According to the "2022 White Paper on the Development of China's Infant and Child Travel Industry", the overall compound annual growth rate of China's safety seats will remain at 9.6% in the next five years.
In the arena where new and old players are on the same stage, the focus of competition in safety seats has been extended from basic safety and quality assurance to multi-dimensional competitions such as the application of electrification technology, the improvement of intelligent functions, and the optimization of fashionable appearance. In this round of more fierce competition, how to establish higher technical barriers, on the basis of ensuring safety, to meet the diversified consumption needs of users to continue to advance, has become the key to the stable market position of the safety seat brand.
Today, because of the launch of Babyfirst's new product Lingyue 3, we have made an in-depth visit to the Babyfirst brand. Let's take a look at Babyfirst's innovative attitude on the basis of continuing the design concept of Lingyue series with comfort as the core, and taking the lead in a new round of product competition. At the same time, what is the attitude and concept of Bayfirst brand in returning to the core demands and consumption of users?
"Babies love to sit to be really safe"
"Separation of decision-makers and users" has always been a typical feature of the maternal and infant consumer market, which is also reflected in the purchase of safety seat products, and parents as buyers are very likely to be attracted by various fancy features and marketing methods when choosing safety seats. However, when it comes to assessing comfort as a key factor, parents are often difficult to empathize with and are easily distracted by their subjective awareness. Therefore, although parents consciously choose a car seat with high comfort, whether the product is really comfortable or not can only be revealed after the baby actually experiences it. In fact, it is never the parents who really "ignore the real body feeling and needs of the baby", but the product design itself, some brands will use this as a gimmick to promote and exaggerate the advantages of the product, and some brands are committed to solving problems and iterating the product experience, Babyfirst is obviously the latter.
In an exclusive interview with the Maternal and Child Industry Observer, Liu Wensheng, Director of the Babyfirst Business Division of Ningbo EF Baby Products Co., Ltd., also expressed a similar view, "In the process of purchasing safety seats, parents will pay more attention to factors such as the functional practicality of the seat, safety certification compliance, and appearance design. However, when carefully selected products are used in practice, the comfort of the product itself and the acceptance of children often become their primary concern, so the balance between safety and comfort is the most difficult design difficulty for products such as safety seats. ”
Liu Wensheng, director of the first business department of Baby, was interviewed
As a "children's travel expert" trusted by young parents, Babyfirst has always adhered to the design concept of "children first", and is committed to providing more comprehensive and meticulous travel product solutions for Chinese families, which is not only the original intention of Babyfirst, but also a father's persistence and dedication to product quality. Back in 1998, Mr. Xu Lihong traveled to Europe and the United States, and really felt that the popularity and use rate of foreign safety seats is extremely high, in contrast, there are still many deficiencies in the supply and use of baby travel safety awareness and related products in China, so while becoming a father, he decisively founded China's local safety seat brand Babyfirst, aiming to let every Chinese mother and child family traveling by car can enjoy professional safety care.
"Since the brand introduced the concept of safety seats into China, the Babyfirst brand has been deeply engaged in the research and development and manufacturing of safety seats, hoping to provide Chinese maternal and infant families with excellent safety performance travel products. When talking about the core development concept of the brand, Liu Wensheng said. According to the observation of the maternal and infant industry, in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the sitting needs of infants and young children in the car, Babyfirst has conducted a large number of research and investigations, and transformed the research results into actual product innovation, and launched a series of Lingyue products. The launch of the Lingyue 3 is to meet the needs of the baby's riding comfort and accurate response, on the basis of the second-generation product Lingyue Pro, from the three dimensions of the seat's touch, body and sitting feeling to carry out another comprehensive upgrade.
Triple dimensions for a comfortable cabin
Fully meet the baby's riding needs
Touch: plant tencel + heat-absorbing fabric, smooth and dry at any time
Haptics are the first door your baby opens to the car seat, so fabric selection is crucial. Babyfirst 3 is made of TencelTM plant Tencel mesh, which is not only delicate and soft to the touch, but also has moisture-wicking and natural antibacterial functions, leaving a good impression on your baby from the moment they come into contact. Combined with the heat-absorbing fabric woven from instant cooling yarn, it only takes 0.2 seconds to quickly take away the dry heat, bringing a refreshing and comfortable experience to the baby. It is worth emphasizing that all fabrics of Babyfirst 3 have undergone strict testing by OEKO-TEX to ensure that there are no harmful substances and fully protect your baby's health.
Somatosensory: 295° deepened headhead canopy + three-level ventilation design to create a safe and comfortable sleeping environment for babies
In order to enhance the baby's riding experience, the Babyfirst Lingyue 3 has a unique cabin design, with an innovative and deepened 295° headcanopy, which provides sun protection and eye protection while creating a safe riding environment. In addition, the Babyfirst 3 also upgrades the circulating ventilation function to three gears, the touch screen is very convenient to operate, and the dual air duct design can not only ensure the air circulation inside the seat, but also effectively help the baby sweat and absorb moisture, adding to the peace of mind and comfortable sleep.
Sitting: Zero-pressure spine pad + spine backrest, all-round release of baby's spine pressure
The baby's sitting comfort directly affects the riding experience, so the seat design needs to take into account the pressure of the spine and the needs of neck protection. As early as 2018, Babyfirst took the lead in proposing the concept of C-shaped cockpit spine protection, and continuously improved the spine protection technology in subsequent products. Since the second generation of Lingyue Pro products, its spine protection performance has far exceeded that of ordinary inner liners, and Lingyue 3 has been upgraded on this basis. The baby liner is filled with breathing hole EPS solid and 4D air wire, which matches the development of the baby's spine, which not only reduces the pressure on the spine and hip area, but also ensures the ventilation of the back. When the inner liner is removed, the new spine backrest can also be adjusted up with the headrest as the child grows taller, extending the zero-pressure support up to 7 years of age. The headrest is made of slow rebound memory foam, which can achieve a maximum lying angle of 170 degrees, smoothing the head and neck difference in one move and avoiding the phenomenon of the baby's neck.
Babyfirst not only provides the ultimate comfortable experience for children through innovative technology, but also shows the perfect combination of science and humanity in product design, making parent-child travel safer, more comfortable and convenient. Its B-ISP honeycomb side defense design cleverly integrates the honeycomb pressure relief structure and steel skeleton, which can effectively resist and vent the side impact force, providing a solid safety guarantee for the baby. In addition to meeting the needs of the baby, Babyfirst also fully considers the convenience needs of parents when using the safety seat, so the safety seat is equipped with a two-in-one function that can be rotated 360° with one hand, so that parents can easily operate it when holding the baby with one hand, which greatly improves the convenience of travel. It is worth mentioning that the Babyfirst Lingyue 3 has passed the strict ECE R129 certification for all age groups from 0 to 7 years old, which also demonstrates its excellent quality and professionalism in the field of child safety seats.
"In summary, the Lingyue 3 is a good expression of our Babyfirst brand's perception of the safety seat category, even if this comfort is not as easy as the 'safe' parts can be 'seen', but we are willing to continue to work hard, just to make the child ride more comfortable. Liu Wensheng further said in an interview.
It is true that the launch of Lingyue 3 is not only another painstaking attempt by Babyfirst on the Lingyue series for the "pursuit of comfort", but also a strong demonstration of its continuous innovation and profound strength in the field of safety seats.
23 years of integrated operation mode of production, marketing and research
Solid support behind high quality
Looking at the entire baby travel market, most baby travel brands generally follow three production models, either take the OEM processing route, or directly purchase the public model developed by the manufacturer, or build their own factories and establish a whole industry chain system. Although the first two models can save brand time and capital costs to a certain extent, and can achieve benefits in the short term, in the long run, these two models have limitations that cannot be ignored, the OEM model is highly dependent on the scale of the factory, technology and supply chain stability, which makes the brand in a passive position in product quality control;
Baby No. 1 brand has a world-class R&D and production base of more than 80,000m2
Based on the perspective of long-termism, Babyfirst decisively abandoned the production model of foundry and public model at the beginning of its establishment, and resolutely embarked on the road of "independent research and development" to build an integrated business model of production, marketing and research. Focusing on the field of R&D and production, Babyfirst is one of the few enterprises in China with its own factory, which not only has an independent R&D system and high-standard R&D qualifications, but also conducts phased sampling inspections on products through a professional testing system to ensure product safety while ensuring the consistency of mass production goods and test products. Focusing on the supply chain level, Babyfirst is well aware of the importance of high-quality partners for product quality, so it actively reaches strategic cooperation with the world's top brands and scientific research institutions.
In addition to focusing on the in-depth research of its own products and the improvement of the supply chain, Babyfirst is also committed to promoting the benign and positive development of the infant travel industry with the power of the brand. According to Liu Wensheng, "Babyfirst is not only the drafter and compiler of China's first mandatory national standard (3C) for "Child Occupant Restraint System for Motor Vehicles" and the standard for intelligent safety seats and in-flight child restraint devices (ACRD), but also the first brand in China to pass the 3C certification, and obtained the No. 001 certificate one step ahead." "With the second update of the mandatory national standard (3C) of the "Child Occupant Restraint System for Motor Vehicles", Babyfirst will also further optimize and upgrade its products based on the new 3C standard, and continue to lead the industry standards and technological innovation. Liu Wensheng further added.
China's first 3C certificate for child safety seats
From the perspective of the industry, the infant travel industry has ushered in the stage of refined development, and in the new round of competition, only by accurately capturing consumer needs and continuously improving in multiple dimensions can we stand out in the new wave of consumption. Obviously, Babyfirst has made comprehensive preparations for this, from in-depth exploration of user needs, to promoting product innovation and upgrading, to exploring the boundaries of category innovation, every step has shown a forward-looking strategic vision and determination to lead the industry, and the listing of Lingyue 3 will undoubtedly further raise the comfort standard of safety seats and set a new model for the entire industry.