Many of the best brands start with a light bulb moment but factor in a newborn and sleepless nights and it's hard to fathom how some of our most well known childcare brands got started at all.
Parenthood signals a shift in gear and leads to a re-evaluation of working life so perhaps it's not surprising that hard-pressed parents end up starting up their own businesses.
And suddenly confronted with being a number one problem solver when the products designed to help them don't work - they go on to design their own.
Here is a run down of baby and children's brands that started small, dared to dream big and have become bestsellers.
Trunki
The children's ride on luggage company made a less than auspicious appearance on Dragons' Den in 2006 when Theo Paphitis pulled the handle of one of its suitcases and it broke, causing the other Dragons to question the quality of the design.
Founder Rob Law asked for £100,000 in exchange for a 10% share of his business, but he left without an investment - not that he is worried about that now.
Trunki has sold more than four million suitcases, in over 100 countries worldwide, through retailers including John Lewis, Argos, Harrods, Tesco and Next.
Children’s ride-along suitcases have now become a familiar sight at airports and Trunki clocked up record sales of £9.5million in 2019.
Most Read
Law has gone on to write a book – 65 Roses and a Trunki – to help anyone facing difficult challenges in life and business.
Born with cystic fibrosis (children often call the disease “65 Roses”) Mr Law watched his twin sister die from the same illness at just 16 years old. Told he could not expect to live into his twenties or start a family, he has become a father-of-three and found success with his company, Magmatic, which employs 80 people at his 海角视频 factory in Plymouth and his head office in Bristol. All of his creations are designed in England and distributed worldwide.
Read more success stories
Splash About International
Founded in 2006 by Desri and Robin Goodwin, the Grimsby-based business is best known for its Happy Nappy which has sold in its millions.
The family firm was bought out in 2011 by Lesley Beach and Bernadette Spofforth who have gone on to develop the Splash About range, which now includes swimwear, toys, goggles and accessories.
In 2020, the business expanding into huge new premises to bring in-house its online pick and pack and retail logistics Stallingborough, near Grimsby.
It is currently rolling out an entire new range to 1,000 leisure centres and holiday parks and has listings with Amazon, Boots, JoJo Maman Bebe, Sainsbury’s and Macy’s.
Don’t miss
Its latest launch is the redesigned Happy Nappy which has been developed to now keep harmful bacteria and viruses - including Covid 19, cryptosporidium and E.coli, which can’t easily be killed by chlorine alone - out of pool water.
Frugi
The Cornish ethical kids fashion company was started by married couple Lucy and Kurt Jewson who struggled to find clothes to cover their newborn’s cloth nappies.
They changed the name from Cut4Cloth in 2008 to Frugi - meaning fruit of the earth in Latin.
Two years later, it expanded into its purpose-built HQ as sales grew. It is now the 海角视频’s leading ethical and organic children’s clothing brand, found globally in over 550 retailers across 30 countries.
True, the retail and consumer investment and innovation firm, took a majority stake in Frugi in July 2018 signalling further growth.
With a staff of over 75 based in Cornwall, Frugi have been expanding operations with a recent acquisition of TotsBots, a reusable nappy brand, as well as important executive hires.
In 2020, it open a shipping centre in Holland to better deal with Brexit regulations and anticipated delays as it handles an increasing volume of European-based online and wholesale orders.
Frugi uses GOTS certified organic cotton with outerwear made from recycled plastic bottles.
Hippychick
The Somerset baby company was founded 1999 and is best known for its Hipseat baby carrier. It has gone on to become a £3million turnover business with a range of products, including its all-in-one waterproofs.
The Bridgwater-based firm, was founded at the kitchen table by mum-of-three Julia Minchin in 1999.
She came up with the innovative back-saving Hipseat to help solve the problem of back pain while carrying a baby.
Last year, the company, which sells 5,000 retail pieces every year, took the bold step of bringing some of its manufacturing back to the 海角视频 from India because of supply chain issues.
The business outsourced production to Somerset-based baby accessories specialist Thimble.
Managing director Ms Minchin said: "Customers are so used to ordering and getting next-day delivery. No one wants to have to wait weeks and even months, particularly with baby products which are outgrown at such a pace.
Hippychick's products had been manufactured in India but container shortages, border control and a lack of lorry drivers had caused issues.
But manufacturing in Britain was "considerably more expensive" than in Asia, said Ms Minchin.
Biovault Family
Biovault Family is the 海角视频's largest private human tissue bank which is licensed to handle all human tissue types including cord blood and tissue.
It offers personalised cord blood and tissue processing and storage services to parents who wish to bank their babies' umbilical cord blood because it is rich in stem cells.
There are also more than 80 conditions that can be treated using umbilical cord stem cells including leukaemia, cerebral palsy and thalassaemia. Your baby’s stem cells can also potentially match and treat their siblings or parents if required.
Launched in 2004 and based in Plymouth’s International Medical and Technology Park, beside its partners at Derriford Teaching Hospital, Biovault Family provides tissue and cellular processing and storage to the NHS and to strategic private partners around the world.
Its umbilical cord blood and tissue banking service works by retrieving cord blood — a rich source of stem cells — from the umbilical cord of a new born after delivery and stored for future use, either for personal use, or by a close member of the family.
Toddlekind
Founder Samantha Brückner worked as a waitress for several years before founding Toddlekind, which is now selling playmats and other accessories for new mums and dads in 46 countries and has broken into the US market.
The Plymouth-based baby products company, favoured by Pippa Middleton and other celebrities, was started in November 2018 and has already generated 7million euros in revenue and is now looking to double the 4million euro turnover it made in 2021.
Toddlekind is a provider of Scandi-inspired playmats and interior accessories. The mats are free from chemicals such as BPA, formaldehyde, phthalates, heavy metals and latex.
Mrs Brückner has diversified the product range from playmats to incorporate play rugs, clean wean mats, organic cotton mats, storage baskets and a range of accessories for babies and toddlers.
The products are sold worldwide with retailers including Natural Baby Shower and Scandiborn with major new department and online stores to be announced soon.
Munchy Play
When founder Sophia Procter was made redundant from her job in communications with British Airways, she decided to plough all her redundancy money into launching her own children's brand, Munchy Play.
Started in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic - Sophia's meal time dramas with her fussy eater toddler inspired her to create the first-ever children’s plate with a built-in track for toy trains and cars.
Munchy Play has since been named one of the most promising start-ups of 2021 by The Sunday Times.
Its new collection is a partnership with Thomas & Friends™.
Sophia said that during lockdown in June 2020 she spotted the rise of parenting hacks with families at home with children off school - and she knew it was the right time to launch her product.
Sophia said: "Going from working for a global brand to starting your own business is a massive change.
"Launching your own business is exciting, courageous and ballsy. Can I say that? It is! I think it’s right to give it due consideration and thought, because it will change the course of your life. The Japanese call it ‘ikiga’ it means your ‘reason for being’ - once you find that, nothing will stand in your way."
The Gro Company
Founded in 2000 by Devon couple Rob and Ouvrielle Holmes, the Gro Company pioneered the first baby sleep bag that set the safety standard for the industry.
They were inspired to start the brand by their own struggles getting their first child to sleep and found that by being coccooned in a sleep bag, their little one slept soundly.
The former nightclub owner and arts executive left their jobs and grew the business while looking after their four children and with the help of a £35,000 bank loan.
The company has gone on to develop a range of products and in 2018 was sold to the Mayborn Group, the global giant behind for a cool £22million.
If you want more stories like this...
You can sign up to our e-bulletins of business news direct from our regional editors or our weekly round-up of the best articles in key sectors. Sign up here