No teething problems for baby bib firm

Two enterprising mothers from Edinburgh have smashed sales targets for their innovative baby bib after securing deals with high street chains including department store John Lewis.

Amy Livingstone and Julie Wilson created their bib while on maternity leave. Picture: contributed

Amy Livingstone, a business development manager at Hotel du Vin, and Scottish Enterprise tourism innovation manager Julie Wilson came up with the idea for the bib, with a built-in teether, while they were both on maternity leave.

The pair set up their company, Cheeky Chompers, in May 2012 and launched the Neckerchew product in February. In the five months to the end of June, the firm turned over more than £50,000, some 40 per cent ahead of forecast.

From today the Neckerchew will be stocked in 32 John Lewis stores, as well as the chain’s website.

The company has also agreed deals with upmarket department store Fenwicks and maternity chain JoJo Maman Bébé, and Livingstone said the firm was enjoying strong demand from overseas retailers.

She said: “We have already had interest from international markets for both direct sales and distribution. This week we got an order for 2,000 Neckerchews from our Benelux distributor alone.”