Canadian travel pillow brand Ibboo is gearing up its travel retail expansion in 2020. The company has announced plans to optimise its supply chain, enhance its Chinese domestic presence, and secure new multi-channel partnerships this year.
Ibboo has earmarked the channel for strategic expansion after attending last year’s Trinity Forum.
As part of its renewed focus on the channel, it will be attending the upcoming TFWA Asia Pacific and TFWA World Exhibition shows.
“The goal for this year is to make Ibboo available in different travel retail stores and enhance the comfort of thousands of travellers,” said Ibboo President and Co-Founder Philippe Dallaire. “We know what travellers want: To have the best flight experience without having to pay for first class.”
Dallaire added, “We believe that the best travel experiences start with the right products in the hands of the right people. Because of travel retail, Ibboo is optimising the comfort of passengers right from the start.”
As reported, Ibboo’s Complete Travel Pillow Kit (US$60), centres on a memory foam travel pillow which is designed to hold all the weight of the wearer’s head and offer all-round support. A lumbar cushion is included along with a carry bag, which transforms into an arm pocket, an eye mask, and ear plugs. The whole set fits into a 20 x 30cm compression bag. The memory foam lumbar cushion is also available as a standalone product for US$25.
Dallaire launched Ibboo with his brother Simon in 2018. Its original name was Igloo, but trademark problems had the young entrepreneurs opting for Ibboo. The name, as Dallaire pointed out, sounds the same in English and French and is very close to the French word hibou for owl.
Ibboo’s travel pillow development was phased in November 2015, with the first ‘product’, made of pieces of wood, towel and rope. A second model was developed with the help of the brothers’ grandmother; and they later collaborated with a professional designer, Josée Proulx, to finalise the set.
“The goal for this year is to make Ibboo available in different travel retail stores and enhance the comfort of thousands of travellers” — Ibboo President and Co-Founder Philippe Dallaire
Ibboo’s travel pillow won the coveted Prix Lauréat Local Mauricie and was selected as finalist in the 2018-2019 edition of Futurpreneur Canada, which is an honorary bursary from the Quebec government and the city of Montreal.
Ibboo currently has 20 distribution points and is available on various ecommerce platforms in North America and in selected travel retail locations in Canada. The brand has also announced plans to open a new office in Shenzhen, China this year. It hopes that the new outpost will optimise its supply chain and accelerate new product development, while also enhancing its presence in China’s domestic market.
In addition to this, Ibboo has also partnered with environmental NGO ‘Give Back to Nature’ to mitigate its own carbon footprint. The organisation — which aims to plant one million trees in developing countries — offsets approximately 7,058 metric tons of carbon per annum. For each pillow and cushion sold, Ibboo is planting a tree in an area that was previously ravaged by deforestation.
