Zip Us In

​In February 2013 on a cold visit to Weymouth, I discovered I had hit the point in pregnancy where my vast belly would no longer fit in to my lovely Berghaus jacket that I had treated myself to just weeks before discovering I was pregnant.  My choice was to either invest in a maternity coat at around £80+ or try and make it through the final 3 months with what I had.  With so many other things to buy for the new arrival, I went with the second option and simply wore my jacket with my belly sticking through the open zip).  It was on this day that I mentioned to my husband, that somewhere in the big wide world must be an item that can just expand my own jacket.  It seemed like an obvious product to me, that surely someone must have invented before now.  A google search was fruitless and instantly my creative mind started ticking over.  A few doodles took place and then before I knew it, we had a new baby and life was crazy! 
 
I was keen to get out walking again and our newest family member was wrapped in to a sling to join me. Walking in to the village to pop to the post office could often be quite a work up.  Getting the baby into a coat, then into the slightly complicated wrap carrier before putting on my own coat was just half the battle. When I got to the nice warm post office, the sleeping baby had to come out for her coat to be removed and I had to undo the carrier to be able to take off my own coat.  My mind went back to any old idea about extending my own jacket and now this potential item had even more use!  With the help of my Mum, we knocked up a sample which consisted of a panel of waterproof soft-shell that I could zip straight in to my own jacket.  This useful item not only become essential to me, but I was often stopped by other parents when using it to ask where I had purchased it from.  The Entrepreneur in me surfaced from beneath the baby brain and I got to work.  My panel design was submitted for a patent and I found just the right person to start producing my Zip Us In panels to order.  A created my own simple website and my second company was born! 
 
With the power of social media, the word spread rapidly and I was overwhelmed with the incredible feedback I was receiving not to mention the superb level of orders.  I believed wholeheartedly that the product I had developed not only saved a customer money during pregnancy, but also provided an incredible useful solution to parents when babywearing.  The ability to cut down the risk of a baby overheating when in a carrier was a huge benefit and the buyers at Boots agreed.   Just a few short years on and our products are stocked in Boots stores all over the UK. In 2016, we exhibited at one of Europe’s largest nursery trade fairs in Cologne.  This opportunity gave us the perfect platform to introduce our product range to distributors and retailers all over the world.  The rapid growth of the business has been astounding and Zip Us In products are now available  in 32 countries via high street stores, small independent retailers, online shops and Amazon. 
 
There have been countless late nights and a non stop flow of customer enquiries that I always respond to personally, but I wouldn’t change a thing and I am determined to ensure the Zip Us In panel is available world wide very soon.

Thank you to Kate from Zip Us In for writing this blog for us.  If you're exhibiting at Dorset Bump to Baby Show 2018 and would like to feature in our Guest Blog Spot please contact Zoe and Claire at dorsetbumptobabyshow@gmail.com

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