New Zealand nappy brand, Rascal + Friends, was launched when a mum of four struggled to find products that were safe on sensitive skin, affordable, accessible and performed well. So, she decided to create her own. Rascal + Friends provide all of the above, without the need for any harsh chemicals, like lotion, latex or fragrance and with its head office still in New Zealand, Rascal + Friends’ products are now available in over 20 markets globally. We caught up with Marketing Manager, Hannah Morris, to find out more.

What are your brand values and why are they so important to you?

“Our promise to our customers is seriously good baby products at affordable prices. As a team of parents, we’re passionate about creating a product that makes life easier for parents, whilst also creating a welcoming community for them. Every parent needs a nappy that can handle the realities of messy life, which is why we spent years engineering what we believe are the best baby products around: premium nappies and sensitive baby wipes, made with seriously good features. Our products are certified by the world’s leading organisations to guarantee they’re free of all the bad stuff, and safe on rascal skin.”

Give us some insight into the nappy market – changes over the past few years and developments for the future:

“The nappy market in general is an incredibly competitive category, as large and bulky products that take up lots of shelf space, and limited space in store, there is often only room for a handful of brands.  The category has historically been dominated by two key players, Pampers and Huggies. These two brands have had a monopoly on the marketing for the last 61 years – and, although difficult, it’s not impossible for new brands to breakthrough. Rascal + Friends saw a gap in the market as one of the first challenger brands in the nappy sector. Coming in as a superior product and at a better price point has made consumers sit up and realise there are other brands out there. 

Changes in customer behaviour is also seeing the market change shape. Over recent years we have seen a significant increase in consumers wanting a wider range of nappy options and the brands that don’t react quickly enough to this are now falling behind. This is forcing a positive shift towards having more eco-conscious, higher quality products and we’re proud to have Rascal + Friends leading the way with our no nasties products and 100% biodegradable sensitive wipes.”

Tell us about the partnership with CoComelon.  How did it come about and why does it mean so much to the brand?

“We couldn’t be more excited to be launching our limited edition CoComelon prints, combining our award-winning products with CoComelon’s beloved characters to make change-time easier for parents and more fun for little ones.

The partnership came about fairly organically, after senior leaders from both companies connected and discussed the mutual success of both brands, and the synergies between the two businesses. In the past year, we have become the most-liked nappy brand on TikTok and partnering with the most-watched children’s show and disruptive Moonbug team just made sense. It provided a huge opportunity for us to leverage their success and bring our premium nappies and nappy pants to more families around the world.

The limited edition range with CoComelon allows us to maintain our brand equity and premium product quality, whilst building brand reputation and leveraging CoComelon’s brand awareness and virality.

Most of all – it’s a huge win for the team and a testament to the relentless hard work, dedication and passion that has gone into building Rascal + Friends over the last 6 years. From a small New Zealand challenger, to a global player now available in some of the world’s largest retailers and partnering with the world’s most popular children’s TV show.”

What are your proudest moments to date?

“It’s been a busy 6 years and there’s a fair few highlights to note, but a few key ones are:

• Launching with some of the world’s largest retailers including Tesco, Walmart, and Coles
• Launching our premium nappy pants and sensitive wipes after the successful launch and development of our first product – premium nappies
• After our retail launch in New Zealand we became the #2 brand in store within 8 weeks
• After 8 months in Australia we won the Coles Non-food Supplier of the Year
• Finalising our licensing deal with CoComelon, the world’s most popular Kids show
• and winning many more product and retail awards and building out a best-in-class team that does it all!”

Contact details to learn more:

Email address – hannah@teamrascals.com OR hello@teamrascals.com

Facebook @rascalandfriends

Instagram @rascalandfriends

Twitter @rascalandfriend

TikTok @rascalandfriends