Kids Ground

(July 2006, Cape Town, South Africa) – Three South African entrepreneurs have launched a service that takes the hassle out of travelling with babies. Parents can now hire their baby’s equipment online from www.babylite.co.za and will find it waiting for them on their arrival in various destinations in South
Africa.

This eliminates the bother of having to fly with a bulky, heavy pram and a large bag filled with bottles, sterilizers, nappies, cots, etc. Parents can order their baby’s necessities from the site before getting on the plane, drastically reducing the amount of luggage they need to take on a trip.
The site also sells a Babylite Welcome Pack that includes all the essentials they need for when they get to their destination.

“The Babylite Welcome Pack takes the chore out of arriving at your destination. No more driving around looking for your nearest supermarket or baby store, everything is right there when you arrive,” said Gareth Davies, the site’s founder and director of Babylite. “The Babylite site doesn’t
just provide a baby accessory hire service. It also includes many links of interest to people visiting South Africa such as where to stay and what to do.”

The service is not just for those flying into South Africa from abroad, but for South Africans travelling domestically who want to make their trip less of a mission than it has to be.

Davies, an ex-print production manager, started the company after many of his friends complained about all the stuff they had to carry round with them. “Seeing the amount of equipment a new parent has to deal with was frightening: prams, cots, car seats, walkers etc… as if they didn’t
have enough to focus on without this added hassle.”

Although Davies himself doesn’t have children, his business partners Simon Lait, (who runs the Johannesburg branch) and Craig Hale (who runs the London branch) have three between them.
“Travelling has become more difficult in recent years. Between security concerns and newly enforced baggage restrictions, bringing all the baby supplies you will need while away from home just doesn’t make sense” says Simon Lait, co-founder of Babylite. He loved the idea when it was pitched to him by Davies who had just returned from a 5-year stint in London. “It just made sense to me” he said “and as a parent myself it is a service I would definitely use too”.
Craig Hale, Babylites UK director, recounts his first travel experience with his two kids:
“With eight pieces of luggage between us, prams and car seats, and two small children to handle, the trip was a baggage nightmare” he said. “Three pieces of our luggage alone consisted of baby supplies – nappies, baby wipes, formula, bottles, food, bathing supplies, and countless other items”.
On their next trip, the Hale family left the baby supplies behind only to be met with exorbitant prices at the local store that did not stock the brands their kids were used to using or many of the things they needed. “If only Babylite had been around then” Craig said, “our holiday would have been much more pleasant! Once I heard of Gareth’s idea to start a baby accessory hire company I was in!”
Only a few weeks old, Babylite has already garnered praise from many visitors to the site. “I think the simple layout is really attractive to first time visitors, as well as the excellent service we are offering them” Davies said smiling “but then that was my plan all along”.
The ideal time to order is two weeks before departure (though they can deliver last-minute) so a little advance planning is necessary. But, let’s face it, most of us have been planning ahead since the day we saw two lines on the early pregnancy test.

Babylite – Less Luggage, Less Fuss

Contact details:

Gareth Davies:
Babylite
No 3 Tudor Gardens
Pine Road
Kenilworth
Cape Town
South Africa
7708
Tel: 076 900 2630

E-mail: service@babylite.co.za