Konfidence is thrilled to have been named a finalist at the 2019 National Family Business Awards in the Retail category.
The prestigious awards now in their 10th year recognise family-owned businesses and celebrate their contributions to the British and Irish economies.
As a British family business with three generations involved (four if you count the little ones testing and modelling the products!), Konfidence is Europe’s leading designer and manufacturer of dedicated safety swimwear for babies and children - and the market leader across 25 countries worldwide. The company’s flagship product is the Original Konfidence Jacket.
This year also marks the company’s 20th anniversary, and its founder Andrew Regan said he is delighted to be recognised and shortlisted for a 2019 National Family Business Award.
He said: “Family businesses play an important role generating over a quarter of UK GDP. They are the backbone of the British economy and the bedrock of many communities, and we are proud after 20 years to have three generations all actively involved in our business and committed to its future success.”
“I am very proud of running a family business, together with the opportunities this creates for my children and grandchild as future owner managers and the staff they employ,” confirmed Andy.
Konfidence was born after a family holiday in the summer of 1996, when Andy and his wife Caroline took their two daughters and three sons on a holiday to Cornwall. The two older boys, aged 6 and 4 years at the time, were full of confidence but were not strong swimmers and they didn’t like the idea of wearing arm bands. Instead the only option was to use heavyweight water sports gear, which helped to keep them warm and afloat, but it didn't really provide a comfortable solution. Out of this came the idea for a combination of built-in adjustable buoyancy and neoprene wetsuit.
The result was the Original Konfidence Jacket, which launched in Cornwall in 1998 and the name "Konfidence" came out of the confidence it gave parents, as well as their children, when it was worn.
The rest, as they say, is history, with the multi-award winning Konfidence Jacket continuing to help tens of thousands of children learn to swim every year. In fact, Konfidence are proud to say that it's the number one best-selling neoprene swimming buoyancy aid for children aged 1 to 7 years across the UK and Europe, and is a firm favourite with parents and swimming teachers all over the world.
Today, Konfidence, still based in Cornwall, is a significant premium swimming product brand with a client list that includes Mothercare, Harrods, Jojo Maman Bebe, Alton Towers, Mark Warner Holidays and First Choice Holidays.
Plus, as the market leaders who work across 25 countries – including 14 countries in Europe, North America, South Africa, Malaysia, China and Hong Kong – Konfidence is able to share its diverse experience and take ideas and best practices from all of the different cultures to innovate the baby and children’s swimwear market further.
The National Family Business Awards will announce all the winners at a glittering awards ceremony being held in Wembley on 13th July 2019.