Heating up one of Britain's top inventions 14 September 2018

Every parent can relate to the sleepless nights and exhaustion of a newborn. Every parent struggles with late night feeds. However, not every new parent innovates a new product in the middle of the night, solving these issues, which is then recognised as one of the top 10 British inventions of the decade.

Inspired whilst frustrated at heating up bottles in the early hours, Jim and Farah Shaikh came up with the concept of a self-warming bottle, which warms milk to perfect breastmilk temperature. From conception to reality, working alongside Kent based European Springs & Pressings, Yoomi was born - the fastest warming bottle system in the world.

Close spring development process
“Being part of the Yoomi innovation has been such an exciting journey. To take an idea and see it succeed as it has makes us all a bit like proud parents,” comments Stuart McSheehy, managing director of European Springs & Pressings.

The company developed a number of clicker spring stamping prototypes, evolving the design whilst working closely with Jim and Farah to ensure the engineered solutions met every exacting standard for this demanding market. The resulting revolutionary self-warming technology is the only bottle design able to protect the essential nutrients in every drop of milk.

International success
The first order saw 3,500 clicker spring stampings produced which has now exploded to 250,000 as the Yoomi product sold out within 10 days in John Lewis stores. Today it is stocked in major national and international stores, across 24 countries around the world, with sales increasing by 60% in 2017.

“Looking back, we could never had forecast that our early days of working with Stuart and his design team would lead to the international success we have today. Our Yoomi range has grown as we’ve grown. Whether parents choose to breastfeed, formula feed or combination feed, our range will support parents in giving their baby the best possible start and we’re very proud to design and manufacture in the UK,” concludes Dr Jim Shaikh, CEO of Yoomi.

Claire Aldridge Deputy Editor t: +44 (0) 1727 743 889

Having spent a decade in the fastener industry experiencing every facet – from steel mills, fastener manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, as well as machinery builders and plating + coating companies, Claire has developed an in-depth knowledge of all things fasteners.

Alongside visiting numerous companies, exhibitions and conferences around the world, Claire has also interviewed high profile figures – focusing on key topics impacting the sector and making sure readers stay up to date with the latest developments within the industry.