Vivienne van Eijkelenborg, Managing Director
Vivienne van Eijkelenborg is the Managing Director of Difrax and the person who thought up the DFX product range. “We have been in the baby care business for over 35 years and now sell 300 Difrax baby products in 3,000 shops. With this experience, it is a logical next step for us to grow with our customers; from baby, to toddler to pre-schooler and infant. Mothers have confidence in Difrax products for their babies. With the DFX toy range for slightly older children, they can still guarantee that they are buying trendy products of good quality.
Developing the DFX toys line has taken more than two years. We started by making an analysis of the toy market and concluded that there was a niche for toys that were of a good quality and were reasonably price. We decided to enter this niche, and kept in mind that quality, design and price were the key attributes for the new collection.
We followed the international trends, for instance by visiting international fairs. Then we selected all possible products and, together with a group of children, chose the 30 most popular ones.
Designing the new DFX toy line was a great challenge. We wanted the collection to be trendy, according to the European standards. Our research confirmed that all girl products should be pink, which is still the favourite colour for most girls. De boy range on the other hand includes knights and scary animals. I hope the children have just as much fun with the products as I have had designing them!
The DFX range of toys is new and is literally still in its infancy when it comes to name recognition. Reactions to the range from the market, from customers and from the press have been very promising, however. Both the range and the brand name DFX are bold, fitting for children in the 4 – 12 age range. Children associate the brand name Difrax with babies, which is why we have chosen a new brand name, DFX, specially for older children. DFX is a shortened form of Difrax, making it obvious to mothers that there is a reliable supplier behind the DFX brand name, a supplier that always wants the best for their little ones.
Difrax the company is growing with its target group. In addition to the 300 baby products, the DFX range of toys now offers a further 30 articles for older children who have grown out of the Difrax products. It is a pleasure to sell products that appeal to the emotions – there is nothing nicer than seeing happy children. And this is certainly possible with this broad product range, because there is something for everyone.