Good Housekeeping UK is expanding its state-of-the-art product testing into the world of parenting, with the Good Housekeeping Institute (GHI) Parenting Awards set to launch in October 2024.

The Awards will champion the best products available to parents, spanning everything from nappies and wipes to cots and buggies. All products nominated for an award will have been put through the GHI’s rigorous testing processes, evaluated by a mixture of both industry experts and a consumer panel to determine efficacy and value.

The launch of the new testing vertical comes as the GHI celebrates its 100^th anniversary in the UK, building on a century of specialised expertise and consumer trust that now sees more than 3,600 products tested every year at its specialist facility in south-west London.

The GHI’s Parenting Awards and trusted accreditation aim to help families make informed product purchases at a time they need it most.

We interviewed Laura Cohen, Commercial Director at the Good Housekeeping Institute about the launch.

What inspired the launch of the GHI awards and what do you hope to achieve through them?

“We wanted to spend our 100th year looking at how we could tap into product areas that we don’t currently work with to make a difference.  From a consumer perspective, the expert testing here is really important, but it’s the results of that testing that’s even more important, because that’s what consumers come to us for – that trusted advice. Customers don’t have to do anything other than visit our website or buy the magazine to have access to the reviews, which is really important to us.”

Can you explain a bit more about the criteria and how the awards will work?

“We’ve started with what parents need when they bring a newborn home: pushchairs, cots, mattresses, nappies, monitors, wipes, and then we will expand out into other areas. For the testing process we are delighted to have worked with parenting expert, Sally Hall, who has written extensively on pregnancy, birth and the health and development of both pregnant mothers and their babies. Boasting an in-depth knowledge of the parenting world that has seen her editing Emma’s Diary and Bounty and publishing B Baby Magazine, Sally has tested thousands of products geared to make parents’ lives easier.

It’s really important for us to work with an expert because it builds on the broader testing expertise we have in house.  Sally will focus on new launches and what consumers are actually buying at different ends of the price spectrum in terms of budget.

Alongside our expert testing and all the expert protocols that Sally’s put together, we have layered in a panel of consumers who are pregnant, who have children, who have just had their baby, and who have older children to make sure we get consumer feedback too. Context for us is really important.”

How do brands go about entering their products for consideration if they’ve not already, is it too late now?

“So, this first round of testing is finished, but as always with any of the categories that we work in, any client at any time can put forward a product to be tested.  It is a continuous process.”

What benefits do brands actually get from being a winning product?

“The testing that we do offers clients a GHI approved logo regardless of whether they are best in test. It’s not about best in test for us, or even best in class. It’s about a product being a good product that performs up to the standard that we expect, and that meets all the claims that it makes, making it eligible for the endorsement. So, it’s never just the highest scoring product that gets access to the endorsement – it’s anything that reaches our benchmark and above.

Brands also get a more detailed review than appears online. This includes a breakdown of what we liked about the product, its winning features, and—if relevant—where we felt it could be improved.”

How are you going to engage with consumers to make sure the rewards are relevant and raise awareness of the parenting awards to the GH audience given they are a little older than the average first-time parent?

“So, there’s lots of different ways. Content and SEO is really important to us. We optimise everything for search to make sure that when someone Googles say “Best Nappies UK”, our articles are going to appear. Online search is really important as we want to be where parents search and where they’re looking for product reviews. We’re going to do an “Inside the Institute” video, focussing in on parenting around the launch of the Parenting Awards, too.

There will also be a lot of content in the print magazine, especially around launch of the Parenting Awards in the November issue.”

There’s such an overwhelming amount of information online for parents now.  What is your point of difference against review sites that have been there a long time, and also awards that are very well established?

“Our vision is for Good Housekeeping to be the most trusted, the most reliable, the most authentic voice for consumers to be able to come to.  We want consumers to know they can trust us.  They’ve got to be able to trust us as much in parenting as they do in beauty, as they do in homes, as they do in appliances. Our USP is bringing that authority, credibility and expertise to the testing that we do, and it’s layering in experts and consumers that know what they’re talking about.

Nowadays, there are lots of expert testers, and a growing number of influencers and new mums doing first-person testing. That testing is all super important, but, the GHI adds that additional layer. When you layer consumer and expert testing, and then add the GHI approved endorsement on the back of it, you’re offering reviews that are incredibly well rounded. We’ve been testing products for 100 years now thanks to the immense trust consumers have in our processes and heritage.  It’s so exciting to now bring that to the parenting category.”

Is there a way you will engage retailers who are first-hand giving that advice on products on a daily basis?

“That’s definitely something we’d love to explore. We’ve predominantly focused on brands in the initial stages, however, are keen to collaborate with specialist retailers as the awards expand.”

Will your testing and awards be influenced by affiliate links at all like it seems many online reviews are?

“No, absolutely not. It’s simple: if a product tests well, it will appear in the article in the position that it ranked in the testing regardless of whether there are affiliate links.”

For more information, and to submit a product, please contact Sally Hall – Sally.hall@hearst.co.uk

About Good Housekeeping

Good Housekeeping UK is Britain’s biggest and most trusted women’s lifestyle brand. Since 1922, it has stayed true to its founding belief: that there should be no drudgery in the home. Backed by The Good Housekeeping Institute, a state-of-the-art consumer research centre in Feltham, the coveted Good Housekeeping Tried & Tested logo is a beacon for smart shoppers and a lucrative badge of honour for brands that win it. Good Housekeeping’s unique Triple Tested recipe promise has made it the go-to choice for generations of home cooks. The Good Housekeeping Institute will celebrate its centenary year in 2024.