Baby brand Cheeky Chompers steps up with Lloyds Pharmacy deal

Baby care brand Cheeky Chompers has unveiled a national partnership with Lloyds Pharmacy as it pushes forward with a crowdfunding campaign to fuel its scale-up strategy.

Cheeky Chompers co-founders Amy Livingstone (left) and Julie Wilson. Picture: Stewart Attwood

Under the contract with Lloyds, which marks the latest in a string of listings for the Edinburgh-based business, the Cheeky Chompers Essentials Neckerchew will be stocked in 444 Lloyds Pharmacy outlets across the UK.

The Essentials product is a lower priced, lighter version of the brand’s original Neckerchew – an innovation described as the “world’s first” chewable dribble bib with an attached teether.

The tie-up represents the first national pharmacy contract for the brand, which counts John Lewis, JoJo Mama Bebe and Nordstrom among its customer base and has developed collaborative products with select retailers such as Joules and The White Company.

It comes as Cheeky Chompers targets a six-figure investment via equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube.

Opened to the public last week, the live funding round has already raised more than 50 per cent of its £400,000 target, which will be used to scale the business through new product development, direct sales growth and increased brand awareness in key markets.

Corporate finance boutique Quest Corporate and corporate advisory firm Full Circle Partners are supporting Cheeky Chompers with the funding round, which is due to close in August.

Cheeky Chompers founding director Julie Wilson said: “We’re really pleased to have teamed up with LloydsPharmacy, a trusted brand in the pharmacy market.

“Our new Essentials Neckerchew is perfect fit to cater for their customer base. Many parents of teething babies will go to their local pharmacy for a solution.

“Initial sell through has been fantastic so we look forward to a great partnership going forward. Our crowdfund is also progressing well in the background with over 50 per cent invested in the first five days, the team and I are excited about the next phase of growth for Cheeky Chompers.”

John Acland, head of retail for Lloyds Pharmacy, added: “We know that parents come into the pharmacy looking for advice and products to help support their children’s teething stage, so we are delighted to offer our customers the Cheeky Chompers Neckerchew.”

The Edinburgh brand, which last year won a Queen’s Award for enterprise for international trade, was established by Wilson and co-founder Amy Livingstone after they met while on maternity leave with their first children.

It is now stocked by more than 1,500 retailers in almost 50 countries, with the UK, China and the US representing the company’s largest markets.

In February the firm revealed that it was experiencing rising sales in China via its flagship online store on the Tmall.com platform – the world’s largest e-commerce site – in addition to building a strong presence across other retailers in the region, with upwards of 250 stores stocking its products.

Research by Technavio forecasts that the global market for baby soothers and teethers will reach nearly $8 billion (£6.3bn) by 2020.