focus BATHTIME
Bathtime
bliss
The bath time category continues to grow and evolve. Are you cleaning up in this category?
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athtime products will continue to be sought by parents as bathing a baby or toddler quickly becomes an established daily routine. Bathing a baby or toddler is a time for complete one to one interaction and offers a daily activity assisting in the general development of skill sets. This routine is also one that requires parents stay with their child and guarantees quality time between parent and infant. While products that fall within this category are seeing a steady growth, we asked Hardenberg&Co’s Managing Director, Julie Ebrey, whether there are any key aspects that may currently be driving this? “Bathtime has always been one of the key parts of the bedtime routine. More ergonomically designed bathing products have been making an entry into the market, making bathtime more comfortable for baby while also allowing baby to have more fun at bathtime. “For parents, safety and security are crucial factors in choice of product. With more products available, parents will now buy items that are suited to the age and stage of the baby or different products offering bathing situations. For example, previously they may have only bought one product to last until babies could use a bath seat or sit up in the bath.” As this is an activity that is part of a daily routine, we asked BabyDam’s Director, Deborah Piner, whether she felt this was a category that is researched online prior to purchase. “With COVID 19 restricting access to our high streets, online research has taken a firm and probably permanent hold on influencing the consumer. It is vitally important that brands utilise as many online tools as possible, particularly those that involve live interaction, to
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showcase products to customers.” Through great innovation, product ranges have continued to grow and develop – from towels, bath thermometers, baby baths, bath supports - all the way through to bath time toys. This category offers a great fast moving footfall generator, however, are consumers focussed on brand names? “They certainly are. From a design point of view there are some superb well designed branded products available to parents.” Comments Julie. “I am always concerned about the amount of copy-cat products creeping into this category readily available at the click of a button, not always meeting the stringent safety standards that the branded products have to adhere to. Parents can get confused and often go on to purchase because of price.” While talking about innovation, does the bathtime category continue to innovate with new products emerging? “In recent years there seems to have been more innovation than previously and new brands have appeared with great success,” said Deborah. “Necessity is always the mother of invention and we should never think that there is nothing new to be discovered. At BabyDam we are now devoting more time than ever to exploring new ideas especially from our valuable customer feedback around the world.” Baby baths are an example of a product that is considered a ‘must have’ for new parents on their pre-birth shopping list as they enable a parent to bathe their little one without having to resort to the use of a full-sized bath, or as an example, using the BabyDam that enables a smaller area within the tub to be used while not filling the entire bath length. However, are we seeing a continued interest also in
baby support seats and if so, are we sending out the correct safety information with regard to their use? Julie feels that all bathtime products should be bought that bear the correct safety standards. “Ensuring safety standards are met are an aspect of sound product engineering but also ensuring that the consumer understands the correct use of the product and the risks involved with any bathing product are critical.” Said Julie. “We believe that we tick the box on both of these counts. Our bathing products have been in the Global market for many years and we are constantly evaluating safety as a key focus.” Deborah agrees, stating that “The message that needs to be reinforced time after time is that babies should never be left unattended.” As bathtime is an enjoyable activity for both parent and child, how important are bathtime toys? We asked Deborah what elements she feels parents are looking for with regard to toys that have been specifically designed for this purpose? “Parents are extremely aware of the need for toys that will aid the development of their child. However bathtime is a special time for bonding and so toys that involve parents as well as the child will always be popular. A major concern that we hear regularly from parents is that their bath toys may be breeding grounds for harmful mould and bacteria which can cause allergic reactions and even asthma. Therefore parents are looking for toys that are easy to keep spotlessly clean and this will affect the purchasing decision.” Take a look at the following pages, where you will find a selection of bathtime products that are all available to order now.
