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Slough mum who stayed sane with play trays during lockdown sells 2000 and targets 10,000

5/5/2022, 7:37 pm

A Slough-based small business launched in lockdown by a full-time mum trying to stay sane as her kids got increasingly bored has sold its 2000th product - play trays.

Kirsty Steed is a busy mum of two active boys, who is passionate about play and allowing children to use their imagination and creativity to grow.

However, during the first lockdown in 2020, Kirsty found herself becoming more and more frustrated as the days went by. The kids would be constantly arguing about not having enough space to play, and always wanted to do messy things, often with water.

Kirsty found it a constant struggle to keep her children happy and entertained while at the same time keeping her house and sanity intact. 

She therefore used her imagination to create something that would entertain her smaller child while she home-schooled the elder, but which was practical enough for them both to use. 

Secondly, knowing the benefits messy and sensory play has for children, she knew the design needed to somehow accommodate chaos (in a controlled way).

Thirdly, and most importantly, it was an absolute must to be able to store it away. Kirsty is a mum who doesn't like to have toys on show all the time, and every tray and play table she could find online or in shops was chunky and permanent and could not be easily stored. They were also eyesores.

So Kirsty decided to create a tray that would work for mums like her and Pack ‘n’ Play Trays was born. Several months later, in October 2020, Kirsty had sold her first tray and, as of May 2022, has sold 2000 trays and has nearly 10k Instagram followers. The future is looking bright.

Like millions of mums, I was going doolally during lockdown and needed something that would keep the kids entertained, but which was also easy to be packed away quickly and wasn't an eyesore in the home. I couldn't find anything online so thought, to hell with it, I'll create something myself.  I've now sold 2000 and have a successful small business. I love seeing my customers keep their children entertained with my Pack ‘n’ Play Trays. I’m now targeting 10,000 sales. Who knows, maybe it will be the Dragon's Den next?"

Kirsty with her kids
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