Babybuds bouquets blossom

SYDNEY: A mother's affair with floral bouquets has paid big dividends for childrenswear label Babybuds.
Since launching into the apparel market several years ago, Artarmon-based designer Charmaine Papallo has set about reinventing the wheel by ditching standard marketing campaigns for a novel new packaging concept.
Boasting a small range of jumpsuits, singlets, bodysuits, pants, beanies and bibs, products in the collection are formed into rosebuds then boxed and presented as a fabric bouquet.
The innovative marketing concept has been credited for helping drive sales of the Babybuds brand which - since beginning life as a giftware company five years ago - has boasted year-on-year growth of more than 30 per cent.
Papallo credits the brand's unique packaging as the reason for the interest in the company's apparel brand of the same name.
She said the idea for Babybuds developed when she gave birth to her daughter Olivia in 2001 where she was inundated with gifts of fresh flowers, designer baby clothes and toys from family and friends.
"Like most new mums I appreciated everyone's generosity. However I left the flowers at the hospital when we went home and quickly realised that, despite the cuteness of the clothes and toys, what Olivia really needed was the practicality of basic baby clothing. I decided to create a gift with a 'wow' factor which combined the romance of flowers with the practicality of essential baby clothing such as singlets, socks, bodysuits and jumpsuits."
Manufactured in China, the apparel range comes in five colours - marshmellow, sky, frangipani, malibu and berry - in sizes 000 to 0.
Price points range from $8 for a singlet to $25 for a jumpsuit.
Available in Kid Central stores and selected boutiques nationally, the label recently began selling in New Zealand.
"Currently Babybuds has an office in Australia and New Zealand and have resisted further expansion to ensure we focus all of our energy and resources locally for this year. In 2007 we would like to extend the range by adding extra pieces to the current range. I believe [next year] will be our year to expand further. As to where? Watch this space."