Jerrabomberra mum Anna-Lise Brink was at home in her pyjamas on Thursday night, watching live the 2026 She-Com E-commerce Awards unfolding in a glitzy ceremony on the Gold Coast.
The awards for female-founded brands attract big names, with influencer Jules Robinson's shapewear brand Figur winning campaign of the year.
But then it was announced that Mrs Brink's brand Bebe Trek had been recognised not once, but twice.
Her world-first baby sun protection invention - the Multifunctional magnetic sun cover - won the award for best baby essentials and received third place in the prestigious innovation of the year category.
"It's amazing," she said.
"I launched this brand just over two years ago and it's still just myself running it. I brought my husband in to help with the packing and the warehouse because I work full-time still.
"So, to be able to grow the business like we have in the last two years and have so many parents around the world who are loving it and to also get the industry recognition, it's amazing. This is incredible."
Mrs Brink is a major in the Australian Army, working full-time as a public affairs officer.
She and husband Sam have three children - Laurence, six; Daphne, four; and Penelope, 18 months.
Mrs Brink founded Bebe Trek while on maternity leave with Daphne after discovering the dangers of using popular muslin swaddles for baby sun protection while the family was holidaying in far north Queensland.
"My daughter was too young for sunscreen, it was too hot for traditional full-body onesies and the muslins I was using as a sun shield not only kept falling down, I discovered they aren't even sun safe," she said.
Bebe Trek's flagship product, the Multifunctional magnetic sun cover, is a UPF 50+ bamboo sun shade featuring integrated magnets, loops and an adjustable strap that allows parents to protect their babies in more than a dozen different ways including over the pram, around the child, as a nursing cover, on the car window, draped down from the car boot for nappy changes and even as a shade sail at the park
While her sun cover has a UPF [ultraviolet protection factor] of 50+, ordinary, everyday muslin wraps had a UPF as low as six, Mrs Brink said. Babies under six months are also recommended not to use sunscreen, which made finding an alternative important.
"We found a very light, bamboo fabric so that means it is breathable and it's air permeable, so you've got all those safety aspects," she said.
"And managed to get that UPF 50+ protection without any other additional chemical additives, which has been good."
Bebe Trek also sells UV protective sunsuits, reversible sunhats, magnetic rain covers and magnetic puffy sherpa blankets.
Mrs Brink has now sold the sun covers to more than 10,000 families, including those living overseas, with heatwave conditions in the northern hemisphere fuelling sales in recent weeks.
"We have a retailer in the UK and it's been their best-selling product this summer and she's already done about seven re-orders with me in just the space of three months," she said.
Mrs Brink said she couldn't run the business and still keep her much-loved army job without her husband Sam, who is a stay-at-home dad while also packing orders and managing the warehouse. Her mum, who lives interstate, is also an enormous help when she visits.
"Having that family support has definitely helped," she said.
In Australia, all sales of Bebe Trek are online.
