Pregnancy & Baby Fair plan was child’s play

The Pregnancy and Baby Fair is the hugely successful brainchild of two women who were confident enough to brave the Dragons’ Den, says Jonathan deBurca Butler

CORK City Hall and its environs are set to go ga-ga, and quite possibly goo-goo, this weekend when they host this year’s annual Pregnancy and Baby Fair. The two-day event, which started in the RDS in Dublin in 2009, is paying its third annual visit to Cork. It is pitched as “a one-stop shop for everything baby-related” and over 50 exhibitors from buggy retailers and nappy sellers to sleep doctors and nutritionists are lined up to feature.

“It’s a smaller show [than Dublin] because City Hall is the biggest venue we can get down in Cork, unfortunately,” says organiser and the fair’s co-founder Claire Finnan. “We would love to bring a bigger show because, as a community, Cork people are very generous and engaging, and as a result a lot of brands really love going down to Cork. I think they feel they have more time to spend with people because it’s a smaller show, so exhibitors get good value out of it. We also find that when we’re giving out goody bags and the like they’re a bit more grateful.”

Claire and her business partner Jennifer Shaw started Huggy Bloom Enterprises Ltd. back in 2009 shortly after Jennifer got married.

“Jennifer had got married and was researching having a baby and she realised that there was a gap in the market for a fair of this nature,” says Claire. “We set up the company and six weeks later we went on Dragons’ Den. We were lucky; it was only their second series and all five of them got on board. So we got some cash, we got on the Late Late and we got lots of PR coverage. We went in to the project with a quarter of a million euro to spend on PR and getting the show right. So when we opened there were huge queues out the door and it was a huge success.”

Considering it was 2009, just after Ireland’s economic nappy had been well and truly soiled, the success of the fair was something of a miracle. Undoubtedly Irish people’s predilection for reproduction has a part to play in the fair’s success; we are among the most fertile people in Europe, but Claire is no doubt as to why it all took off.

“Having the Dragons’ support opened the doors to big brand companies who normally wouldn’t touch you unless you were years in business,” says Claire. “Family and friends were great as well and we scrimped and saved to get the money together.”

Since the inaugural event, the fair has become bigger and bolder and many companies now wait for it to come around every year in order to launch new ranges and products. An 85% returning exhibitor rate would indicate that the partners are doing something right. For those attending there is the guarantee of a plethora of freebies and many discounts, with an entrance fee of €10.

Although much of the focus is on getting that bargain buggy or stocking up on your anti-colic teats, Claire has seen a noticeable increase in the desire for knowledge and expertise.

“We found that lots of people are coming for advice; that’s becoming increasingly popular. So we have a sleep doctor, a breast feeding expert, a nutritionist, a paediatrician and so on. “People are also looking at what kinds of chemicals they’re putting on their babies, so companies like Earth Mother and the like who do creams for mum and baby are very popular. Organic foods and what they’re actually feeding their baby would also be popular.”

Claire knows that a happy child is a happy parent, so comfort and distraction factors for kids will be big at this year’s fair.

* The Pregnancy and Baby Fair is at the City Hall, Cork, tomorrow and Sunday, 10am-5pm