Nicole Graham founded Ziggle Baby when she discovered that zip fastenings worked better for her baby than poppers. The business is now award-winning and offers products at various price points to cater to all parents
In 2012 I made some sleepsuits with zip fastenings for my wriggly baby daughter, as they were so much easier than traditional poppers when changing her. I thought other parents might benefit too and researched this idea and then took the first step into business and launched a tiny range of suits and bibs. My aim is still to enable parents to afford attractive looking products that make parenting babies easier.
Tell us about your product offering.
Fast forward 12 years since launch and the Ziggle range has expanded into many categories suitable for baby gifting. From cute and cuddly, to plain and subtle, to bright and bold, there's a Ziggle design to suit every outfit and everyone's tastes.
What are your most popular products?
We have won over 20 awards and are most well-known for our dribble bibs because their design and quality make them so useful for parents with teething babies aka drool monsters! A close runner up would be our large, thick muslin squares, again because they literally are essential for parents coping with a baby’s mess!
Have any styles taken you by surprise with their popularity?
Our new Bunnies collection has been incredibly popular. Whilst the team here loved the design, you never know until the product is out there and selling through.
How do you keep your designs fresh and current? Do you follow trends?
It's crucial that we offer designs that parents want to dress their babies in. Our accessories need to match their babies' outfits so offering products that match colour trends is important. We also want to offer fun designs and patterns that appeal to today's parents, so continuous research is integral to how we do things.
What sets you apart from your competitors?
We offer coordinated collections of varied baby gifts at great value price points to offer something for every budget.
How are you finding the current climate in the UK? Is it affecting business?
I think it's really difficult for retailers as there are increasing ways the consumer will spend their money and buying products such as gifts is competing with ever increasing alternative expenses on 'non-essentials' such as buying a coffee, media subscriptions, leisure memberships etc.
I firmly believe human beings will continue to want to indulge themselves in the physical shopping experience, particularly for important emotional purchases such as gifts. Being able to browse a wide range of products, to touch them and be advised on product benefits and features by friendly, knowledgeable retail staff are strong factors that will continue to pull shoppers into their local indies.
Are you active on social media? How is this important for the business?
We try and support our retailers' social media activities by providing content through regularly introducing new designs and seasonal ranges supported by lifestyle imagery.
Do you have any advice for new businesses starting out in the world of gifts?
Research, research, research and then try small to see what works. Adapt as needed and enjoy the journey!
Launches of new design collections and expanding collections into new product categories suitable for baby gifting.
What challenges have you overcome since the company's launch?
After 12 years the list is long! But probably the hardest setback was the financial loss when an artic lorry load of products was stolen whilst the lorry was parked. Needless to say, we have increased our insurance since then!
