Evie Kalo and her husband found themselves at the age where everyone around them was having babies – from their brothers and sisters, to their close friends – and they were forever buying baby gifts. She soon spotted a gap in the baby clothing market and Zipster was born.

In our exclusive interview, Evie explains how she first came up with the idea for her popular and ingenious Zipster clothing range:

“I previously worked in sustainability, and had trouble finding clothing that was made from sustainable materials that still looked really cool, and our friends were always complaining about horrible poppers, so we combined these three things: Sustainable bamboo, two-way zip, and really fun designs.”

What are the foundations on which your brand has been built and how does this translate into everyday business?

“Sustainability is at our core. From the materials we choose, to the way we package and send out the items to customers, we always look at how we can have less impact on the planet. After all, the babies we have today are our future, so let’s start as we mean to go on.”

What do you love about being in the baby business?

“We adore our customers. We are sent so many amazing pictures of their little ones in their Zipsters, and we love that our customers share these with us so often. Being a tiny part of what is arguably the biggest milestone in a parent’s life, makes us so proud. We also love designing new prints for our Zipsters and new products. It allows us to get our creative juices flowing, and we always have lots of interaction with our wonderful customers about what they’d like to see next.”

What role does social media play in the success of your business?

“Social media is huge for us. From advertising on Facebook and Instagram, to really trying to create a community of parents that like our brand, we rely on it every day! We’ve also had amazing feedback from celeb mums, such as Shelby Tribble, Vogue Williams and Zoe Suggs. It’s the most exhilarating experience  when you see that you’ve been tagged in an image from someone like that, and then subsequently see the amount of people join our community thereafter!”

What are your greatest achievements so far?

“Having amazing feedback from celebrity mums has got to be up there, along with our 5,000 order! Considering we launched only a year ago, we were so delighted to have reached this amazing milestone in such a short time. We’ve now sold over 15,000 Zipsters, which is pretty crazy! To think that the idea came from little old me, and now we’re in so many homes across Europe is pretty overwhelming!” 

Why should retailers stock your products – and can you offer them anything special?

“It’s so difficult to see from photos, but bamboo is really an unbeatable fabric. It’s so soft to touch, and it’s hypoallergenic qualities are perfect for babies. We can’t believe it’s not more used across the industry. Retailers should speak to us directly as we’re a really personable brand that is solely focussed on making sure our customers (parents as well as retailers) have a truly wonderful experience with our products.”

What is your best-selling product and why? 

“Our Zipster™is our core product and by far the most popular. We now have over 30 designs, so our customers get a lot of choice. Some parents love our quirky, bright prints, whereas some prefer the subtle, natural prints – but we have something for everyone. All the Zipsters have a bespoke two-way zip, so it’s a Godsend for late night nappy changes. We even created a zip that is slightly larger than normal, so no matter how big daddy’s hands are, he’s got no excuse!”

Can you share any plans for the year ahead?

“We’re working on some really exciting products coming up. Along with some new prints for the Zipsters, we’re planning:

• New Mum&Me PJ range after our first one sold out in just a week
• Matching Hawaian Dad’s shirts for fathers day
• Family matching swimswear for summer”
  

Contact details for retailers to find out more

Website: www.zipsterbaby.com
Email address: info@zipsterbaby.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/zipsterbaby
Instagram: www.instagram.com/zipsterbaby