“Innovation and design in infant products should never go without safety and functionality” | Key4Communications |

Mima is a young company specializing in prams and strollers. Its innovative designs are the result of taking into account trends in very different fields, such as architecture and car design, and not focusing only in juvenile products. As Davy Kho, director and founder, explains, the company's goal is not to follow industry trends, but to create them.

Which are the major trends in strollers and prams?
Honestly... I don’t know. We try not to look too much at trends within the stroller and pram category. We are much more interested in trends in other fields, like car design, fashion design, architecture, and material technologies. This way we keep our minds fully open and endeavor to become trend setters within our category.

Mima has always opted for innovative designs. Could this be the main characteristic of the company's products?
I would say innovation combined with emotional design; designing products that people become emotionally attached to, that make people proud to use them, that simply make people feel good.

However, innovation and design in infant products should never go without safety and functionality. Innovation, emotional design, safety and functionality are all at the forefront of everything we do within Mima.

Apart from design, how does the company approach the creation of a new product?
Observation is the first and foremost activity we use to start the creative process. Simply watching people interact with products and listening to their stories allows us to pinpoint unexpressed needs and desires. This information is crucial and aids us to produce innovative products. Traditional tools like focus groups or questionnaires do not give you this type of information. And of course being parents ourselves we have been exposed to the daily struggles and joys of raising kids.

This has helped us to compile a whole list of “smart” ideas, which we are planning to turn into reality over the next few years.

Mima is a young company already present in all Europe. How did the company manage the internationalisation process? What must a baby products company take into account when entering other markets?
Finding the right distribution partners is crucial. The key is to find strong partners who are as passionate about our products and our brand as we are.

Entering new markets is a long process, with a lot of travelling, visiting the country, getting to know the partner well, investigating possible retail channels, etc. Even though this is hard work, getting to know new cultures and meeting fabulous people across the globe makes it well worth it.