by a third as its global exports continue to soar.
The Pontypool market leading manufacturer of lightweight, affordable kids鈥 bikes, has developed an extensive international portfolio since the business was formed eight years ago, with its products being sold in over 50 countries across four continents, including the USA and Hong Kong..
Earlier this year the company hit the headlines after Prince Louis was snapped riding one of its balance bikes in images released for the royal鈥檚 third birthday.
Established in 2013 by husband and wife duo Jerry and Shelley Lawson after they struggled to find suitable bikes for their children, Frog Bikes originally planned to focus solely on trade within the 海角视频, but immediate overseas interest saw the company start exporting in April of that year.
Since then, the company has operated with an international agenda and exports now account for 55% of its business and more than half of turnover. The company currently has around 1,800 retailers worldwide, including in America, Canada, Australia, China, New Zealand and a number of European nations.
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Most recently, Frog Bikes has secured contracts in Slovakia and Greenland, and is currently looking for new markets. It is also looking to expand its presence in the USA, the world鈥檚 largest children鈥檚 bike market, where more than three million kids鈥 bikes are sold a year.
The new job expansion will see 25 new roles being created.
Mr Lawson, director and co-founder at Frog Bikes, said: 鈥淓xporting is a fundamental part of our business and has played a key role in our growth over the last few years. The global market for children鈥檚 bikes is huge and offers plenty of opportunities for us, which is why we are looking to place even more of a drive on the international side of our business going forward.
鈥淔rance, Germany and the USA are particularly exciting markets for us as they are some of the largest in our sector. The children鈥檚 bike industry in the USA for example, sells three million kids鈥 bikes a year, compared to three quarters of a million in the 海角视频, so focusing on these regions will help us continue to grow.
Frog Bikes said its export growth and has been its strategy to recruit sales representatives on the ground in target countries to identify local stores, organise sales and implement marketing in local languages. It also provides bikes to local councils, schools and bike trainers.
In 2016, with the support of the Welsh Government, it moved to a 120,000 sq ft factory in Pontypool to enable it to increase its production capacity and subsequently increase its exports.
The factory now produces around 300 bikes a day with 54 staff. The company has an office in Ascot employing 35.
Since the pandemic, Frog Bikes has seen international demand for its products skyrocket, with pipeline sales for the next year more than double current levels
It is now looking to recruit additional staff across the business, including 15 factory workers and five to ten international reps, to enable it to ramp up production to meet growing demand.
On the company鈥檚 export journey, Mr Lawson said: 鈥淥pening our factory in Pontypool was a defining moment for us as it enabled us to be more responsive to the international market and have greater control over the quality of our products, so we are grateful the Welsh Government helped us with this venture.
鈥淪ince setting up our manufacturing headquarters in Wales five years ago, we have received a range of support from the Welsh Government through Business Wales, including financial aid to ensure our presence at major international trade shows, grants to recruit more staff, and help identifying potential contacts in new territories, which is really important for us.
鈥淥ver the last few years we have attended trade trips funded by the Welsh Government including Sweden, Denmark and Norway all in the same week. Part of our model relies on trusting our resellers and partners to promote our products so it鈥檚 essential for us to travel overseas and build relationships with them, as well as to get expert knowledge on their suitability.鈥
