Jo Cumberpatch is a mum from Northamptonshire, and along with her business
partner she is the creator and distributor of a children’s activity game called
Gotrovo Treasure Hunt. The game is now used in early years settings such as
schools, preschools and nurseries across the UK and is listed in the national
Early Years Resources catalogue as well as available on Amazon and their
website. Gotrovo was awarded My Family Magazine Best Party Game 2015. They
launched Gotrovo in the USA with great success in the autumn of 2015 and are now
focusing on Australia. They have a new product set to launch in Autumn 2016.
“When we first came up with the idea in 2012 we approached Trading
Standards for advice on how to comply with product safety
legislation.
"As a start up business we were given advice which was
practical and very useful in getting our business off the ground in terms of
ensuring we were safe and legally compliant. However, in order to grow our
business and have credibility with major suppliers we were looking for a greater
level of support.
"We were offered the chance to be in a Primary
Authority partnership with Trading Standards and suddenly we had a named contact
who took time to understand our products and we had access to official, on the
record, assured advice which really counted for something.
"We gained
peace of mind which was hugely important to us as mothers of seven children
between us. The advice has undoubtedly impacted the direction of our product
development, at times by stopping us dead in the water on some avenues and at
other times by short cutting us to a reliable safe supplier or
design.
"We've avoided some costly mistakes and all for a very low outlay
on an 'only as needed' cost basis e.g. we pay for what we use.
"The
nurturing offered by Trading Standards and the Primary Authority partnership
have contributed towards a successful and expanding business. Without this help
arguably we would not be here!"