Avent baby products
They say that necessity is the mother of invention. Well, way back in 1984, an infant was just not able to latch on to the nipple of a standard milk bottle. The child was not able to nurse at its mother, Celia Atkin's breast, too, and this caused both its parents great anguish. "Can't we do something about it?" The father, Edward Atkin, wondered.
And, the Avent Nipple was invented. This nipple's first prototype was tried and tested by the father's child, who gave the product its stamp of approval by a loud shriek of happiness, when the milk from the bottle started flowing into the mouth ever so smoothly. The nipple had a shape that closely resembled the contours of the mother's nipple and areola area of the breast, and encouraged a wide-open mouth when feeding. Encouraged by the child's approval, Edward Atkin, an executive employed with Cannon Rubber, kept improving the product, and added new soon-to-be patented features such as a one-way valve that reduced air flow through the nipple. This one feature greatly reduces the chances of colic in children by a great margin.
Realizing that the babycare industry could do with a good dosage of inventions and innovations, Avent went into full-scale commercial business, with a strong R & D as its main plank. The next product that the company launched was the Avent Natural feeding bottle. Hithertofore, the market offered only tall, thin bottles to the infants. Avent modified this design, and came out with a short bottle that had a wide neck, making it quite easy to hold by the child, and equally easy to clean by the mother. Parents were immediately attracted by the new bottle in the market, and till today, the bottle continues to be the first choice of bottle-feeding babies.
That continued research has its own advantages was further proved when, the company came out with its ISIS Breast Pump in 1997. This was the first device in its category that provided mothers with a better solution than hospital-grade pumps, and without the accompanying noise. The product had advanced technology incorporated in it in the form of a Let Down Massage Cushion and a silicone diaphragm, which simulated the suckling-release cycle that an infant naturally executes many times in a minute. Since the breastpump was quieter, and more compact, mothers preferred the product over oher pumps in the market.
The ISIS pump was integrated with the Natural Feeding Bottle, such that breast milk expressed by the pump was collected directly in the bottle. This feature remains a distinct advantage of using the Avent Natural Feeding System.
The year 2000 saw a new, patented product in the form of the Avent Magic Cup. This cup incorporates a spout that the child can sip from - be it the breast milk, or other liquids and juices. This cup, too, got integrated with the ISIS pump quite logically. A variety of attachable handles were brought out by the company, to suit different requirements of the child. Spout sizes and shapes, too, were made as diverse as possible, so that the child grew with the Cup.
The company's creative-to-innovative strategy has been producing great results. This year the company came out with VIA disposables that can be stacked and packed together. Milk can be stored in these disposables for up to three times, and the integration policy with the ISIS pump has been extended here, too.
Spanning the homes of seventy countries around the world, Avent is now a truly global corporate giant. Its continuous innovative practices make it a baby-and-mother-care product of choice, for millions of mothers.