Baby Banana brushes by Live-Right were introduced in the year 2001 by Sandra Phillips who is also the owner of the company. Mommy & Baby Times (MBT) had a chat with Ryan Phillips, Chief Operations Officer at Baby Banana (Live-Right LLC), about how the idea to introduce safer toothbrushes for toddlers germinated and the market presence of Baby Banana brand around the world.
November 30, 2018
Baby Banana products bring teething and tooth brushing together and all of its products are made from food grade silicone. It offers a range of toothbrushes for infants and kids, teethers, and tooth gel; the toothbrushes come with different interesting themes such as- banana, corn cob, shark, etc. to the taste and liking of infants.
Motto: to keep little mouth safe and promote oral care habits
The toothbrushes by Baby Banana are quite innovative as Ryan Phillips states “we’re the first teether, toothbrush combo made out of silicone and something of this kind didn’t really exist before we introduced our brand in the market. They are completely bendable and flexible and if a child bites too hard or fall while they are brushing, the Baby Banana Brush will flex and protect children from the risks of oral injury.”
“We couldn’t find one toothbrush in the market which would assure a safe brushing experience for toddlers. My mother, who is the owner of the company, and my wife started the venture with this idea to try to create something that’s safer for babies.”
How Baby Banana came into being
The main motive behind the inception of the company was a personal observation as Phillips relates “in 2001, my nephew who was a small baby was chewing on his toothbrush, as toddlers often do. While running, he suddenly tripped and fell resulting in the hard plastic toothbrush impaling the roof of his mouth, puncturing the soft palate tissue. The injury could have been serious and it is a cause of concern that injuries like this are the leading cause of children under the age of two visiting the Emergency Room.”
This personal experience made the people associated with the company deliberate on the dearth of safe toothbrushes for toddlers and the lack of cognizance about the hard bristles used in ordinary toothbrushes. He further adds “at that time, me and my wife who is a dental hygienist mulled over to find something safe out there because babies run out with things in their mouth a lot especially when they are teething. We started to explore, however, we couldn’t find one toothbrush in the market which would assure a safe brushing experience for toddlers. My mother, who is the owner of the company, and my wife started the venture with this idea to try to create something that’s safer for babies. And then we just came across the idea of a Baby Banana theme and from there, it just took off.”
On manufacturing and the market reach for Baby Banana
The toothbrushes by Baby Banana are manufactured in New York as well as in Taiwan and about the quality of the materials, Phillips maintains, “the 100% food-grade silicone that is used in our toothbrushes is sourced from Germany and the quality of our products is of supreme importance to us at Baby Banana. We are always trying to push our reach with the look and the functionality of our products.”
About the growing market presence, he says “we had started out in the United States, and we are in about 30 different countries as of now. Moreover, we have a very strong presence in China and we in fact have an exclusive distributor who is working for us since a long time. We’re in Canada and Australia, and we’re branching over to Europe and to the Middle East. There are some places in which we’ve been there for a few years and we’ve got a pre-established presence, while in other places we are just starting to grow.”
With regard to the Indian market, he affirms positively: “we are looking forward to introduce our brand in the Indian subcontinent as we are actively in search for a suitable local distributor to associate.”
“The inherent idea with which we introduced the training toothbrushes for babies is to inculcate awareness around the baby oral care. We are gearing towards expanding the product portfolio of the brand as we will launch our teething toy range real soon.”
Future plans and marketing strategies
There are a few products that Baby Banana would be coming out with in the near future as he says “the inherent idea with which we introduced the training toothbrushes for babies is to inculcate awareness around the baby oral care. We are gearing towards expanding the product portfolio of the brand as we will launch our teething toy range real soon probably in the next year or so. We have decided on the theme of Jellyfish for this range and there will definitely be other exciting themes and colours as well.”
Pointing to the marketing strategies espoused by the brand, he informs us that “our products are available in leading retail chain stores, on our own website and on Amazon. We try to make it a point to have our presence on the mom-and-pop stores, boutique stores and general stores as well. Baby Banana products are so priced to ensure that it suits everyone in the distribution chain. The omnichannel marketing approach is certainly crucial today and we understand that and strive to deploy that thoroughly in the way we work.”
