After weeks of speculation, following the closure of Bummis’ flagship store on St. Laurent Street in Montreal, a huge announcement has been made by Quebec cloth diapering brand, Mini Kiwi. They are merging with industry trailblazer, Bummis.
This is a developing story, and was brought to my attention by Mini Kiwi co-owner, Amélie. In my (formerly) local cloth diapering group, co-owner, Véro has said that:
“Mini Kiwi is becoming a new part of the Bummis line up, completely made in Canada. Bummis products will continue to be manufactured in the same place [mainly in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC] by the same team.” (my translation)
Amélie added:
“Bummis won’t change. Mini Kiwi is here to learn from the best and have the best products. Bummis has 27 years of experience! Mini Kiwi will be 100$ local. MK’s adorable prints and Bummis’ quality!” (my translation)
Bummis has been a mainstay in the cloth diapering industry since co-owner, Betsy, started sewing diaper covers in her home in the 80s. I appeared in a CTV local business spotlight with Betsy a couple years ago, and helped her organize the 2014 Great Cloth Diaper Change in Montreal. I’ve met Amélie and co-owner Véro both at their store, Calins et Popotins, and recently at the Montreal Baby Expo where I was representing Funky Fluff.
Although no longer in Montreal, I am sad that Boutique Bummis has closed: it was my first cloth diapering store and a wonderful place to hang out on their iconic red couches.
Here are Cub and me being interviewed by CBC’s Debra Arbec on said couches:
On the other hand, I’m pretty excited to see Mini Kiwi bringing their manufacturing closer to home (it was formerly done in Mexico), and glad to see that Bummis is sticking around, as I’d originally taken the closure of their St. Laurent store as a sign of bad things to come for the brand!
Congratulations to Betsy, Amélie, Véro and everyone else on both Team Bummis and Team Mini Kiwi! I can’t wait to see what exciting changes this merger will bring to the cloth diaper market!
To see my reviews of Mini Kiwi & Bummis products:
Note to all lovers of le bon français, Mini Kiwi has since corrected the small typo in their original announcement image!
What do you think of this big cloth diapering industry news?
[…] Update, Sept. 2015 : Bummis has recently merged with Mini Kiwi. […]