A Bristol company that is revolutionising the disability market by producing stylish but practical living aids has signed a deal to supply high street giant Argos.
Blue Badge Company’s colourful range, which includes walking stick bags, lap trays and wheat warmers, is now available on Argos online, marking a major step forward in bringing disability products into the mainstream.
The high street giant is the latest in a string of big name retailers to stock Blue Badge Company products, coming just a few months after a deal with Halfords.
Montpellier-based Blue Badge Company will sell 12 Blue Badge permit covers, four leather display wallets, Radar Keys and five lap tray designs through Argos.com.
As the second biggest online retailer in the UK, the Argos contract is an important win for Blue Badge Company, which was started just four years ago by a designer who was fed up with what she saw as the universally dull, clinical products available to disabled consumers.
She enlisted the help of friend, Ellen Green, and, sitting in the bedroom of her small house in Bristol, the pair started hand-stitching hundreds of eye-catching Blue Badge display wallets.
Blue Badge Company has now sold more than 100,000 of the wallets across the UK and expanded to produce a range of attractive living aids.
Its workforce has grown from one to 20 in the past two years, after winning contracts to supply 2,500 Boots stores nationwide, the Post Office, Halfords and now Argos.
Turnover has quadrupled in the same period from £64,000 to £250,000 and looks set to hit nearly £400,000 this financial year.
With an ageing population and 12 million disabled people in the UK with a spending power of £200bn, Blue Badge Company’s success reflects the growing demand for desirable living aids and universal accessibility.
Following an appearance on the hit BBC2 show Dragons’ Den in August, Blue Badge Company’s following has grown even further.
Ellen, 30, who became sole director two years ago when her friend left to pursue other projects, wants Blue Badge Company’s designs to be viewed as desirable products which bring a bit of joy to people’s lives as well as being practical living aids.
“We are on a mission to invigorate and revitalise everyday products for people with challenging health conditions, to make life a little more fabulous for everyone,” Ellen told Able Magazine.
“My dream is to see our products sitting alongside mainstream desirable household gift items and, for the first time, to bridge that gap between the mainstream market and the disability market.”
Blue Badge Company’s range fits well with Argos’ drive to expand their offering to develop a universal customer appeal.
All Blue Badge Company products are British made and about 40 per cent of the workforce either has a disability or is a primary care giver, ensuring the team has a first-hand appreciation of various disabilities from mental health issues to physical impairments.
“Because of the way we manufacture, we can provide jobs and training for those with limited work options, like people who have domestic responsibilities or disabilities,” said Ellen.
“I believe a company is only as strong as the team behind it.
“Providing work for people who find it more difficult to access employment really boosts personal confidence and team moral.
“It also adds to our understanding our customers and their needs and wishes, which is key.”
Blue Badge Company’s colourful collections can be viewed here: www.bluebadgecompany.co.uk
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