Issued by: Baba Indaba


Over three days, 12 877 Pretoria mamas and papas and babas visited the inaugural baby and parenting expo. The exhibitors were very impressed with the high spend of this market. With Pretoria having the highest spend per capita, the moment the doors opened to welcome the first day of the expo, it proved to be financially astounding!

Amelia from Rhubarb & Custard claimed that she had had her best spend ever on the first day! New products and maternity ranges were launched at Baba Indaba Pretoria, and without having any preconceived ideas of what the expo would bring, Maternity Lane was overwhelmed with their visitor spend.

“Huggies could not keep up with the replenishing of their stock supply and they could not pack the stock fast enough as it was being sold as it reached the shelf,” says Claudia Simoes, Customer Business Manager Kimberly Clarke South Africa. Sony Playstation was very thrilled with their visitor spend as Comfy is a new product and needed to be demonstrated to be received in the children's market.

These comments are especially reassuring as one is always filled with trepidation when embarking on a new city. Clearly the visitor numbers is not the important factor, what matters most is the high spend Baba Indaba brings to their exhibitors, says Show Director Natalie Naude. Three City Events, the organisers of SABC Education Baba Indaba, goes to great lengths to research the area before committing to a city. The research of these cities could take up to a year to finalise a decision. Clearly despite the change in expo dates, Baba Indaba delivered on their promises. The very visible advertising both on national television, radio as well as print, was intensive and highly effective. The SABC Education Baba Indaba team thanks our exhibitors and the people of Pretoria who welcomed us so warmly.

Parents and toddlers alike were delighted with the quality baby brands on show, especially the tots who welcomed the Takalani Sesame Characters with open arms. They had a unique chance to dance with the characters on stage, much to the delight of the crowds. The Spur was the official caterer at Baba Indaba, and both visitors and exhibitors praised them for their fantastic service and quality food. The Spur boys cut their teeth in the fame arena, by inviting the children to follow their dance steps to a well-choreographed stage performance. Eight lucky families won Spur vouchers based on the best dancers on stage.

The Speakers' Corner sponsored by The Baby Company, attracted interested mums and dads on topics such as ADHD and stem cell banking with Dr Yvonne Holt from Netcells. The ever-popular Sister Lillian was inundated with topical questions on toddler monsterism and birthing.

The organisers were especially thrilled with the number of dads attending. Undoubtedly, dads are more involved with family life and are often the decision makers on the type of pram that the baby will have, says Natalie Naude, Show Director of Baba Indaba. This was evident in the adrenalin rushes on the Pram Obstacle Course, where dads had a chance to win 1000 B-bucks per day, equivalent to R1000 per day. Dads had to ensure that the 'baby' did not fall out of the pram and that the wheels were on the track at all times. Our winners, Danie and Tshepo, competed in just over 12 seconds and spent their B-Bucks at Baba Indaba, ensuring that the exhibitors benefit from these winnings.

One of the dads commented that visiting the exhibition was great with all the products “under one roof” as it allowed him not being dragged from shopping centre to shopping centre! Babies-R-Us ensured that all brands were comfortably merchandised and showcased. Their cash passport encouraged savings of over R2500, exclusive to Baba Indaba.

Natalie Naude is elated with the support from Pretoria. With just under 13000 visitors in three days, SABC Education Baba Indaba will be back in Pretoria in June 2009.

SABC Education Baba Indaba is undoubtedly the biggest baby and parenting expo in South Africa with four cities on their portfolio and attracting targeted visitors with high spend.

Capetonians and Gautengers will soon also enjoy the successful Baba Indabas in their cities:

Cape Town	25 - 27 July 2008 @ CTICC
Johannesburg ...	3 - 5 October 2008 @ Sandton Convention Centre
Durban	17 - 19 April 2009 @ DEC
Pretoria	June 2009 - Venue to be advised.

To find out more visit www.babaindaba.co.za or contact 021 689 3262 for further details.

Visit our PRESS OFFICE: Winner of the EXSA exhibition of the year 2006. South Africa's independent baby and parenting expo takes place annually in Cape Town, Durban and Joburg. International trends and thinking combined with original South African content makes having kids an even more remarkable experience.- more....

[3 Jul 2008 14:14]

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