Small Business Saturday Blog

Get ready to rock with Rockit

Thursday, October 31 at 00:30

The Rockit portable baby rocker, the launch product from #SmallBiz100 Rockit, was developed by three dads on mission to help other parents safely soothe their babies to sleep.
Their innovative product, which fits easily on to any stroller or pram and gently rocks to help keep baby asleep when the stroller comes to a halt, was invented by Dr. Nick Webb when his three-month-old daughter, Abby, refused to sleep in her pushchair when he stopped at the supermarket checkout or paused for a well-earned coffee. He noticed that other weary parents had the same issue, and decided to make a prototype rocker. It worked, and the next day Abby remained asleep even when her pushchair stopped moving.
Nick set about developing the prototype with product designers Matt Dyson and Matt Sparrow, who have seven children between them, and over the next few months, with backing from the Design Council, the Rockit was born. It has since gone on to win a number of awards, including the Design Council Spark award and the prestigious European Product Design Award.
Rockit started trading in July 2017, and within a few months was stocked by John Lewis, Mothercare and JoJo Maman Bebe, alongside 130 independent retailers across the UK. Rockit also sell via Amazon.
Matt Dyson says “Amazon gives us a fantastic opportunity to get Rockit far and wide, not only in the UK but across Europe and North America. The next day Prime delivery is a massive bonus for our sleep deprived customers as they can get hold of Rockit quickly and easily, when they need it most.”
In January 2018, within 18 months of launch, Rockit started exporting, and have now sold over 60,000 units worldwide in over 40 countries around the world, leading to them being named ‘Export Champions’ by the Department for International Trade. As Export Champions, Rockit now advise and mentor other small businesses who are taking their first steps towards exporting internationally.
Despite their international sales, Rockit try to keep the work they outsource as local as possible, with their web designer, photographer, videographer, overseas trade advisor, warehousing and social media consultancy all based in Bristol or the surrounding area.
The team have also been involved in a project with UWE's Business School in Bristol, working with a group of young entrepreneurs who are studying for a BA in Business (Team Entrepreneurship). With CEO Matt Dyson being a former Design Technology teacher, they are keen to promote both entrepreneurship and product design amongst young people, and look forward to collaborating further in future.
Nick, Matt and Matt are now developing two follow up products that will be launching at the end of the year. Watch this space!
Click here to visit Rockit on Amazon.

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