When you’re searching for a new product opportunity – whether to sell on eBay, sell on Amazon, or sell in any other kind of business – it’s always a good idea to look for a big and growing market. And here’s a market that’s definitely big and growing …. baby products.
You might not realise that around 800,000 babies are born in the UK each and every year …. so there’s no shortage of potential customers for baby products.
According to market researchers Mintel the baby goods market is worth £750m per year and is likely to grow 20% in the next two years. Add that to the fact that new parents (and grandparents) have a tendency to go out and buy a load of new stuff for each new baby and you’ll see there could be some incredible opportunities here.
New and used …. or both? One of the exciting things with baby products is that, with some of them, you can buy and sell both NEW and USED products. Buy good quality used items from parents whose babies have outgrown them – then sell on to the next batch of parents to be. Simple!
Here are a few ideas for the kinds of baby products that are almost always hot:
Buggies. Number one on every new parents list. There’s a massive range from possibilities from full size to lightweight, double buggies, integrated travel systems, three wheelers and even good old fashioned prams. Well known brand names are tipped highly here.
Feeding, sleeping and changing. Most babies spend 90% of their time doing one of these, so it’s an area with massive demand. Here are a few product ideas: Bottles and accessories. Sterilisers. Breastfeeding. Cots, cribs, Moses baskets. Changing bags and mats. High chairs. Baby baths.
You could also look at the opportunities for supplying/delivering nappies …. apparently it’s perfectly possible for a baby to go through 4,000+ nappies!
Clothing. Of every type, in every size. Indoor, outdoor, sleepwear. A good idea is to try and source something different that’s not readily available everywhere else. Maybe even establish your own designer brand. Great gift potential here too.
It could make sense to branch out into maternity clothing as well. By offering a line of maternity clothing and promoting it extensively you could build a fabulous advance mailing list of customers for your baby products!
Travel stuff. There are probably some armies that travel more lightly than many families with new babies! So anything travel related, that’s light and can fold up to fit in an average car is good news. So think …. travel seats, baby carriers, travel cots etc.
Toys. Tons of potential here from the latest electronic baby toys to traditional wooden toys. Anything bright, musical and flashy tends to do well although the most popular toys tend to have an educational element somewhere. Also consider – rockers, bouncers and swings.
Don’t forget books that might appeal to the baby market too – loads of potential here. (Who knows maybe sooner or later there’ll be Kindle ebooks for babies too!)
Where to source: There’s no shortage of sources for baby products. You can try wholesalers, distributors, importers, surplus stock sources and also consider import directly yourself. Try The Secret Source Directory for hundreds of actual sources complete with contact details.
Safety first. Whenever you’re sourcing baby products it’s especially important to check they’re safe. Remember some products like car seats aren’t suitable for buying selling second hand. Also most products should carry a CE mark to show they’re safe and legal to sell in the EU.