Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Birth, Babies and Beyond – Norway
world your kid can see on your shoulders,” Johnson adds. “Our goal is for it to be easy and fun to involve your kids in your life. For example, if you’re mowing the lawn, rather than them lying in a pram or on the lawn, they’re part of the activity, you can talk to them, point at things and so on,” Johnson explains. The greatest advantage is that it really frees up everyone’s hands. Rather than clutch your toddler’s legs, you can hand them a grape and hold someone’s hand. It’s a remarkably simple idea, and it’s no surprise that the product has taken off since they launched it publicly with a global patent in 2015, after four years of playing around with it for personal use. “Things really exploded especially in the US from day one,” says Johnson. “We sold two MiniMeis a day, then five, then ten, and suddenly it was a 100 per day. It grew very, very quickly.” By dads, for dads – and their families No doubt, part of this success is thanks to Time Magazine naming MiniMeis one of the Top 100 Inventions of the Year in 2019, a fact that MiniMeis proudly displays on their website. They are also efficient marketers with a personal touch, as they are all involved in making their
The MiniMeis G4 comes in five colours.
own promotional material, and they feature stories of people using the MiniMeis all over the world. The company has now sold over 100,000 MiniMeis to over 150 countries. “We’re quite certain that a reason we’ve made such a breakthrough internationally is that it’s been developed by and for dads, and so few products in the for-children industry are made by dads. It’s mostly focused on mothers,” Johnson reflects. “And so the recent trend of fathers taking on more responsibilities has worked well for us.”
The increased role dads are taking in childrearing is something that some consider as typically Scandinavian – it perhaps comes as no surprise that this company was created by three Norwegian dads – but Johnson is quick to emphasise that this is a world-wide trend. “Dads are taking more responsibility everywhere, and we think it’s great to help push that – we’re really focused on the father being present from a young age.” Web: minimeis.com Instagram: @minimeis
Petting horse. The MiniMeis makes it easier for the child to interact with the world.
Co-founder Tarjei Espolin Johnson with wife and head of marketing, Nina, and son.
The MiniMeis can easily be carried when the child wants to walk.
January 2022 | Issue 138 | 47
