Here is an interesting question: Did baby carriers look like they were designed for women (and not both men and woman) because women carry the babies? Or does women carry the babies because baby carriers looked like they were designed for women?

Well, today I met with Lisa Thorén, an energetic and inspiring women who told me the story of how Baby Björn (the world famous baby carrier company, with annual revenues of USD 60 million) changed who carries babies.

Lisa is the right person to tell this story. She has been on the board of Baby Björn for more than 20 years, she is the daughter of the founder and inventor of Baby Björn – and she is actually the reason the Baby Björn bib was invented. And her younger sister Josefin was the child her daddy invented the now world famous baby carrier for. She has also worked actively in the company with PR and marketing for many, many years. (Today she is the founder and CEO of innovative skating company Performance SK8  – thus the skateboard in the picture 🙂

She told me that one time, more than 20 years ago, she, her mother Lillemor and their team at Baby Björn brain stormed about creating a baby carrier in black. (before that almost all baby carriers were designed in pink, purple, flower pattern and other designed that was meant to appeal to women.)

Many people were extremely hesitant to the idea of a baby carrier in black, and they did not think they would sell a lot.

But Lisa said: “Let’s make it anyway, if nothing else we can tell the journalists that we did it for the fathers and perhaps get some PR around it.”

Today the black version of the Baby Björn Baby Carrier is the company’s best selling model (!) – in part because families buy it feeling that it will feel equally suitable for the father and the mother to put on.

One idea, from one creative person in one company that challenged the norm and the status quo that changed how children gets carried and by whom.

BabyBjörn was founded by a father who cared about his children. We need more of that.

The more involved fathers we get the more natural fathers caring for their children will become.