Ringing in the changes
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YUMMIKEYS, the eco-friendly brand whose tinkling toys amuse and soothe babies and new mums, is branching out into personalised adult jewellery after seeing demand for keepsakes and sustainability increase.
Monthly sales have tripled since lockdown for the primarily online business founded in 2018 by motherof-three Elspeth Fawcett and based in Aberlady on Scotland’s east coast.
On course for a £1million turnover this year, Yummikeys’ sets of sensory rings, keys and feeding necklaces cater for newborns up to toddlers.
Made of cutlery grade stainless steel, they strike a particular chord with today’s parents, many now aware that 90 per cent of toys end up in landfill and who are keen to reduce the plastic they buy and then discard.
As well as cooling sore gums, Yummykeys’ chemical-free products, designed in Scotland and made in China, contain recycled steel, are fully recyclable and independently safety-tested.
With 10,000 of these potentially preventing 600 kilos of plastic toys going to landfill, trends already apparent among customers have become more sharply defined says Fawcett, whose concept was inspired by losing the family’s car keys after her son was playing with them.
When unable to find an entertaining toy substitute, she recalls: “I first thought of the keys at the time that stainless steel water flasks were being recognised and I made the connection. It took a year of planning before the launch.
“No one else in Europe designs and sells stainless steel baby products. We had to overcome a lot of wariness at first, but eco-conscious millennials are having families and companies with a plastic-free focus will do well as we enter a new era. “Our established position online helped as our business is in a market that is a fundamental part of life.”
The company employs two parttimers as well as Fawcett and and has a supply network of other local firms. Investment, beginning with £15,000, has been in-house with a considerable amount going into safety tests. Dentists have also advised at the design stage.
“Keeping full control has meant slower growth, but our start-up costs were low and we’re very agile,” adds Fawcett.
Having seen demand increase for its Yummi-Necklace, worn by mums as a calming distraction for babies at feeding time, she has now introduced the Ultrasound Necklace. Each of the £45 pendant’s silver or gold plated discs is engraved by an artist from the Highlands using a photograph of a baby’s unique scan image as a keepsake for mums.