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Peter White, Chief Executive, BPA
Tel: 0845 456 9570
Email: info@b-p-a.org
Web: www.b-p-a.org
BPA Concept & Innovation Awards 2009
and this product is just one of a large cluster of products launched through the
Tilley Beasley and Phil Jackson
BPA’s awards that are now commonplace on the shelves of retailers throughout
the country.
So we have now whittled this year’s entries down to eleven semi-finalists and after
the presentation stage in August, we will have a quartet of finalists who will
showcase their concepts and prototypes at BPA Baby & Child at ExCel from 11th to
13th October 2009.
Tim Loughton MP Shadow Minister for Children, will be presenting the prize to the
winners on Monday 12th October. He said:“I am looking forward to seeing the
entries that have made the final of this year’s awards. The UK has outstanding
talent when it comes to invention and innovation and no more so than in the
nursery products industry. The BPA does great work on behalf of the industry by
ensuring products are as safe as they can be and by encouraging new product
development into the market.”
Make sure you don’t miss the opportunity to hear Tim Loughton’s address at the
Seminar Theatre on Press Day, Monday 12th October. Online registration is now
open so please visit www.babyandchildfair.co.uk to get your free ticket to the BPA’s
own show.
It’s the show for the industry by the industry.
If at first an idea isn't absurd, there's no hope for it”.
Albert Einstein.
The first phase of the BPA Concept & Innovation Awards 2009 is over and once
again we have been amazed as to the quality and quantity of entrants.
This year we have for the first time made a distinction between “Concept” and
“Innovation” and have run two streams for the entries. We have found that
comparing a total “off the wall” idea from a design student with an almost “ready
for market” product from a “mumpreneur” is next to impossible. Now we can
ensure that we encourage the most creative of design ideas from the Concept pool
and still bring on the more practical and market ready solutions from the
Innovation pool. This year we received a large number of entries for both
categories and judging has proved to be extremely challenging for our panel.
The first phase of judging is complete and the best entries have now been carried
forward to the next stage. This second stage is quite rigorous and not only for the
judges; it involves the preparation of an outline business plan and a detailed
presentation in front of the panel of judges in the style of the BBC programme
“Dragons Den”. There are of course no piles of cash in front of each judge but
contestants do generally receive a comprehensive grilling on their inventions.
The judging panel consists of the top safety experts from our industry together
with marketers and entrepreneurs from both within and outside the industry.
There is no better forum for entrants to receive steerage and guidance on their
ideas and leverage them to the next stage.
The BPA is proud of its record in launching so many new products over the years
that this competition has been running. It has always been our intention to
encourage and stimulate the most creative and inventive people in bringing their
ideas to market. It gives us the opportunity to ensure students, inventors and
designers wishing to launch something new are made aware of the need to build
intrinsic safety into their design.
Last year’s winners Tilley Beasley and Phil Jackson with the ‘Wean Machine’ have
successfully launched their product on both the domestic and international stages
www.nursery-industry.co.uk
•
AUGUST 2009
•
NURSERY INDUSTRY
•
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