‘Meeting demand for more sustainable products’

The sector has been extremely resilient after what has been an extraordinarily challenging 18 months, and we are currently seeing significant expansion in large chain operators as well as growth in smaller groups and single nurseries.

What’s more, with an increase in private equity backing and a lot of merger and acquisition activity taking place, consolidation is a big trend. This, in turn, has resulted in high demand for our design and refurbishment services. We pride ourselves on being dynamic and supportive and are well structured to support growing nursery groups with a team dedicated to helping deliver many new nursery openings and refurbishments.

We know how demanding opening or renovating a nursery can be, whether it’s modifying an existing setting or starting from scratch. In line with this our free room design and installation service that helps make those aspirations a reality – and ensure that every new nursery is designed in line with our customer’s brand – is becoming increasingly popular.

As well as creating 3D room drawings and ensuring their delivery, assembly and installation, we also remove and recycle packaging. We expect to see this service growing further in 2022.

We know that practitioners do a fantastic job putting together enjoyable activities. However, in the fast-paced world we live in now, children’s developmental needs are always changing.

That means innovation and product development is key. We work in collaboration with early years professionals to develop products that help practitioners work with children to meet their goals.   

We are continuously expanding our ranges to support early years learning, and provide products that help to condition and prepare children for the primary school years ahead.

We’ve also seen a huge increase in the demand for more sustainable products across our ranges and this is something we are dedicated to delivering for customers.

We are committed to reducing single-use plastics, providing sustainable product alternatives and improving guidance and accessibility to recycling.

We now have whole ranges of wooden toys and stone-based products and are always looking for new  environmentally friendly materials as part of our ongoing sustainable product development.

Even when it comes to the design of a nursery, we are seeing increased demand for Scandi themed interiors using sustainable materials and methods.

Six years ago, we launched a right size packaging pledge helping to reduce carton sizes by 45 per cent and 46 per cent reduction of C02 emissions.

We aim to drive this further through a programme of continuous improvement, carbon reduction and purchasing Gold Standard offsets to achieve carbon neutral status by 2030.

Combining all these initiatives with our focus on doing what’s right for customers means we are excited about the sector’s future and playing our role in enabling early years learning.

• Hope is owned by Findel and has recently rebranded. Find out more here