5 Things You May Not Know About NumNum

This month, NumNum turns 5 years old. 5 YEARS OLD!!! We can’t believe it! As part of our celebration for this huge milestone, we have decided to create a blog series called 5 in 5. Each of these blog posts will share 5 things that tell you a little more about us and our journey so far. Our first post is titled 5 Things You May Not Know About NumNum. So, without further delay, here are 5 things you may not know about us. Enjoy!

Inspired by Shark Tank.

Since season one, Jess and I have been huge Shark Tank fans. On a Friday evening in February 2012, we were watching an episode of our favorite TV show while enjoying a glass of wine. In this episode, Mark Cuban made a deal with a guy who had a company called “I Want to Draw a Cat for You” I spewed my wine, turned the TV off and said something to the effect of If HE can come up with an idea and get a deal, WE can, too! (No offense, cat-drawing guy!) As if it was meant to be, we both immediately thought about how our son had been struggling with the spoon and started making notes and scribbling sketches. We were off! Oh, and we did make it all the way to Shark Tank, but that’s all we can really say about that 😉

How a couple may react if Mr. Wonderful offered to marry them on the spot in the Tank. Hypothetically, speaking, of course!

Three Products. Six Patents.

People still think of NumNum as a spoon company, but the GOOtensil isn’t our only product. We introduced our Beginner Bowl, which has a cone-shaped interior to funnel food to one easy-to-find spot for little learners, in the fall of 2016. Our third product is launching in a matter of weeks. To date, we have filed six patents on these products and, while most are still pending, our first patent did issue late last year. Wahoo! It was well worth the wait.

Born in Atlanta. Replanted in Florida.

NumNum was born in Atlanta in 2013. In January of 2017, we relocated the company a short five hours away to Pensacola, FL, my hometown. We made the move for a few reasons – white beaches, lower taxes, white beaches – but the biggest reason was we hoped to build our company in Pensacola and create jobs in a city that can use them. I remember growing up in Pensacola and, while beautiful, it is a city with an economy that depends on two industries: tourism and the military. If our plans pan out, Pensacola is going to become the center of the baby world!

NumNums vs NumNum Dips vs NumNum GOOtensils.

Prior to launching our first product, we had developed a list of no fewer than a hundred possible product names. After torturing friends and family for months, we decided on NumNum Dips. Seemed logical. After all, kids who don’t have wrist rotation can’t scoop; they make a dipping motion, instead. But a funny thing happens over time when you invent a product: You start to learn more about your own product, the market and the nuances of things like, well, product names. We discovered that having “Dip” in the name suggested to parents that our product was a nice-to-have utensil for things like pudding. They didn’t see it as integral to a child’s development. So, we went through the naming process all over again and landed on NumNum Pre-Spoon GOOtensils. The “pre-spoon” part of the name clearly identifies that our GOOtensils is more than an alternative to the spoon, it precedes and helps kids prepare for the spoon. No matter what you call them, though, we will always affectionately refer to them as NumNums.

Awards, Awards, Awards.

To be 100% honest with you, we don’t particularly care for awards. We care about what our customers think! Well, shortly after launching our GOOtensils, we won a Family Choice Award. Okay, kinda cool. A PTPA (Parent Tested, Parent Approved) Award followed. We might’ve celebrated. Okay, we did! Then, THEN we were nominated for a Cribsie Award. In our opinion, the Cribsie Awards are the most prestigious in our industry because a product must be nominated by a fan, then chosen as a finalist by a panel of esteemed Cribsie Award judges comprised of industry experts and celebrities and, finally, the public chooses a winner. Unfortunately, after our product was nominated by a wonderful fan out there, we didn’t win. I think it’s fair to say we cared more about awards in that moment than any other time in our lives. But as luck would have it, we were nominated for a Cribsie Award again in 2017. The second time around proved to be a charm as we went on to win not one, but TWO Cribsie Awards! Our GOOtensils won The Perfect First Spoon Award and our just-launched Beginner Bowl snagged a New Arrival Academy Star, for rising new products. Wahoo! Ahem, I guess we can now go back to not caring about awards 😉

 

 

Spoonaphobia.

We all have fears. Some of us are afraid of heights. Others are afraid of tight spaces. Some of us even fear clowns. (I’m not ashamed, it’s real! It’s called Coulrophobia.) But there’s one fear that all parents share: Spoonaphobia.

What is spoonaphobia? Remember the first time your child lunged for the spoon you were feeding him or her with? You, of course, outmaneuvered them, avoiding a hostile takeover. But in the months that followed, this moment would repeat itself over and over again. The ambivalence you felt about turning the spoon over to your little one, that fear of imminent disaster, we call Spoonaphobia.

Oh, it’s real. And it’s a fear shared by parents the world over. But the reason Spoonaphobia exists is because we’re going about this whole self-feeding thing all wrong. We’re setting the stage for failure by handing a spoon to a child who doesn’t have the skills to properly use it. Disaster is imminent. But it doesn’t have to be.

The Cure for Spoonaphobia

This short brochure, Spoonaphobia, was written in cooperation with Melanie Potock, author, media expert and international speaker on the topic of “feeding”. Melanie offers a self-feeding path to the spoon that is, well, more pragmatic and less explosive. She shares the technical reason behind the spoon’s failure, along with tips and advice on selecting the right utensil for your child. In less that 5 minutes, you can conquer your Spoonaphobia. Now, if someone will please provide a remedy for Coulrophobia.

That Thing That Keeps Us Going.

3 years! That’s how long it’s been since Jessica and I came up with the crazy idea of developing a pre-spoon that would help kids like our son, Conor, who have struggled to learn the spoon. People often ask what keeps us going. This blog post is our answer.

In early April of this year, we awoke to an email from a new customer. She had bought a set of NumNums a couple months earlier for one of her twins. Both twins were preemies, but one was battling feeding challenges. Her issues were so severe she had a G-tube for months. After finally conquering the bottle, mom decided to start introducing solids. It didn’t go well. Below is an excerpt from the email. I’ll let mom’s words tell the rest of the story.

“I was losing hope that she would ever eat solid food. In Feb, I came across your num num dips and ordered them. Let’s just say that the first time I used them with her was the first time she was ever able to eat and swallow baby food without choking, gagging, or freaking out. That was Feb. Now, two months later, she is eating not only baby food, but also table food and just about anything that is offered to her! We are now using the num nums to help teach her to self-feed (their intended purpose). She has come such a long way and I would like to say it is owed to the num nums. I don’t know where she would be if we hadn’t discovered them. I belong to a pediatric feeding disorder Facebook group and shared my little one’s story along with a pic of your product in hopes that they can do for someone else all that they have done for us. They truly are miracle spoons!”

Before NumNum, feeding was a battle.

NumNum success!

The spoons aren’t the miracle in this story. Everyone who reads this blog post knows that. But hearing stories like this is truly what keeps us going. I emailed Alyce, our customer, about this post and she gave me an update on her daughter: she has graduated from feeding therapy and is now in speech therapy. We’re so happy for her and her daughter.

We developed the NumNum GOOtensil because we wanted to help kids who were struggling a little. At the time, we had no idea just how much some of them do struggle. I can’t imagine the strength, courage and patience it must take for parents in situations like this to face mealtime after mealtime with love and support. Thanks so much for sharing your story, Alyce! I’m sure it will inspire parents everywhere. And it gave us exactly what we needed to keep going.

A NumNum Nod to our Bloggers.

Today was a big day for our small company. A story appeared in the Huff Post Parents blog that included a mention of NumNum. “7 Innovative Baby Feeding Products” was the title of the post. And there was our little GOOtensil occupying the number 6 spot. On the Huff Post Parents blog! So cool. A few weeks back, we learned that NumNum was going to be featured in the October issue of Pregnancy & Newborn magazine. This magazine lands in virtually every pediatrician’s office across the country. And there on page 28 is our product. Crazy. I was compelled to create a post about this because I’m not sure everyone understands the magnitude of moments like these for a small company. For those who don’t know, NumNum was started out of a garage a year and a half ago by a mom and dad. In June of 2013 – three months after our launch – our product was sold on consignment in one store (Gretchens in Atlanta – Thank you for believing, Ann!). Today, we’re in well over 100 stores in 5 countries. And we’re in the Huff Post Parents blog AND on store shelves in Pregnancy & Newborn magazine. Safe to say, moments like these are HUGE! How did our crazy little idea get this far? A lot of hard work by a lot of people, to be sure. Investment dollars from friends and family who aren’t venture capitalists or angels (thanks to all of them for believing, as well). But honestly, we couldn’t have done it without the help of our blogging moms and dads. The story picked up by Huff Post was written by Kimberly McLeod, a mom, wife, marketer and blogger at lifeisalullaby.com. The photo used in the Pregnancy & Newborn piece was shot by Megan Bailey, founder and editor of the beautiful blog Sweet Little Peanut. And the general awareness that led to these and other media opportunities was created by all the bloggers who have reviewed our product, invited us to participate in giveaways, or just helped us spread the numminess. Thank you all for helping us get NumNum out of the garage and into places we never thought possible. NumNum!

Answers to Life’s Most Burning Questions…About NumNum.

Since our launch over a year ago, we’ve received emails, tweets and calls with your questions. Questions about our product, our company, and our mission. We’ve compiled a few that we think deserve an answer. Or at least publishing on our blog for everyone to enjoy. You’ve posed the questions. Without further delay, it is time for some answers.

Q: It says on the package your product is for 6+ months – really? Can a baby seriously self-feed at six months??? Mine couldn’t!

A: Mine neither. In fact, most babies aren’t ready till 7, 8 or even 9 months. But we – like other manufacturers of baby utensils – must acknowledge the super babies among us and show the age at which it’s possible for a child to begin safely using our product. Every baby is different. Only you can make the determination as to when your child is ready to begin the self-feeding process and, equally as important, when you as a parent are ready.

Q: Can my child start self-feeding earlier with your product?

A: Our first blog post encouraged readers to say ‘yes’ to self-feeding the first time a child lunges for the spoon. But only a parent knows when their child is truly ready for self-feeding. We simply encourage you to support your baby’s natural curiosity and follow their cues. If you’ve nailed the timing, your baby will be able to replicate the dipping action from your demonstration and will, subsequently, beam with pride over the accomplishment. We call it the ‘Can Do’ moment and it is awesome!

Q: I notice your spoon doesn’t have a safety guard to prevent choking. Is it safe?

A: Let me begin by reminding parents that babies learning to self-feed – whether at a year or 6 months of age – should be supervised by an adult at all times. Also, the child should remain securely seated while using any utensil. Okay, so back to the design of our product…NumNum is designed slightly smaller than most spoons so that when it’s held by a baby, only the head and a bit of the handle will remain. In other words, enough to dip and place in the mouth, but not long enough to cause choking. We think – and our testing has shown! – NumNum is the perfect size for little hands and mouths.

Q: Your product is essentially a spoon with a hole in it! I don’t get it. Sorry.

A: Not the first time we’ve heard this. We would think exactly the same thing had we not teamed up with some bright technical minds who have a better grasp of science and, specifically, the properties of liquids. But surface tension is real and it works. The innovative channels in the orange NumNum actually suspend the food, giving baby more time to get it to the mouth. Science is so cool! Sometimes.

Q: I love that your spoon doubles as a teether! Brilliant!

A: Thank you so much! So…your photo scared us just a bit as a wobbly toddler running full tilt with a utensil in its mouth is…well, somewhat unsettling. NumNum is a utensil first and, as such, should be used only while your child is securely seated. But in between those yummy dips of food, let them gnaw away and soothe those gums!

Q: I love your product but it doesn’t do anything to keep my baby from tipping the bowl over.

A: Uh, you are correct. Our feeding apparatus in no way secures the feeding repository. However, we may have a solution in the works. Shhhhhh!

Q: How did you come up with the name NumNum?

A: Like most babies, our son expressed approval of the food he was eating by mumbling “NumNum.” It stuck.

 Q: I read about your Bite for Bite initiative on your website and I applaud your organization for its social mission. I was wondering how much gets donated annually and how that is managed?

A: Our goal is to donate 8 to 10% of annual profit to a charity (or charities) committed to ending childhood hunger. We estimate it’s going to take 3 to 5 years to achieve that goal. Until we are able to reach our targeted percentage, we compensate by donating our time. Our employees volunteer approximately 20 hours per month with various charities in the Atlanta area, such as Open Hand Atlanta.

Q: I saw a blog post that was about feeding therapists using your product; how is your product different/better than other tools they use?

A: The tool choices at a therapist’s disposal differ little from the spoon options available to a parent. Therapists like NumNum because it’s an early self-feeding utensil that’s actually shaped like a spoon. Also, there’s nothing gimmicky going on to confuse the child. So they feel the transition will be more seamless. Plus, NumNum embraces the concept that, developmentally speaking, dipping precedes scooping and therapists have known this for a long, long time.

Q: You need to make a larger NumNum for messy men like myself!

A: Ha! How can you have any pudding if you don’t have a NumNum?!? We’re on it.

Q: Is NumNum BPA free?

A: Yes. We are parents too, so we are just as concerned about product safety as you are. In fact, because we’re sharing our products with babies around the world, we’re hypersensitive to this issue. You can trust that your child’s safety is always top of mind. It’s the reason we invest in more expensive materials, such as the TPE used in the head of the NumNum. It’s a premium EU-grade material that far exceeds the standards set by the FDA. It’s decisions like this one that speak to our promise to deliver products you can trust.

Q: My son has grown extremely protective of his NumNum and actually started crying when I took it away after dinner. Suggestions?

A: Never, ever attempt to take a NumNum from a child while in use. When the NumNum has been set down, you may then carefully remove the NumNum from the area. However, we would still recommend removing the child from the area first. (Seriously, this is for your own safety.)

Have a question we didn’t answer? Post it here or email us. As always, thanks for supporting and believing in our product. NumNum!