All-in-what?!
It was December 2021, and the due date was fast approaching. Tiny baby clothes adorned the clotheslines, and one piece of furniture after another found its way into the home. Only the diapers posed a challenge. Cloth diapers were the way to go—healthier for the baby's bottom and better for the environment, Sabrina reasoned. Christin, initially skeptical, quickly warmed to the idea of cloth diapers after looking at studies on disposable diapers, and so the first Google search was "buy cloth diapers." This led to "which cloth diaper" and finally "all-in-one or all-in-two." Soon, "wool or PUL?" and "how do you lanolize wool diapers?" were added to the list. "What is a booster?" quickly followed, as did "which absorbent inserts for cloth diapers?" The search terms became increasingly obsessive, and ultimately, we had to give up. We simply didn't understand the world of cloth diapers.
Cloth diaper consultation. Seriously.
After several weeks of Googling, we gave up and decided to book a cloth diaper consultation to have the differences between Ai1, Ai2, Ai3, Snap-in-One, diaper covers, and tie covers explained to us. We thought that would cover everything important. Unfortunately, no, because in addition to the various systems, there was the vast and wonderful world of different absorbent materials and their absorbency. Who would have thought that it makes such a big difference whether you boost with bamboo or hemp, cotton or polyester? And here, of course, it's important to note that a booster shouldn't be used alone, but rather with a moisture-wicking system of cotton sheets placed on top, which, by the way, absorbency varies depending on the weave.
Founding with wool diapers
After much deliberation, we finally opted for wool diapers. Countless inserts and boosters filled our drawers, we were constantly lanolizing a different wool diaper, and the washing machine was running non-stop. But this wasn't a long-term solution. And so, in March 2022, we decided to invent our own diaper. A diaper that is sustainable and simple. A diaper that doesn't require cloth diaper advice to understand. One that is highly absorbent and can compete with the best disposable diapers. Essentially, a disposable diaper without the disposal.
Think Big
The plan was set. We would produce the most innovative diapers the diaper market had ever seen. And for that, we needed a manufacturer that operated ethically and could be a long-term partner. We searched in Germany, expanded our search to Europe, and finally worldwide. Experience in cloth diaper production was important to us, as were sustainable products and excellent working conditions for the workers. We finally found what we were looking for in a beautiful city in China.
More than 40 diaper development stages
We were incredibly excited when our first prototypes arrived and we could test them on the baby. We carefully compared the materials and the fit, took measurements, and researched better solutions for any less-than-ideal parts of the diaper. After a few weeks, another shipment arrived. Our diaper improved with each delivery.
By now, Christin was in daily contact with our contact person, and our knowledge of diapers and fabrics grew every day. Whenever Christin read about a different fabric or absorbent material, she contacted our contact person – couldn't the absorbent core be improved with this addition? The waistband also needed to be more flexible; a solution for the leakage point had to be found.
After about 10 prototypes, our contact person decided the diaper was the best they had ever produced. We should now go into production. We, however, felt there was still room for improvement. After all, we were far from where we wanted to be. After about the 20th version of our prototype, she cautiously asked how many more we needed. We didn't know, because our mission was to produce a cloth diaper that could compete with disposable diapers. Now, after about 40 different prototypes, we can finally say: we've found it!
The child needs a name.
We used our daily walks with the newborn for creative name brainstorming. It had to sound nice and be memorable. Ivy & Bo sounded quite nice, we thought. Or Foxxie. What about Beebum? We thought and thought, consulted our friends and family, and after much back and forth, found THE name: Jollie. Cheerful and light, easy to pronounce in different languages, memorable, and short. Our designer created the most beautiful logos and packaging materials. We scheduled a notary appointment for the company formation and, just to be safe, contacted trademark attorneys. Twenty-four hours before the appointment, we received an agitated phone call. We absolutely couldn't call our brand Jollie. Besides, that's the name of a porn site. Bam.
The child needs a different name.
Famous people with similar names might take offense, and besides, it's a French word, which is difficult to trademark. Other children's brands (for example, a well-known stroller manufacturer) have names that are too similar. We sat (frankly, very desperately) in front of our laptops all night searching for unique names, and the later it got, the worse the names became. Dodi. Doodie. Jion. Yoonie. Nujoo. Our friends were also very helpful, trying to brighten our night with absurd names. Snapperia. BonnieWonnie. Sellabella.
Dawn was breaking, and we still didn't have an acceptable name. Every conceivable combination was either too similar to existing names or too descriptive. With a knot in our stomachs, we got in the car and headed to the notary. We didn't want to cancel the appointment; after all, we'd been waiting months for it. While we were in the car, our trademark attorney called, and we brainstormed together. And that's how Dotz-n-Ticklez GmbH was born. This bought us more time to find the right brand name.
Libya
"How did you come up with Lybbie?", "What does the name mean?", "Does it have a meaning?" – we'd love to tell you the most beautiful and dazzling stories, we'd love to share the profound meaning behind Lybbie, but quite honestly: after weeks of searching, Lybbie was actually the only name in the world that wasn't yet trademarked. It's short, it's easy to pronounce, and it's easy to remember. Lybbie it is.
