Babywear firm has no teething problems after turnover surge
Cheeky Chompers set to expand product range as demand grows
CHEEKY Chompers, the Edinburgh-based babywear firm set up by two new mothers, is set to double turnover again, to about £2.5 million, as it expands distribution and its product range.
Julie Wilson and Amy Livingstone won Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year at last year’s Entrepreneur of the Year Awards and the business has kicked on from that milestone, with significant growth in the US and expansion into the Chinese market.
“We’re now in 33 countries and 65 per cent of turnover is export,” said Ms Wilson.
The company, which is best known for its chewable baby teething Neckerchew bib, now has four products in the market – including Chewy, a sensory hippo-shaped toy.
“Chewy has hit the world by storm” said Ms Wilson, revealing the toy is now on sale in more than 400 stores in the US, including in the upmarket Nordstrom chain.
The founders, who established the business after meeting at an antenatal class, grew turnover by 600 per cent from year one to two, before doubling it to £1.2m the following year.
The recent appointment of a sales manager took staff numbers to eight and a new marketing manager is set to take that to nine.
“It’s about getting the right people with the right skills sets, and making sure the factory can keep up with demand,” said Ms Wilson.
The factory in question is in Glasgow, just along the M8 from Cheeky Chompers headquarters. TotsBots may be best known for its reusable nappies, but 21 staff there are employed to work on Cheeky Chompers lines – providing more jobs for the Scottish economy.
“We’re lucky to have a good partner, and they have grown with us,” said Ms Wilson. “It’s much more manageable than if it was in China, for example. They can produce at the pace we need them to, and that’s a worry for a lot of businesses, keeping up with demand.”
As Cheeky Chompers grows, it has faced challenges relating to intellectual property theft, which Ms Wilson described as the business’s biggest challenge.
“We’ve had good advice but you can’t protect yourself around the world so our strategy is very much to protect everywhere we can and be the best. The quality is right, we safety test to within an inch of our lives, way above what’s needed to be done.
“And the fact we’re made in the UK is a real point of difference.”
Ms Wilson revealed a further two products were in development, but we’ll have to wait for further details.
“We don’t want to have too many products, but we do want to enhance what we’ve got and ensure the range is the best it can be to stay ahead of the market,” she said.
With the children that inspired the original neckerchew getting bigger Ms Wilson and Ms Livingstone’s also see an opportunity to expand the range for older children.
“The market is constantly renewing with new babies, so we can keep developing teething products or we can move with the market, move up the stages with babies and look at what innovations we could develop as they get older, and we’ve got lots of ideas.”
The company is also giving back to the entrepreneurial community that nurtured it. They were invited by former Prime Minister David Cameron to speak at Entrepreneurs Exchange, a series of seminars across the UK. The couple also spoke at the Entrepreneurial Scotland Annual Conference at Gleneagles.
“Entrepreneurial Scotland opened doors into a community we weren’t part of and it’s been amazing,” said Ms Wilson.
“It’s great for Scotland to have that community, to have people who have been there and done that, who’ve run their businesses, actually offering to share their time, advice and experience. It’s so impressive that people are willing to share.”
Richard Slater, partner and head of entrepreneurial business for Deloitte in Scotland, said: “We recognise how vital entrepreneurial businesses are for the Scottish economy and saw real potential in Cheeky Chompers.
“They took a common problem faced by parents and solved it with their product – a perfect starting point for success in enterprise. Since then, the company has grown at a rapid pace, which has been satisfying to watch.”
Entrepreneurial Scotland, in association with business advisory firm Deloitte and media partner The Herald, recently announced that the search is on to find this year’s Entrepreneur of the Year Awards winners.
‘‘ We don’t want to have too many products, but we do want to enhance what we’ve got and ensure the range is the best it can be to stay ahead