Inspired by her baby son Jimmy chewing on his fist, Jodine Boothby went on-line to see if she could buy a teething mitten for him. Seeing there was none available, she realised there could be a gap in the market. A worldwide patent search showed that there were no similar products available.
Jodine explains: “I had just £1,000 savings to use and was juggling being a mum to a young baby with product research and development, but I knew the idea was a good one. The hard work was worthwhile, as the end result was Gummee Glove, a unique teething mitten for 3-6 month old babies. With secure fastenings to ensure the glove stays in place, Gummee Glove enables young babies to get relief from sore gums before they are able to hold traditional teethers.”
Fast forward a couple of years and Jodine’s business now employs five people and has added a new product – anti-scratch teething mittens for newborns, which have a secure velcro fastening to keep them safely on tiny hands, as well as raised silicone dots to soothe little gums.
In her first year of trading Jodine sold 4,000 units, in her second she sold 40,000 – a jaw dropping increase of 900%. Half of Gummee Glove’s sales are overseas, with the products now sold in eight countries around the world. This international success looks set to continue following a major international trade show in Germany this year, which has attracted interest from nine international distributors before the show has even taken place.
Gummee Glove has also won several prestigious awards, including being named Best New Product at the Nursery Industry Awards 2013 and winning Best Mumpreneur Product at the Mumpreneur Awards 2012.
Gummee Glove’s success is remarkable, even more so considering that Jodine does not have a background in product design. Jodine adds: “Having worked for 12 years with Tamar Foods, much of that time in quality assurance, I gained a thorough understanding of manufacturing, albeit for very different products. However, I knew I needed expert advice to help me grow and protect my business.”
That is where Stephens Scown comes in. Stephens Scown’s IP specialist Tom Chartres-Moore initially conducted a free IP MOT for Gummee Glove, which identified the business’s intellectual property (IP) assets, and advised on how best to protect and exploit them. A detailed IP audit followed and then a wide range of IP protection was implemented, covering trade marks and design rights. Explaining the importance of intellectual property to her business Jodine says: “Gummee Glove is all about our product and the brand and right from the start this has been one of my main concerns. Realising that I had come up with a unique idea was fantastic, but immediately I worried about how to protect it. Stephens Scown’s advice has been fantastic, giving me reassurance that our trade marks and design rights are protected in the UK and key international
markets. Not only that, but they have helped me to make sure that the trade marks and design rights are maximised, through ensuring that I have the right distributor contracts in place for example.”
Stephens Scown’s advice has also covered non-disclosure agreements. Jodine adds: “It was important that I could talk to retailers and distributors about the product. One of the first times I spoke to Tom was while I was at a trade show in Las Vegas. I wanted to talk to possible distributors about the product and I was unsure about what I could safely tell them. Tom was fantastic – I called him in the middle of the night from America and he was able to turn around a non-disclosure agreement in an hour or so.”
So what does the future hold for Jodine and Gummee Glove? “We’ve got so many ideas for new teething products that we are going to develop under the Gummee brand. The next few years are going to be exciting ones, and I can’t wait!” If her first few years in business are anything
to go by, the sky is the limit for this Cornish success story!