Baby care brand Cheeky Chompers is launching its first crowdfunding campaign on equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube.
The Edinburgh-based company plans to use the investment to further scale the business through new product development, direct sales growth and increased brand awareness in key markets.
Last year Cheeky Chompers won a Queen’s Award for enterprise for international trade.
Julie Wilson and Amy Livingstone launched Cheeky Chompers in 2013. The company’s debut product was the Neckerchew, a chewable dribble bib with an attached teether. The brand now has nine multi-use baby products as well as a range of items for children and adults with oral sensory issues.
With over 31 distributors globally, exports by Cheeky Chompers account for approximately 65% of total sales. Additionally, the brand is now sold by over 1,500 retailers in 49 countries, with the US, China, and the UK representing the company’s largest markets.
The overall global market for baby soothers and teethers is forecast to reach nearly $8 billion by 2020.
Commenting is founding director, Julie Wilson. “Our vision is to be one of the go-to brands worldwide for baby products and gifts. We’re excited to be sharing our vision and future successes with our loyal customers, supporters and the crowdfunding community.
“Innovation remains at our core, delivered with intuition, quality, and style. We have a strong base from which to scale the business with an extensive international distribution network already in place. We are really excited about the next phase of growth.”
In February, Cheeky Chompers revealed it was experiencing a soar in sales in China. This was via the company’s flagship online store on the Tmall.com platform, the world’s largest online ecommerce site. Also, building a strong presence across China’s other leading retailers, with over 250 stores stocking Cheeky Chompers products.
Furthermore, Cheeky Chompers has developed collaborative products with select retailers including Joules and The White Company.
The brand has a number of new national retailer wins in the pipeline.
Founding director Amy Livingstone adds: “We have exciting new products in progress to expand our product range. This will feed our strong distribution channels.
“In addition, we will significantly drive digital growth and create even closer connections with our individual customers in order to grow the higher margin direct to consumer channel.”
Corporate finance boutique Quest Corporate and corporate advisory firm Full Circle Partners are both supporting Cheeky Chompers around the crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube.
