Kool Ideas

Kool idea hits holiday pools

Picture the scene: you’re lying by the pool and you’re browning nicely in the sun. You’re ready to take a dip in the water. But what do you do with your wallet and mobile and other valuables?

Grimsby based innovations company, Kool Ideas, has come up with a solution that’s so obvious it’s positively ingenious. The BathebuddyTM is a small piece of outdoor furniture that doubles as a personal safe. It keeps your belongings conveniently at hand while you are sunbathing, and lets you stow them safely away when you head off into the pool or the sea.

Ian MacKenzie, Consultant Managing Director for Kool Ideas said: “Recent research has found that increasing numbers of people hate to be parted from their gadgets whilst on holiday, often cramming as much £1,500 worth of valuables in their beach bags to survive a day at the seaside.

“We spotted the gap in the market and spent two years designing the product so that it was as stylish as it was practical. We finally launched the BathebuddyTM in 2005 at the World Travel Market in London where it got a lot of interest.”

The company has already shipped a sizeable order to Spain and has more overseas customers knocking on the door. As well as serving a practical purpose, the BathebuddyTM also provides great advertising opportunities for big companies who are keen to brand it with their logo.

Never having exported before, Kool Ideas signed up to UK Trade & Investment’s Passport programme in 2005. With a combination of training, advice and support to new exporters, it was just what the company needed to launch their exciting new product into the international market.

Austen Ward, International Trade Adviser at Business Link Humber said: “Anyone can see why this company is really going to take off over the next year or so. They had a good idea, but they followed it up with a lot of hard work and research and it’s paying off. Doing the Passport programme went some way to preparing them for the international trade activity which is rapidly taking off in all directions”

The company has just returned from the US where the BathebuddyTM is currently being trialled by a major Florida-based hotel group.

Further sales have already been made in Italy, and having recently made an agreement with a large hotel-purchasing group in the United Arab Emirates, the product is soon likely to appear poolside in leading hotels in the Middle East. Negotiations are also currently ongoing with distributors in Malaysia, Tenerife, Cyprus and Malta.