Since the JPMA trade show ceased to exist this year, the JPMA Innovation Awards Ceremony was moved to the ABC Show in Las Vegas last week. The ABC Show also marked an important milestone for us, as this marks the fifth year anniversary of our launch of Scandinavian Child and the Svan High Chair. For each of the past five years, we have always submitted a product for the JPMA Innovation Awards. And for five years in a row, our entry did not win. This year, we had two products selected as finalists for the Innovation Awards  the lillebaby EveryWear and the Beaba Babycook.

The first year that we didn't win was really hard on me because I truly believed that the Svan High Chair was going to win. I knew it would be a trend setter for wooden and 'modern' high chairs. Five years later, there are several wooden high chairs on the market and several modern high chairs that make the Svan Chair look traditional. In other words ... I felt robbed. (I have since learned more about the stringent criteria the judges use to determine the winners and fault the process at the time, which allowed very limited information to get through to the judges. The feedback I received? The judges thought a child could not fit in it! It was so much smaller than the oversized plastic high chairs we are used to.)

Do I sound bitter? Okay, maybe just a little. But this year we finally did it! WE WON an Innovation Award! And it was well-deserved.

The winner is .. the BEABA Babycook, the Original Babyfood Maker! I must have looked like a fool, grinning from ear to ear as I approached the stage to receive the award. What a wonderful feeling! The Babycook is both a trend setter and tool for making life easier. It has been available through William Sonoma for a few months and will go into wider distribution through juvenile stores like giggle.com and others over the next few months.

What's so great about the Babycook? Here is my personal opinion  it is amazing! I did not make homemade baby food for my kids, but this would definitely have made it possible. It is incredibly easy to use for both steaming and chopping food in one bowl. It can even reheat frozen food and be used to mix several ingredients together for more complex feedings. More information will be on our site soon as well as at www.BeabaUSA.com, which will launch in early October. Check out this innovative award-winner; you and your baby will be glad you did!