After getting up at 2am (yikes!) for a 4am pick up to the airport I traveled with the one other Canadian blogger in attendance, Tammy from InRdream and one of the amazing PR members representing P&G. After a smooth flight and a sweet greeting at the airport from more members of the team we were taken to a REALLY cool hotel in Cincinnati - 21c Museum Hotel.
I received a sweet package from the Pampers team waiting for me in our room and it was soon off to one of our special treats - a blow out! Keeping on theme with the extended dryness of pampers diapers, we got our hair done, quick makeup touch ups and photos taken - so fun!That night we were treated to an amazing dinner and got to meet some of the people behind Pampers and P&G which I really enjoyed. We also got to get to know many of the bloggers that
make up the American #BabyBoard - love to meet other mama's that know their diapers!
Day two was packed with a visit to the P&G Archives - I could have spent all day here! It's amazing the history of P&G they have collected and the history behind the brand itself. P&G's first branded product was Ivory Soap and the trail of products that extends from that first bar of soap is outstanding. By the way - a little fun fact for you - when Ivory soap was first introduced you used to cut the bar in half and not only use it in the bathroom but also use it for laundry, in the kitchen, etc!
Then it was on to the Baby Care headquarters where we were introduced to some of the most amazing people, I really just want to take a moment to say you would not believe the strong, intelligent, knowledgeable and family oriented people behind the Pampers brand. If I could bring them to everyone's home and let you meet them you would be in awe. I've heard the saying many times to surround yourself with good people and the Pampers brand has truly has surrounded itself with good people. Some of the amazing people I met that day included Pama Francisco, VP Pampers North America; Felix Olmo, Brand Manager Pampers North America; Jennifer Counts, Global Product Stewardship; Sofie Snauwaert, Associate Director Product Development; Dianna Kenneally, Scientific Communications Manager P&G Baby Care North America. This is just a hand full of the people that were introduced to us, and (love this!) we were also introduced to their families! We saw pictures of who they loved, we heard about maternity leaves and powerful woman that prove a career and a family can go hand in hand, it was amazing!
We also learned that research behind Pampers starts in the home, they literally visit Moms and babies in their home and hear what Mom has to say and what they BOTH need. In just 1 year 9000 moms are interviewed, they have 250 hours of recorded interviews and 25+ studies completed. Pampers follows the highest regulatory standards, they know the EXACT composition of every single ingredient used from ALL suppliers, and every single concern they receive is followed up on.
I have some other fun Pampers facts - Pampers is the most global brand IN THE WORLD! Sold in 130 countries there are 50 million babies served each day by Pampers. There are 550 Baby Research and Development employees and 700 Baby Technical Employees.
During our Discovery Center Tour we were treated to a very special behind the scenes look at exactly how a diaper is made, specifically a cruiser during our tour, and met such an amazing employee that gave us all the info - time and again I was blown away by how excited, proud and motivated Pampers employees were, it was awesome. We were also shown MRI technology being used to see exactly how diapers fill up, shown some fun experiments against other brands (hint: Pampers wins!), and shown where they interview real Moms and babies, have little ones come in and actually test the diapers, have Moms test diapers at home and bring them back (yes, filled!), I really couldn't believe how much was behind the little (well okay it's big) box of diapers sitting in Lucas' room! Through listening to Mom's this is why they've just released Swaddlers in sizes 3-5, because they know we Mom's loved them and wanted to continue to use them on our little ones.
We also got to help choose designs for future Pampers wipes - you'll find out the winners in August 2014!!
That night we were treated to a fun dinner The Art of Entertaining which is a restaurant the likes of which I have never been before - there is no planned seating, you just sit where you want, food is served buffet style, head to the bar when you need a drink and we had a competition to make our own dessert - it was amazing!
As hard as it was to leave the kiddos for a few days I would do this trip again and again, the people, science and knowledge behind the Pampers brand is outstanding! Thank you Pampers, P&G, the Citizen Optimum team, it was an eye opening experience!
Stay tuned for even more info on Pampers latest innovations!
