Editorial

A Big Deal for Little Ones: Lalo Changes The Way Parents Shop

Stylish, baby stuff that’s non-toxic and functional.

Adding a little human to your family is no easy feat. The last thing Lalo co-founders and dads, Michael Wieder and Greg Davidson, want you to stress about is scouring the web for a highchair. As a result, they created a brand of trustworthy products made from non-toxic materials so that shopping for the essentials won’t occupy the precious time spent preparing for your baby’s arrival.

Searching for the right products can be overwhelming to the point of chucking your computer halfway across the room and vowing to purchase the first sippy cup you see at the baby store. Don’t do that. Lalo has created a space on the internet where the search can begin and conclude. The brand not only promises non-toxic sippy cups and bibs, but also that parents won’t lose their sense of style in a baby proofed design upheaval.

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Lalo The Chair — The Chair, $215, **Lalo**

Celebrated as “sleek enough for the chicest of homes” by Architectural Digest, The Chair has made peek-a-boo appearances on Blake Lively’s Instagram. And Lalo’s design accolades don’t stop there. Goop claimed The Chair a “new-mama essential” and Good Housekeeping awarded Lalo with the Good Parenting Award for Fantastic Furniture. To be more specific, Good Housekeeping dubbed the Playset “genius” with the added benefit of looking “good in any room”.

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The Play Table won’t clash with the modern traditionalist decor you’ve achieved in the living room and you won’t have to feel frantic when your toddler inevitably licks something off it. All Lalo products are ASTM safety certified. All wood is FSC certified sustainable beech wood. And tableware is made with FDA approved non-toxic, BPA free silicone. If you don’t want to take it from the editors at elite design publications, take it from the parents. Reviews read “best plate ever” as well as “easy on the eyes and easy to clean”.

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And Lalo’s products are ever evolving. Look out for Giant Coloring Sheets that cover The Play Table from corner to corner and nurture blossoming creativity this month. We have a feeling those works of art will fit perfectly on the gallery wall. Lalo will continue to design more products for use in the family home set to launch this holiday season and into 2022, guiding parents through those grab-the-camera baby milestones.

When it comes to becoming a parent, Lalo wants you to know that “you got this.” We spoke with co-founders Michael Wieder and Gregory Davidson on Lalo’s origin, designing with the modern family in mind, and being real with customers.

The Brands

Chatting with Lalo co-founders Michael Wieder and Gregory Davidson

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co-op: First and foremost, what is Lalo's origin story? How did it come to be?

Michael Wieder + Gregory Davidson: We started Lalo because we saw so many baby brands focused on the product they were making but not the customer. Greg approached Michael after seeing some of his friends and family members struggle figuring out what to buy, when to buy it, and which brand to trust. From there we surveyed thousands of parents to understand their key pain points and what white space existed in the market.

co-op: What were you looking for in products for your own children and what seemed to be missing in the modern market?

GD: The baby category traditionally had been fragmented, and there was never one brand that was reliable to go to for multiple moments and milestones throughout a kid’s first years. The brands of yesterday were also focused on selling features, and were not really there for the customer creating a genuine connection.

co-op: Lalo thoughtfully designs products that are non toxic so that parents can have one less thing to worry about. How are materials sourced and tested?

MW: It is imperative that all of our products use non-toxic and sustainable materials. We test everything to the highest standards. All of our wood is FSC certified, we use recycled paper in our packaging, and have made a commitment to rid our packaging of all plastic by the end of 2022.

co-op: Lalo simplifies the shopping process for new parents. What are some common, modern anxieties you found when it came to preparing for a newborn or juggling work-life-parenting-a-toddler that have inspired new products?

GD: As a new parent, you go into a lot of things completely blind, but especially shopping for things they’ll need. Most of the time, you have never heard of most brands, don’t know what the products even do, when you’ll need to use them, why you need them in the first place, and therefore have no idea how much you should or should not be spending on each product. All of that combined with the feeling of overwhelming anxiety is something every parent goes through—and that’s exactly what we’re looking to solve not just by creating awesome products but by truly being there for parents through helpful content, answering their product-related and general parenting questions on our text line and being honest with them about what they actually need for their baby and when.

co-op: True to the brand, shopping with Lalo feels personal instead of isolating. How have your core values shaped the direct to consumer experience?

MW: We are constantly thinking of ways to make our customer feel special. Every chance we get to put a personal touch to something, we take it—whether it is going to a customer’s house to help them troubleshoot an issue, FaceTiming someone to make sure they’re setting everything up correctly or sending a special gift their way to let them know we care.

GD: From our earliest days we wanted to deliver an experience that came from a place of transparency and honesty, not a place of fear like many legacy brands. It was our goal to be real with our customers.

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Greg's go-to products right now

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Haus Grapefruit Jalapeño

"Haus apéritif. Nothing better than coming home from a long day and having a glass of Haus on the rocks. My favorite is grapefruit jalapeño!" - Greg Davidson

Grapefruit Jalapeño, $40, Haus

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