Huggies MomInspired Launches Second Year

The Huggies brand from Kimberly-Clark, launches year two of its successful MomInspired grant program. Huggies MomInspired provides resources and seed capital to help fund women-owned business startups and new product innovations inspired by motherhood. 

 

"Our hope is to help these mom inventors jumpstart their journey, empowering them with the funds, confidence and resources to realize their dreams and share their unique perspective on parenting challenges," says Steve Paljieg, senior director, corporate innovation for Kimberly-Clark. "Who knows how to solve child-rearing problems better than the moms who live them every day?"

 

Based on the remarkable success and feedback in 2010, Huggies has already expanded a global adaptation of the program -- MumInspired -- to Australia, supporting the rise of the country's untapped "mumpreneurs."

 

In the program's first year, the Huggies brand commissioned a study to better understand the needs of these mom entrepreneurs when it came to turning their business ideas into a reality, and discovered that the most significant barriers are, and continue to be; access to financial resources (65 percent), risk of failure (43 percent), not knowing where to start (36 percent).

 

In 2010, the Huggies brand invested a total of a quarter million dollars to financially support the 12 inaugural grant recipients, who submitted inventions at every stage of development, ranging from a spill-proof training cup, to a device that relieves the stress and pain of child vaccinations. The program also pledges to further encourage their business success by allowing them access to educational and financial resources from within Kimberly-Clark, and third-party marketing experts.