The Boston Herald - Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Giving babies a little extra Boost: Local co.'s clothes may cut allergy, asthma risk
By Jennifer Heldt Powell
Kelly Majewski attracted lots of attention when she took her infant daughter to the grocery store. But it wasn't the baby so much as the baby bottle that drew the interest.
It was a Podee bottle with a tubing system designed to reduce the amount of air that gets into a baby's belly.
``I had people coming up to me left, right and center,'' the Newburyport mom said.
The experience gave her and another mom, Julie Gordon, of Swampscott, an idea for a new business: one that would bring mothers unusual, useful baby products not typically found on store shelves.
They launched Baby Splendor two years ago by introducing moms to products through home parties.
The young company recently took another step: unveiling a new line of baby goods.
The company's ``Baby Boost'' line is based on research performed in Boston that suggests babies exposed to certain proteins develop better immune systems and have fewer problems with allergies and asthma.
``We were looking for innovative products, and we found the best place to look was in our own backyard,'' Gordon said.
The line features teddy bears, security blankets and other such stuff fitted with time-release mechanisms that release proteins into the environment as a baby grows.
The technology was developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Massachusetts General Hospital researchers.
As a baby's immune system develops, it must learn to distinguish between what's harmful and what's not, explained MIT researcher Simon Dao.
Baby Boost products use naturally occurring proteins that help the immune system develop.
Though the proteins occur naturally, some babies are commonly exposed to them, but others aren't. And some babies prone to asthma and allergies can benefit from extra exposure to the proteins.
The researchers started selling Baby Boost products on a limited basis earlier this year, before hooking up with Baby Splendor to market the goods more broadly. Now, Baby Splendor has exclusive rights to commercially develop and market the immune-boosting technology. Majewski and Gordon hope the products help their small company grow.
The two former corporate-communications specialists have already thrown nearly 100 parties to show off the line. But they recently recruited 15 sales consultants to help organize even more gatherings.
|