Mom who couldn't find the 'right' nappy bag so decided to create her own brand
A mother who found it difficult to find a nappy bag that suited her needs decided to design one that would help mothers in the South African market. Ree Geldenhuys, the mother and owner of Rees Collectives, now supplies over one hundred Checkers stores in South Africa.
As a mother (and father), it can be difficult to coordinate outings with just one nappy bag if what you have are three kids who are infants.
Making sure your bag has everything that you may need and backups for one kid can be menacing, but for three, it's a whole other story. So it is both exciting and quite calming to hear about Ree Geldenhuys's story.
After traveling to the USA in 2017, she found that she was unable to find a nappy bag that suited her needs with her three kids, all under 18 months old.
Geldenhuys told Business Insider: "We needed a diaper bag. I couldn’t find one and ultimately we developed one, started selling it [at expos locally], and then I got a gap to go into Checkers."
She took into regard the common sized bottlenecks for babies in SA, the need for storage compartments (so you don't dig inside the bag for an hour looking for one item), and allowed for a variety of ways to carry the bag.
Just before the hard lockdown hit, Ree Collective got an opportunity to supply Shoprite Checkers and it was a hit. So much so that she now supplies over 100 Checkers stores nationwide.
And now they even have a backpack collection, which can also be found at Checkers.
"In addition to growing in the luggage department, Geldenhuys was asked by Checkers to widen her offering in the baby department as demand for Ree Collective products soared." (Business Insider)
Image Credit: Instagram