A Nottingham mum who launched her own business selling sensory boxes for babies has witnessed a surge in orders after being endorsed by singer and TV personality Stacey Solomon.
Lauren Roden, of Aspley, sent a complimentary box to the star after finding out she was pregnant and the contents clearly struck a chord, as Solomon agreed to feature the products on social media website Instagram and offer a giveaway.
The boxes are filled with toys and Mrs Roden said the business, which was set up in 2018, was doing well but getting the celebrity seal of approval led to her orders increasing from a handful a day to "hundreds" every day.
The mum-of-one said: "It just goes to show how celebrity endorsements can really make or break a business, and the late nights I’ve been having recently are all thanks to Stacey’s willingness to promote and support small businesses.
"I was at the point where the business was doing well, but not as well as I was hoping. I was even thinking of winding it down and getting a ‘real job’."
The Sensory Box Company was set up by Mrs Roden after she attended sensory classes with her son, Joey, now 15 months, but couldn't find options on the market to recreate the classes at home.
So after talking to hundreds of mums and sending out surveys she began selling boxes of toys with guides on how to use them.
She now offers a range of boxes which a premium set of products, baby shower gift box and autism sensory boxes, with a Christmas-themed product due to launch in September.
After the initial flurry of orders, she now receives about 50 orders per day and has enlisted the support of family and friends to get the boxes ready for shipping. But the overnight increase has led to Mrs Roden making more plans to deal with the popularity of her company.
The former marketing manager added: "It has got to the point now where were are starting Joey at nursery in September because I am going to need some time to keep going while it is still popular. We have just had to make some changes we weren't expecting to.
"We are looking at maybe a premises or storage facility as well. The garage is OK at the moment but it is getting filled up with other life stuff as well so trying to store hundreds of rattles just doesn't necessarily work."
Mrs Roden now hopes to secure endorsements from other influencers on social media after her initial success and has hinted she could look at employing one person if sales continue to do well.
Discussing the rapid rise of the business, Mrs Roden's mum, Kay Leese, added: "Having had Joey she has spotted an opportunity and a market. I struggled to get up and showered in the morning (when my children were little), let alone run a business, so I take my hat off to her.
"I'm really proud."
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