Baby Bum Shower is an easy-to-use and environmentally friendly solution to single-use wipes, founded by twin sisters and nurse practitioners Jessica Whalley and Samantha Hair.
The Australian-designed, small, hand-held device delivers pH-neutral soap and water, or just water, reducing the need for nappy wipes.
It’s easy to use with a simple squeeze in messy situations.
hone.pd helped Baby Bum Shower with product design, supply, manufacturing sourcing, coordination and consultation, and shipping and logistics to Australian and US warehouses for distribution.
The Problem
Jessica Whalley was waiting in her car with her niece and faced a messy, nappy-changing situation.
With no way to wash her hands afterwards, the need for water became evident, so the idea of incorporating water to enhance the cleaning process took shape.
But the idea continued to grow from there. How could they offer parents a simple, efficient and gentle solution that could also be used to wash hands after nappy changes?
Newborns have delicate skin, so it is important to maintain their skin barrier without needing daily baths, which could strip away essential skin oils.
After lingering on the business idea for a year, the two decided to put their medical practice and hygiene knowledge to work in late 2018 to develop Baby Bum Shower.
Based in Darwin, the Northern Territory government approved the sisters for R&D funding to partner with hone.pd for product design engineering.
The Project Goal
The project aimed to reduce waste—over 2,000 wipes are used yearly to change nappies. The founders also wanted a studier solution after using leaky spray bottles to clean baby bums.
hone.pd set out to design a small device that could be stored in a standard handbag, operated in one hand, squirted, and then sealed up.
The device needed to be comfortable picking up, twisting, turning, spraying, and putting away, all while holding a baby’s legs.
The Challenges
The most challenging aspect of the design process was developing a bottle with a fine misting spray. We researched nozzles for low-pressure misting, and although they are typically manufactured out of brass or steel, converting the effect from metal to plastic was successful.
We tested over ten prototypes (more than usual) to find the right design. The squeeze was challenging to achieve based on women’s hand strength, which is, on average, 30% weaker than the average man’s.
Based on fluid dynamics and hand shape, the result is an ergonomic device that comfortably sits in the palm and can be held and used with one hand.
For this project, we partnered with a small-volume manufacturer for prototyping and a factory that specialised in high-volume silicon and soft plastic moulding for production.
Baby Bum Shower is uniquely designed to be recycled and features a click-sealing lid that can rotate over the nozzle to be opened and closed.
The Launch
As a small, hand-held bidet that delivers soap and water, Baby Bum Shower is on a mission to minimise waste by reducing the number of wipes used to clean a baby.
And after three years of hard work, Baby Bum Shower successfully launched to market in February 2021.
Since its launch, Baby Bum Shower has remained a sell-out item. It is accessible online through the website and is also sold at leading retailers, The Memo and The Stork Nest.
Baby Bum Shower has also expanded into the USA (where it is called the Baby Bidet), UK, New Zealand, Singapore, Sweden, and Chile.
To further support Baby Bum Shower’s global distribution, hone.pd managed logistics from manufacture to both the USA and Australia, as well as packaging and product requirements that can differ from country to country, be it barcoding requirements by region or labelling compliance.
Good Design Gold Award
In 2021, Baby Bum Shower received the Australian Good Design Award Gold for Product Design in Sport and Lifestyle.
The Australian Good Design Awards are Australia’s oldest and most prestigious international awards for design and innovation, with a proud history dating back to 1958.
From Good Design Awards Jury:
“The landfill of baby wipes and disposable nappies are a massive cost to the earth, and the designers should be applauded for their effort to tackle this growing problem. The cute, sleek, efficient and hand-held ‘bidet’ minimises waste by reducing the number of wipes used to clean a baby. It's a simple but effective solution that will go a long way towards saving the environment. The shape is also interesting and fun.”
Baby Bum Shower also received the National Parenting Award the same year.
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