Popular wholesaler Sunnylife Australia has launched a new children’s range, putting its colourful, fun-loving spin on everything from kids’ plates to backpacks.
Sunnykids was 12 months in the making and includes mealtime, bathtime and party items along with games, instruments and beach and pool floats in the familiar quirky Sunnylife style.
The debut range focuses on four themes—wonderland, fruit salad, under the sea and sweet tooth—and managing director Barry Glick says the inspiration behind the products was simply to put smiles on kids’ faces.
“We looked at introducing new concepts as well as reinventing existing product formats on the market and thought, ‘How can we sunny-fy this item? How can we make it fun and enjoyable for the consumer and the gift giver?’” he explains.
Although Sunnylife launched in 2003, the brand has really exploded in popularity over the past three years, expanding into new product categories (including a limited number of kids’ items) and developing a large social media following.
Glick says social media actually influenced the development of Sunnykids, as the brand could see its adult-oriented products were already being used by kids.
“This was made evident by the large number of image tags we were receiving across social media featuring pre-teen kids with the various floats and accessories,” he says.
“We loved this content and were keen to share it across our own channels but didn’t feel like this would resonate with the core Sunnylife customer. From this Sunnykids Australia was born, with the same ethos of building moments and creating happiness but in an even more playful manner.”
The brand plans to release three collections per year—summer, holiday and winter—and next year will see Sunnykids evolve further while remaining connected to the Sunnylife aesthetic and sensibility.
This includes launching differentiated packaging from Sunnylife along with kid-focused interpretations of the brand’s signature icons and patterns.
By Ruth Cooper
