Inspiration

Meet Dayna and Amy, the wāhine behind Bo & Ko Baby

Article by Your Home and Garden

Two Kiwis are changing the nursery game with their made with aroha baby products

Dayna Tavendale and Amy Barratt first met more than eight years ago, introduced to one another by their husbands over a get-together to watch the UFC.

At the time, their husbands had no idea their wives would soon become great friends, they say. They also became business partners, co-founding Bo & Ko Baby, a pakihi (business) that specialises in Maori and Pacific Island baby products.

From tiki teethers to koru cot sheets, Bo & Ko Baby has curated and designed gorgeous, stylish taonga that celebrates their family and heritage.

It’s a proper whānau pakihi, made up of their two tāne, Evān and Scott, and their four tamariki, so the days are full and busy, from mahi to bingo nights and having a kanikani around the house.

“I feel a strong pull towards my whakapapa and it is paramount that my tamariki know who they are and where they come from,” Amy says. Dayna agrees, “We share a strong aspiration for our tamariki to be immersed in their cultures from a young age.”

Bo & Ko Baby was created out of Amy Barratt (left) and Dayna Tavendale’s desire for baby products that celebrated the heritage of their tamariki.

How did your pakihi get dreamt up?

We both fell hapu together with our first pēpi, sharing time together during maternity leave became part of our daily routine.

Our homes were close by, so would often spend time together for coffee catch-ups, walks and confiding in the ups and downs of becoming a first-time māmā.

We’re both whakapapa Māori and share the same desire to immerse our pēpi in their heritage from birth. Dayna’s tama (boy) is also Samoan and it was important to her to ensure both sides of his heritage were celebrated.

We began research into the cultural baby market and it became evident that there was a lack of cultural baby products available. This then grew the business idea to create Bo & Ko Baby to fill the desire for not only ourselves but for many other whānau in Aotearoa and abroad.

It was only fitting to name our pakihi after our precious tama who inspired our vision, “Bo” is named after Amy’s tama Beau and “Ko” is named after Dayna’s tama Koree.

Last year, they sold more than 10,000 products and added 45 new retailers who now stock their designs.

How did you work out your roles in buisness and how have they evolved?

In business, there are so many different pōtae (hats) you have to wear and it was only recently that we were able to define our roles more effectively. We both have our different strengths, which helped to define our separate roles, not only to cater for the growth of our pakihi, but to ensure that our strengths are used to the best of their ability.

Amy and Dayna (pictured here) like to use natural fibres, which include the company’s organic cotton blankets, cot sheets and cotton and bamboo baby wraps.

What is your shared vision for Bo & Ko Baby?

At the heart of our pakihi is the love for our whānau, a commitment to revitalising te ao Māori and Pacific culture, and a focus on high-quality products.

We hope to encourage indigenous communities throughout Aotearoa and abroad to be proud of their whakapapa and cultural identity. Believing that this begins in the home and better yet, from birth, we have curated quality Māori and Pacific Island taonga to embrace your baby in the earliest stages of life.

The baby teethers, which can be cooled in the fridge or freezer, are made of non-toxic food grade silicone and dishwasher and steriliser safe.

You first started working from Amy’s whare and recently moved to a warehouse, how has that transition been?

The transition from Amy’s garage to our warehouse and office has been immense and opened doors in more ways than one. It’s allowed our pakihi the space to grow, we can order larger stock qualities, work more efficiently and have a work-life balance.

What has been your biggest challenge?

There are so many challenges when starting a pakihi and a lot of it is learning as you go.

Challenges we’ve faced have varied between managing cash flow, stock supply, manufacturer errors, shipping delays, quality control and innovation.

Having a contingency plan in place from the earlier stages of our pakihi has helped us to tackle challenges, it allowed for a “road map” to help navigate the bumps in the road and overcome these challenges.

You filled a real gap in the market with your pakihi. What has the community response been like?

We wouldn’t be where we are without the guidance from our tūpuna and the tautoko and aroha of our communities. We are blessed to provide taonga that has culture woven into the threads of everyday life.

The response of the community is shown through the thousands of whānau who have chosen to embrace their tamariki in our taonga. We pinch ourselves every day that we get to be a part of people’s lives during the most special time of theirs – welcoming new life.

Any new products that you’re dreaming up?

We have lots of new products and dreams for Bo & Ko Baby – watch this space.

What’s next for you two and Bo & Ko Baby?

There’s no slowing down, we wish to grow Bo & Ko Baby to enable employment opportunities to Māori and Pacific Island communities, give back to our iwi and maintain the growth within our niche market.