February 1, 2006 – Thomas
A. Edison
Two Mothers of Invention Create
a Business Phenomenon Expanding Sales Every
Year With a Sweet, Soft Blankie
Want to know how to make a business from a baby blanket?
First, think like a baby: Focus not on the blanket, but
on the satiny little tag that hangs from its edge.
Next, think like a mom: Multiply those little tags and sew them
all around the blanket to make a charming and unique "blankie" for
a very happy baby.
And now, think like a business person: Partner with a savvy fellow
mom, acquire a utility patent, name your creation TAGGIES™, make
lots more, and place them in catalogs and specialty stores everywhere.
Then work like mad to keep up while you double your earnings and
expand to larger quarters every single year!
That’s the TAGGIES story – and in its six-year span,
the appeal of these winsome toys has propelled Massachusetts mothers Julie
Dix and Danielle Ayotte to spectacular
success in the intensely competitive, undeniably crowded baby-gear
market.
"Honestly, sometimes we’re still in shock at our own
story," says Julie Dix, whose creative take
on a baby blanket caught the eye of Danielle Ayotte when
the two mothers met at their children’s play group.
Today, just six years since that first meeting, Ayotte and Dix
have sold thousands of TAGGIES – soft fleece blankets, pillows,
and plush toys, all brightly colored and adorned with plenty of
the small, looped tags that soothe little ones like nothing else.
The appeal of TAGGIES is so strong – and so evident, even
to grown-ups – that in 2003 Scholastic Publications approached
Dix and Ayotte to create "My First TAGGIES® Book:
Sweet Dreams." The soft book’s robust sales
led Scholastic to publish a companion, "My First TAGGIES® Book:
I Love You," in September 2004, and its success prompted
the creation of a third book, “My First TAGGIE® Book:
Princess,” released in November 2005.
It all goes back to a sharp observation by Dix, an early-childhood
educator, who had noticed how the little labels and tags attached
to toys or clothing often were more appealing to babies than the
items themselves.
Dix hauled out her mom’s old Singer and sewed loops of colorful
and textured ribbon all around the edges of a baby blanket. Her
toddler loved her blanket’s new "TAGGIES" - and
so did the mothers in her playgroup, including Ayotte, whose business
experience offered an ideal complement to Dix’s education
background.
Working at first from their homes, piling their basements and
garages high with boxes of TAGGIES, the women now use several domestic
and overseas factories to manufacture product and employ a staff
of 23 – working from a real office – to run the Taggies
business.
And while expansion is an important goal, quality control
is the No. 1 priority. "TAGGIES are an unusual
product," Ayotte explains. "Although they’re
made of fabric, they’re unlike baby clothes because they’re
never outgrown.So every TAGGIE has to be soft
and sturdy, colorful and washable, sewn as tight as anything
can be sewn. TAGGIES are the ‘lovey’ that’s
tough enough to endure years of use and love."
"We’re absolutely fanatical about quality control," Dix
adds, "especially anything that affects safety. You’ve
never seen such well-sewn fabric products. Increasing sales and
growing our product line are nowhere near as important to us
as keeping standards high."
Not that the path has always been smooth. Both women still cringe
to recall the days when a COD order of ribbons sent them hustling
to their husbands for cash. "They hadn’t really realized
what we were getting into," Dix laughs, though the warehouse
pallets in both families’ garages might have tipped them
off.
More seriously, they’re proud of their Random Acts
of Kindness program, which donates Taggies to ill or impoverished
children. It started one evening when Dix took her son
to the hospital emergency room for a minor spill. "There
were so many sick, crying children," Ayotte says. Dix’s
son was fine, "but she felt so bad for all those other children
that she went out to her car, brought in all the TAGGIES she
had, and gave them out to the kids. It was so touching - but
it was also our entire stock of TAGGIES!"
That first random act of kindness has become a beloved part of
the company’s identity, with a Website page inviting customers
to contribute to a fund designated for donating Taggies to children
in need. Matching every donation and then some, the company to
date has given to over 35 different hospitals, charitable organizations,
and philanthropic foundations. In 2005 TAGGIES expanded its charitable
activities through a partnership with TheDiana,
Princessof Wales Memorial Fund, as the only baby
products manufacturer presently licensed by the Fund in the U.S.
All TAGGIES products are completely safety tested and meet or
exceed all applicable safety standards as set forth by the regulatory
bodies in the United States,Canada, and in the parts of Europe
and other territories where TAGGIES are sold.
The patented TAGGIES product line includes small and large blankets,
plush items, soft balls, rattles, baby booties, crib sets and the
soft-cover Scholastic books "My First TAGGIES® Book: Sweet
Dreams,” “My First TAGGIES® Book: I Love You,” and “My
First TAGGIES® Book: Princess.” The company’s Random
Acts of Kindness program brings Taggies blankets to ill or in need
children. TAGGIES products are sold at more than 4,000 independent
specialty shops in the United States, Canada, England and Ireland,
and through more than a dozen catalogs, including RedEnvelope and
Lillian Vernon. "My First TAGGIES® Book: Sweet Dreams,” “My
First TAGGIES® Book: I Love You,” and “My First TAGGIES® Book:
Princess” are sold at Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R Us, Borders,
Barnes & Noble and other mass marketers. TAGGIES products may
be ordered online at www.taggies.com and by phone at 1-877-4-TAGGIE.
For
more information about TAGGIES, or to schedule
an interview with Julie Dix and Danielle Ayotte,
please contact Elizabeth Waldman Frazier at WALDMANIA! Public
Relations, 415.334.2787 or waldmania@comcast.net.
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