Jackel International, based in Cramlington, Northumberland, is the name behind Britain's best-known brand of baby accessories, the Tommee Tippee range.
For nearly 35 years, the company has been designing and manufacturing baby accessories with particular emphasis on feeding products.
Following the acquisition of the Maws Group in 1995, Jackel gained access to a new plastics technology which Maws had used to create an award winning colour change safety weaning spoon (Mother and Baby awards 1995).
The polypropylene used in the spoon had thermochromic qualities - bringing together two pigments to give one shade, in the Maws case, blue.
However, when the temperature of the food the spoon touched rose above a certain level - 38 degrees was deemed safe for feeding babies - the darker pigment became colourless, allowing the second lighter colour (it was then pink) to show through to give an early, visible warning.
The success of the spoons and the Tommee Tippee version that superseded them encouraged Jackel to extend the use of this new technology to include other baby feeding products in the Tommee Tippee range and thus strengthen their position as market leaders.
When it comes to baby products, safety is always the key factor. Jackel established a close link with the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT), Britain's only charity dedicated to improving child safety, to establish whether the safety benefits of the new Heat Sensor technology were of benefit to parents. The answer was a resounding yes.
The first Heat Sensor range was launched in the UK in July 1997 and was distributed through all major supermarkets, 3,000 independent pharmacies, nursery stores and department stores. The core range of five feeding products, all changing from raspberry red to yellow when food or drink was too hot were an immediate success, with CAPT receiving one penny from each Heat Sensor product sold.
The next stage was to refine and improve the range in specific areas to make full use of Jackel's strengths in design, innovation and manufacturing processes.
The Tip Top drinking cup had already been a big seller. Now Jackel was determined to create a new generation of cups which not only looked good but were completely leak-proof too.
The result? The Tommee Tippee Super Sealtm Heat Sensor Tip Top Cup, guaranteed not to leak because of its special valve in the lid. The valve only opens when sucked and closes off when drinking stops. New shaped handles, a wide base for stability and an hygienic spout cover have all combined to make the new cup 'the mother of all cups!'
Jackel then looked at its range of feeding spoons, already highly successful, to see if there was room for improvement.
The mouths of babies and toddlers are far more delicate than older children and adults and the potential discomfort caused by hard spoons and forks - although rounded and smooth in shape - led Jackel to look for a way to solve the problem.
Working with their plastics supplier, a softer variation of the thermochromic material was found. This unique soft touch material is much less likely to cause discomfort at meal times. In order that the cutlery retains its structural strength, the cutlery is made using a 'two-shot' injection moulding process, allowing the feeding end to be soft and the handle end to be a harder, stronger polymer.
Key to the Jackel product development process is its open team approach: industrial designers, engineers and marketing specialists work together, free input of ideas and opinion is encouraged from outside of the core work group and consumers too have a say through the company's helpline.
Jackel's commitment to Computer Aided Design software allows production of rapid prototypes direct from its data.
These prototypes can be cast in resins that accurately imitate the characteristics of the final production material, enabling them to be evaluated as if they were the finished product, and allowing vital market research to be carried out beginning the tooling phase.
Any changes brought about by the results of this research are made on the 3D digital models before any tooling commitment has been made. Once initiated the company's 3D CAD system can be used by the toolmaker to produce the injection moulding tool. This technology-driven approach helps Jackel keep product development times to a minimum, reducing cost and staying one step ahead of the competition.
Tommee Tippee's Heat Sensor range helped the company to win the premier prize for innovation at the 1998 Le Monde des Enfants show in Paris in July competing against baby companies throughout the world. The Heat Sensor spoons and weaning bowl were awarded Best Buys from the parenting Press in summer 1998. The new Heat Sensor range was displayed in London's Design Museum.
Ask yourself !
