Baby product brand targets next stage of development

From left: Mike Welch, Amy Livingstone and Julie Wilson with Cheeky Chompers products. Picture: Stewart Attwood.

Cheeky Chompers’ range includes chewy dribble bibs, and it is raising capital as founders Julie Wilson and Amy Livingstone plan to further scale the business and build its global presence.

The raise will be focused on digital growth, new product development, brand building in key markets and infrastructure.

Edinburgh-based corporate finance boutique Quest has been appointed to lead the fundraising, with corporate advisory firm Full Circle Partners providing support. The latter’s founder chairman Mike Welch, who sold online tyre retailer Blackcircles.com to Michelin and chairs fashion site Atterley, is working alongside management in a strategic advisory role.

Wilson said: “While we have been self-funded from the start and grown organically to date, we think the timing is right to accelerate the business so we can get to the next level. We see strong growth opportunities through both existing and new channels to market, and we’re excited to have Mike Welch on board as we enter the next phase of growth.”

Welch commented: “Julie and Amy have created a global brand with loyal big name customers in a relatively short space of time and I’ve got the utmost respect for what they’ve been able to achieve. There is a real opportunity for Cheeky Chompers to scale into one of the main players in a fast-growth market segment and the capital raise will help them grow at the kind of pace necessary to get there.”

Cheeky Chompers’ customers include John Lewis, JoJo Mama Bebe, Fenwicks, Tesco, Boots, Nordstrom and Buy Buy Baby.

It is experiencing a soar in sales in China via the company’s flagship online store on online giant Tmall.com, and more than 250 stores stock the brand across the country.

China and the US are its biggest markets, and it has distributors into 34 countries worldwide, with 1.3 million products shipped to date.