The BPA Party and Awards at the Tower Guoman Hotel was an evening of anticipation and excitement, as the companies whose products had been short-listed at the show learned the judge's final decisions. There were 10 categories this year, plus four special categories - Must Have, Best Debut, Environmental and Innovative.
14 Award Winners
The winner of the Child Restraints category was Maxi-Cosi Pearl Car Seat by Dorel UK. The judges considered that its electronic features made it stand out from the other entries.
Best Safety product was Clevamama Transparent Oven Door Guard by Clevamama, while the winner of the Clothing & Accessories Category was Haptic Ltd for its Taggies Colours Blue Swirls Sleepsuit.
Britax was awarded top prize in the Wheeled Goods category for its Britax B-Dual. The judges were impressed with the robust, but stylish design.
Travel Accessories was won by Biddle Innovations for its Content & Calm Car Pod, while The Wean Machine from Cheeky Rascals was the overall winner for best Feeding & Sucking product.
In Home incorporated many products from cots and baby seats to activity mats. The overall winner in this category for 2009 was Chicco UK for its Jazzy Highchair.
More Toys
With many more toy companies exhibiting at the show this year, the number of Playtime entries was at an all time high, however, 1 Two Kids Ltd was the winning company for its Under the Nile - Veggin' Out range.
The Bathtime category category was particularly difficult for the judges as the entries this year were so diverse, from toothbrushes and toiletries to toys and towels. However, in their opinion, the overall winner this year was Splash n Bump for its Bath Bumper Set.
Again, there are numerous products associated with Sleeptime from beds and bedding to comforters and canopies. The winning product which judges felt stood out in this category though was Haptic Ltd for its Little Taggies Colours Oopsie Daisy.
The Best Debut product for 2009 was Hippychick for its Duskymoon Dream Tubes Cot Bed, which the judges considered a winning design, while the most Innovative product this year was The Britax Safefix Plus by Britax.
The best Environmental product was awarded to Green People for its Organic Babies, while the coveted Must Have Award was scooped by Cheeky Rascals for The Wean Machine.
Retailer Recognition
Winstanley's Pramworld of Wigan was announced as the National Retailer of the Year at the Party and Awards dinner last night. Recognised for its outstanding service to customers and indepth knowledge of its products - the judges felt that the company's service was unrivalled.
Regional finalists, who were all highly commended, were Cyril Webber of Barnstable for the South West, Babyworld of Wallingford for the South, Frills All Round of Uckfield for the South East, Bristols Early Days of Sutton in Ashfields for the Midlands and East Anglia, Lullabys of Chirk for the North West and Tony Kealy's of Dublin for Scotland and Ireland.
All companies were praised for their exemplary levels of customer service and were presented with awards by Comedian Tim Clark.
BPA will be issuing regular e-newsletters to visitors between now and the show. We will include news on the Baby&Child Fair, the Baby Products Association as well as profiles of our exhibitors.
If you would like to be included within the newsletter, and for all press and pr opportunties, please contact Christel Davidson on: 0845 456 9580 or forward your details to: christel@b-p-a.org