Baby bib pair have lots to chew on

A BABY product developed by two Edinburgh businesswomen that combines a dribble-catching bib with a chewable teether has agreements with 20 baby goods retailers, less than two months after its launch.

The “Neckerchew”, developed by entrepreneurs Amy Livingstone and Julie Wilson, last week achieved a listing with the Jojo Maman Bébé chain, which has 40 UK stores, adding to existing stocking agreements with Amazon Baby Store, Fenwick’s and Kiddicare, plus tens of independent stores and boutiques throughout the UK.

The pair’s company, Cheeky Chompers is expecting to sell 20,000 bibs – which are made in Glasgow – within its first year of trading.

The two women, who met at antenatal class, describe their product as “offering the perfect solution for busy parents”.

“The concept came out of necessity,” said Wilson, who previously worked for Scottish Enterprise and VisitScotland.

“When Amy and I met friends with their babies, we all seemed to spend half our time picking up and resanitising dropped teethers. It was the simplicity in our initial idea that was so appealing: why not create a teething product that attached to the baby?”

The pair then experimented with various designs.

Wilson said: “The practical advantages of dribble bibs, plus their popularity, made bibs the natural design solution. The Neckerchew was born and Cheeky Chompers became a registered company in May 2012. We launched the product on February 1 this year.”

Livingstone said: “It’s really important to us that this be manufactured locally to try and keep jobs local, and to ensure that it’s a quality product … to keep it at the premium end [of the market].”

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