Happy Birthday Toby Tiger
At Toby Tiger, we are celebrating our 24th birthday this month!
When starting out as a business owner, it can be tough to gain traction. In the early days of Toby Tiger, founder Zoe Mellor had no idea whether anyone would even care about organic baby clothing. How many parents even knew about this stuff? Fortunately, her instincts were correct, and the response from her parents was enthusiastic. Since launching in 1998, Toby Tiger has grown into one of the most well-known brands in the industry. We are now celebrating an important milestone: its 24th anniversary! Let's look at some of the highlights and learn what's coming next…
It all began when renowned knitwear designer Zoe Mellor relocated to Brighton from London. After Zoe had her first child, the business Toby Tiger—named after her son—was established. The timing turned out to be great because the fabric industry was starting to change, and more parents demanded non-toxics for their babies. So Toby Tiger was in the right place at the right time.
In Brighton, Zoe started her first tiny store offering applique designs for infants and children, and early Toby tiger printed t-shirts. As she created new, vibrant designs, Zoe began selling to other stockists.
When Zoe's second child was born, she moved Toby Tiger to the more extensive, larger shop in Gardner Street, Brighton, where we are still located today, exactly like other parents who love to move houses after having a baby! The store was finally prepared to open after six months of construction, a hole in the roof, and a resident pigeon.
Small and more significant retailers were interested in Toby Tiger, and the company expanded. We were the first to produce colourful organic children's clothing, where Zoe's passion and dedication for using organic cotton in vibrant colours began.
For Toby Tiger to continue to be sold to our fabulous European stockists, Zoe established the German sister firm in Berlin. Opening of the Toby Tiger German office and warehouse. To develop our German office and warehouse, where we love to sell to all of our EU stockists, Zoe relocated to Berlin.
As our need for product storage transcended the shop, boxes started to reside in Zoe's kitchen, house, office, and studio.
We relocated our expanding collection to our Lancing facility. To the delight of Zoe's family, the Toby tiger offices now had more room thanks to this gorgeous new warehouse, which also prevented Zoe's home from serving as a warehouse.
With her small, fantastic Toby Tiger team in the UK, who continue to spread the Toby Tiger philosophy as the seagulls' caw in the background, Zoe, who primarily resides in Berlin, loves a good Teams call.
As a parent, you know how important it is to be vigilant about the products and fabrics you buy for your children. Toby Tiger has always been committed to organic materials and non-toxic. This is not just a trend; This is a way of life. And it's something that more parents are embracing every year. Toby Tiger has always been committed to organic fabrics and non-toxic. That was true from the beginning, and it's still true today. So as we celebrate 24 years of organic baby and toddler clothing, we're proud to say that this is the same company that launched all those years ago.