Created by parents, with parents in mind, the innovative RyRy Scallop car seat from nursery brand, RyRy Compact, is the brainchild of London-based entrepreneur and mum, Leah Davis. We caught up with her for a chat to find out more about the brand’s background, its ethos and how it supports retailers…

“My husband and I never expected life to be the same when our role as parents started in 2015, but what we didn’t realise was just how much kit these little ones need! What was once a perfectly adequate house started to gradually fill up with buggies, highchairs, sterilisers, bottles, nappy bins, changing stations, car seats – you name it, we had at least one, if not two of everything.

But, for the most part, it all seemed poorly made, usually cumbersome and with very little attention paid to one half of the key users: the parent. At RyRy Compact we want to change all of that, and design compact, sustainable and premium products, that not only have the best interests of the child at heart but also the parents. Making products that are easy to use, easy to store and don’t clutter the home.

Our first product is our biggest bugbear – the car seat! Large, heavy, awkward to handle and when not in use, impossible to store and in no way portable for when we travel abroad.”

For most parents, choosing the right car seat is a huge decision. What key points should they consider – and how would you convince them to choose RyRy?

“The RyRy Scallop may be compact but our prime goal was safety. From the onset, the seat had to achieve the highest level of EU R129 safety, there could be no compromise. The RyRy Scallop is the only R129 certified compact seat in this category. But if Safety was our first ‘S’ we have 3 others that could closely follow.

Size – RyRy Compact is about de-cluttering your house. The RyRy Scallop had to be as small as the guidelines would allow. When folded it is only 52 x 40 x 25cm. It will sit upright neatly in the hallway or travel easily as cabin luggage as parents fly off on their summer holidays.

Sustainability – With sustainability at the core of the brand’s DNA, it was vital for us to build a car seat with the planet in mind. Each RyRy Scallop uses sustainably sourced, anti-bacterial Merino Wool and plant-based polymer foam for its comfortable seats, and the travel bags are made of recycled PET yarn (made from old plastic water bottles). We also linked up with Big Blue Ocean to remove 5kgs of plastic from the World’s Ocean for every seat sold.

Style – we only ever want to produce premium products and we would hope you agree the RyRy Scallop certainly looks a cut above the rest. We worked with specialist designers to make sure there are surprise and delight features throughout. It’s all in the detail. Quilted stitching, magnets to hold the straps up, leather tags and piping, embroidered branding. Coming in four colourways to suit every taste and every toddler; True Charcoal, Black and White, Grey and Limited-Edition Blush, each with their own matching travel bags.”

How can retailers become stockists of the RyRy Scallop – and how do you support or train independent retailers who wish to stock your products?

“There is a contact page on the website www.ryrycompact.com. We have a wealth of assets we can pass on – images, animated gifs, social assets, press releases, how to videos etc, all of which are held in a media library on our website.

And where practical we will obviously come and see you! Just bear in mind, we are a Mum and Dad team of two with 3 children under the age of 6, so it maybe a Zoom call at times!”

Today’s parents are more discerning than ever – how does the RyRy Scallop stay in line with current fashions and trends?

“One thing we plan on doing is to have a continuous development plan of short run special editions. Each seat will have its own unique concept. We want to keep the brand fresh, desirable and sought after.”

How do you manage to combine a safe car seat with being as sustainable as possible?

“We didn’t. It was always safety first, sustainable second. But where we can, we absolutely introduced sustainable features, materials and processes throughout.”

What’s the safety testing procedure for the RyRy Scallop?

“We worked closely with our UK designers, our manufacturer and the test lab to ensure that we passed the highest level of safety available EU R129, which is far stricter than the previous R44 guidelines. Not only does it test for front and rear impact but also side impact. On top of that, the parameters of excursion and G-forces on the Q3 dummy are way tighter than R44.”

What three words would you use to describe RyRy Scallop?

“Compact without compromise”

Any specific plans or developments for the year ahead?

“Our challenge now, is launching the RyRy Scallop, building some selective wholesale partnerships and concentrate on building the brand. We have more RyRy Compact products to come though, so watch this space!”

Contact details for retailers to find out more about the RyRy Scallop, by RyRy Compact:

Website: www.ryrycompact.com

Email address: leah@ryrycompact.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ryrycompact
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ryrycompact
Instagram: @ryrycompact