This week we interviewed Green Sheep Group’s Commercial Director, Donna Storey and she started by telling us a bit more about the story behind the brand…

“The journey of Green Sheep Group started nearly 15 years ago in 2007 with the creation and launch of our founding brand, The Little Green Sheep. Specialising in natural and organic baby mattresses, The Little Green Sheep grew its range and fans too, becoming the go-to brand for luxury quality baby mattresses, made without the use of harmful chemicals and providing peace of mind for parents. One of the biggest decisions made was venturing into furniture, a step we decided warranted the inception of a new brand Snüz. It’s lead product SnüzPod, our Bedside Crib, came to market in 2013 with the aim of offering parents an affordable, stylish, and safe solution for bedside sleeping.

Now 8 years on, SnüzPod is a household name as the UK’s bestselling bedside crib and one of the pioneers shaping the bedside crib category. SnüzPod was just the start for the Snüz brand, we’ve since successfully entered many other categories including cot beds, sleep aids and mattresses continuing the Snüz vision to be parents’ first choice for their child’s sleep. The Little Green Sheep has also grown over the years and leads the charge in natural nurseries currently relaunching into retail trade with exciting plans ahead.”

Many parents actively seek out organic, green products – what sets The Little Green Sheep apart from its competitors?

“With 15 years of knowledge and experience, The Little Green Sheep brand has built up a relationship with customers that stands us apart from other competitors in the marketplace. For us, the focus on using natural materials in our products is fully part of the brand and has been for all of that time, whereas for many other brands in the market ‘natural’ might be just an add-on offering within their range to cover off that type of customer, without the green brand ethos or values to support it. So very much being a specialist and not straying from that has served the brand well and resulted in an undeniably loyal customer base.

The quality of The Little Green Sheep products is also paramount to its success and future growth. You only have to search reviews for the brand to see the consistent 5-star ratings from parents. It’s something as a brand we are extremely proud of and drives us forward to maintain the same standards and continue to delight our customers.”

Organic baby products often come at a premium price tag – how do you convince parents that it’s worth the extra cost?

“In 2007 when The Little Green Sheep launched, we were amidst an economic recession. Whilst this made it harder to gain traction (especially for a new brand!), it made us focus strongly on ensuring that customers saw the value in our products and the brand. Our philosophy then and still today is about buying once and buying smart.  It’s about education of the customer.  We know a baby’s mattress is the least researched baby product and yet baby sleeps on their mattress for up to 14 hours per day.  This is stark contrast to the most researched product (wheels) where on average baby spends 1-2 hours a day.  We believe rather than buying cheap and having to replace sooner, investing in a higher quality product which will last longer and provide a better experience for parents and baby is the best decision. That’s why we never compromise on product quality because we know that ultimately positive reviews and word of mouth from parents is the most powerful influencer when it comes to convincing someone to spend a little more.”

How has Green Sheep Group stayed true to its original founding principles AND embraced growth?

“At the time of the company starting out neither of our founders Mark Nicholls or Paul Maurice had children of their own. As a result, understanding our customers and their wants and needs was imperative. It provided us with an unbiased view of parents needs and requirements. Our customer-centric approach is still very much the heartbeat of the company and often leads us to discovering new and innovative ways to help parents. This,  along with a drive and passion that is instilled into all of our colleagues, has allowed Green Sheep Group to grow to the business it is today.

Of course, growth doesn’t come easily, and there have been many challenges along the way. However, remaining close to our core values and customers’ needs has allowed the business to take on any challenges, overcome them and ultimately enjoy the journey of growth!”

How did you continue to engage with retailers and customers while stores were closed – and what were the key lessons from lockdown?

“It was a priority for us to stay close to our retailers throughout lockdown; with uncertainty, good communication is essential and we’re proud to have one of the best sales teams in the industry. Every Friday throughout lockdown we hosted a virtual get-together where we invited our retailers and others such as Cosatto, Baby Style, Joolz and Cybex to share experiences, learnings and just be there for each other. We increased digital asset output to support retailers with their websites enabling them to improve their customer journey and made ourselves available for virtual safe sleep appointments or workshops provided by key retail partners.  In terms of the lessons learned, lockdown reinforced existing beliefs, about being close to customers, listening and being nimble enough to react to the changing environment around us.”

Why type of retailers generally stock your products – and what are they specifically looking for?

“We’re fortunate to have a fantastic range of retailers that stock The Little Green Sheep and Snüz brands. What underpins this is a product range which is unique and of great quality. By focussing on this it’s enabled us to build and nurture relationships and our company reputation within the industry.  There is obviously a customer demand shift toward natural products, and we are seeing increased demand therefore of our The Little Green Sheep brand both directly and indirectly.”

How has your bestselling Snuzpod evolved since its inception?

“SnüzPod has been a huge success since its launch in 2013, and a huge part of that has been our determination to keep improving and developing it over the years. Now in its fourth iteration, SnüzPod has evolved in terms of its looks but also its functionality…with ComfortAir® Breathable System and fitting more beds than any other bedside crib. Continuing to strive to provide parents with more value through clever design and NPD investment, whilst keeping the RRP static is something we are extremely proud of at Green Sheep Group and is a testament to our outstanding product team.”

Winning the Queen’s Award must have been a highlight – tell us what that meant to you, as a business.

“Winning the Queen’s Award For Innovation was probably one of the proudest moments the business has had in its journey so far. It takes such a huge collective effort to develop new products and gaining accolades is always amazing, however getting Royal recognition is something not many companies experience and it motivates us to strive for even more innovation and excellence.”

Can you share any specific plans or developments for The Little Green Sheep for the year ahead?

“The Little Green Sheep has got a really exciting 12 months ahead, and I can reveal that we will be re-launching the brand supported by stand-out POS very soon. In terms of new products, there is also a major new launch planned for 2022 but I’d ruin the surprise if I told you now, so you’ll have to keep a look out!”

Find out more about Green Sheep Group at www.greensheepgroup.com and for trade enquiries, email trade@greensheepgroup.com

Follow them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/snuzUK https://www.facebook.com/TheLittleGreenSheep 

And on Instagram
@SnuzUK
@TheLittleGreenSheep