Cuddledry the very first company to introduce the apron towel, making life for mums a little bit easier at bath time. A must have for all new parents. The multi award winning company Cuddledry has now gone on to create an amazing range of bath time products for your little ones. With all their towel ranges being super soft and super warm. We both had Cuddledry aprons when are toddlers were babies and so you can imagine how excited we were to interview them. We totally love their range of products and if you are looking for gift ideas for little ones this Christmas then you must check out Cuddledry’s range of products.

RM: Tell us how Cuddledry was born?

CD: Helen and I both had young children and one weekend a lot of friends (mums and dads plus their babies) were staying at my house. It was bathtime and Helen and I were watching all the dads struggle to hold up a towel while simultaneously trying to safely lift their wriggly slippery babies from the bath. They all got drenched. It was perfectly obvious that there was a simple solution to this struggle that everyone seems to have. Getting baby out of the bath has even been cited the most stressful time for many parents. Having both hands free to pick up baby without having to hold up a towel was the key – the solution was clear but we could find no product on the market designed to solve this problem. So we made one . We took our prototypes to the “Launchpad” of the largest UK trade show for the nursery industry. Immediately we had established charities such as the National Childbirth Trust and also major retailers like Mothercare – who thought the idea was fantastic and then placed orders. Dozens of awards for the product followed (Cuddledry has won over 40 awards to date including GOLD in the Mumsnet BEST “gift for newborn” category every year for the last 8 years), and we were asked to appear on TV (Dragons Den). We turned down all three offers of the full investment, and have retained control ourselves ever since. We have worked with leading childcare charities, maternity nurses, midwives, and Cuddledry is used to train the world’s best nannies in practical bathtime skills.

RM:How did you come about the idea of the cuddle apron?

CD: We cut up sheets and practised using a teddy bear – to find the best design to solve this age old problem. We agreed that the simplest, and to us-the most obvious solution, made the best design. A safe easy popper pull to release the towel and keep baby wrapped warm -no extra straps to undo – double layers for insulation and warmth – supersoft bamboo for sensitive baby skin and superabsorbancy – as well as being a point of difference and eco-friendly.

RM: What are you favourite products from your range?

CD: The flagship product is the Original Cuddledry Baby “hands-free” towel. This product is the one that all parents have on their wish list and cited as a must-have for newborns. It has won so many awards consistently every year – and parents and babies alike love it. We do a range of different colours and funky patterns now but the concept is the same and the special fabric and unique design just make the Cuddledry the absolute best for baby.

RM: Can you give any advise to mums who are looking to set up their own business?

CD: Do your research – just because you think you have a good idea – make sure everyone else does too. Don’t just ask friends who will all want to agree with your ideas – ask lots of other people, including professional business advisors and people in the trade, as well as end consumers. Think global from the start – consider cultural differences and how that may impact on your future sales – and make sure you consider global pricing strategies. Ask advise from govt agencies such as business link, chambers of commerce, or UKTI. There will be funds and grants available to you as a new start up business. Having a business partner helps – the road will be rocky and sometimes like a rollercoaster. It helps to have someone to cheer alongside you when things go well, as well as cry with you when things go wrong.

RM: What are your plans for the future of cuddle dry?

CD: Cuddledry will continue to grow steadily in the UK as more and more parents share their experience with other new parents. We find so often that once parents have used a Cuddledry and realised how much it makes bathtime easy and stress-free, then they often buy all their friends a Cudddledry as a new baby gift. Cuddledry is now definitely a “go-to” present as a newborn baby gift and we estimate over 50% of our sales are to customers buying Cuddledry as a much-needed gift for a friend with a new baby. Outside of the UK, we see similar growth and awareness in far flung places such as SE Asia, the Middle East and Russia. There are other markets that are very keen to bring Cuddledry to parents in other regions, such as the USA and India. So we are very optimistic about the future – there is no reason why parents all over the world should not benefit from Cuddledry’s simple practical solution to the age-old bathtime juggling act experienced by parents everywhere.
As well as expanding into new territories, Cuddledry will continue to expand it’s range of award-winning products within the swim, bath and beach markets for babies and young children – keeping everything practical, as well as gorgeous – soft, absorbant, anti-bacterial, natural, safe, clever, innovative and unique. Our brilliant hair towels for young children, and natural latex rubber duck toy/teethers are just some of the newer products in our range that are receiving rave reviews.

Although regarded as the best baby towel, with awards bestowed upon Cuddledry by consumers and trade alike – we are still a small company run by two working mums. Like other mums we share the constant juggle of running a company between school hours with being there for our family – being a mum to six young children between us and growing a global business is not easy. We don’t have the big advertising budgets that we might otherwise have, so we are thrilled when parents spread the word for us. Social media is the modern day word of mouth, and Cuddledry receives very strong positive exposure within the online parenting world. This is crucial for us and we are thrilled to read that Cuddledry is cited as useful, practical, and essential to new parents. We would like to say thank you to everyone who tweets and blogs about Cuddledry, or shares images on Instagram and talks about Cuddledy on facebook. We are so very grateful to all our supporters who spread the word and share their experiences and buy Cuddledry for their friends. Cuddledry really does make life easier for parents and we would be so pleased if one day all parents knew about Cuddledry towels and were able to benefit from using one.

See www.cuddledry.com to see the whole range offered by Cuddledry.