Linda Sätterström, founder and creative director of Swedish baby brand Elodie, discusses the company’s latest developments.
Laura Turner: What sparked the idea for Elodie?
Linda Sätterström: I’ve always been a creative soul who sees new opportunities everywhere I go. When I became a mum, these ideas naturally started to circle around baby products. I guess it’s true to say that everything started shortly after my daughter Elodie was born. Becoming a mum and discovering this new world inspired me to launch the busines, so I named the company after my daughter. I started Elodie from my kitchen table in 2005 and today it is a global brand that sells in over 45 countries.
LT: In the early stages, what inspired the direction of the business?
LS: I am and have always been a hard worker. At the time I had my first daughter I was employed by the H&M buying office. I loved it, I got to travel a lot and had no real plans to give that career up.
However, being on maternity leave for a long time – as is the case in Sweden – my mind got restless. I remember thinking that all the baby products I saw on the market, to me, looked very dull and ugly. Instead I wanted to make baby products into fashionable accessories. I felt the interests of the parent were overlooked, at least for someone as interested in design as I am.
So, I decided to start making baby products that would fit into these stylish parents’ homes and it wasn’t long before I had my hands full designing and creating pacifier clips for myself and my friends. Since then, and to this day, Elodie’s vision is to make life with children even more beautiful.
LT: How has the brand evolved since then?
LS: First and foremost it has gone from being just myself and my brother John working from home, to having 30 extremely talented employees in a beautiful office and a concept store here in the heart of Stockholm. Sometimes I pinch myself because I can’t believe it. We have also added over 20 new product segments and sell in 45 markets.
A big milestone for the brand was when we introduced our popular Stockholm stroller – it’s fast become a very important product for us and our retailers. This year we will introduce our second stroller, which we’ve been working on for over two years.
It’s a well-designed compact stroller that I really believe in. Strollers and stroller gear make up two of our four main categories. The other categories we create products for are baby accessories and the nursery.
LT: How would you sum up the style of the brand?
LS: Design is a central part of Elodie and we do everything in-house, from the storyboard to actual designs and patterns. Sometimes we work digitally and sometimes we sketch by hand depending on the look we’re after.
Another thing that differentiates us from other baby product companies is that we launch two larger collections each year, similar to how many fashion brands work. With each new collection comes completely new and unique prints and colours. We always have the parent in mind when we design – I usually say that we have one foot in the baby world and the other in fashion.
Our most recognised designs are our pacifier clips, footmuffs and bibs. Today these product categories have many suppliers but unfortunately we do see countless copies of our original designs on the market. We see fake copies of our seasonal prints as well, which is a problem, since customers may think they are getting a high quality, safety tested Elodie product but actually end up with something else.
LT: What can we expect from the a/w 20 collection?
LS: I can’t reveal any design details yet, but what I can say is that this collection will come with a statement that is very close to my heart. The design and lifestyle material will stand out from everything that we’ve done before and appeal to parents who want to encourage a unique style and personality.
LT: What instigated the recent opening of your dedicated UK sales office?
LS: We have had interest from both consumers and retailers in the UK for a long time. We have waited until now to dedicate ourselves fully to the UK market as it is such an important one for us.
The new Elodie logo and brand identity is such a great fit with the UK, embracing sustainability and all things Scandi. We now have the opportunity to replicate the success of Elodie in other European countries here in the UK.
LT: How many UK accounts do you have?
LS: We currently have in the region of 35 stockists spread over traditional bricks and mortar retailers and ecommerce but obviously, that number is changing all the time. We have some really great stockists coming on board this year so watch this space.
LT: Where else is the brand available?
LS: We are present in 45 counties in selected stores and online retailers. We’re also on Amazon and sell through our own ecommerce site in 13 European countries.
LT: Can you tell me more about the brand’s sustainability practices?
LS: Gladly, this is a favourite topic of mine. At Elodie we believe in the mission of slowing down consumption. We want to end low-quality products and fast-fashion trends and instead focus on upcycling. To us, upcycling means several things. Firstly, we need to provide high-quality products so that they are durable enough to be upcycled.
Secondly, we need to design products to be multi-functional so that it is easy to find a new use for them once their initial purpose has been fulfilled. Thirdly, we’re working on more collaborations with premium second-hand outlets to encourage our customers to buy and sell their second-hand items.
When it comes to conscious production, we are continuously working on improving our own and our partners’ processes; choosing sustainable materials and production methods and making our transport as effective as possible. We have also partnered with the Swedish Textile Institute for Climate Action (STICA), where all the larger fashion brands in Sweden have come together to formulate concrete climate goals and actions in a joint effort to reduce our impact on the environment.
LT: What are your plans for the business?
LS: Long-term we aim to become the number one baby brand at the forefront of all parents’ minds around the world; parents who are looking for premium and well-designed products. Right now we’re aiming to grow our brand awareness with the new logo in our already well-established markets in Europe. We also have our eyes on the Asian markets.
In terms of the collection, our signature product, the pacifier clip, will also continue to grow in volume. Other large categories we will focus on developing are our changing bags, footmuffs and strollers.
Alongside these plans we will continue living our brand values: friendly, conscious, premium and well-designed.
For further information on Elodie, please click here.
