“Ergonomic cushions made in the South-West”
On August 28, La Tribune Sud-Ouest devoted an article to us in the innovation/start-up section of its online magazine. 🧐
The Toulouse company Petits Cadors offers ergonomic cushions made in the South-West
After winning two invention competitions with its ergonomic cushion dedicated to car journeys, the Toulouse company Petits Cadors is booming. With a made in France policy, the young company hopes to continue its significant growth at the start of the year. Portrait.
Some avant-garde ideas sometimes come at unexpected times. This is the case of the Toulouse brand Petits Cadors, specializing in the sale of ergonomic cushions , which was created thanks to a family trip on the holiday route.
"We had a lot of hours on the road and to make the journey more comfortable, we bought a "U" cushion that you often find at gas stations. But in reality no one really managed to rest with it , even children.
After having looked at the possible alternatives, we said to ourselves that it was possible to offer an object that works better, more ergonomic and more adapted", recalls Laurent Padiou, the co-founder of Petits Cadors which he thought and created with his wife Muriel Goudol.
Significant growth thanks to invention competitions
After having hand-sewn a first prototype of a cushion in the shape of a carton which attaches directly to the car seat, the couple called on an independent seamstress to sell their first products during the Christmas markets, six months after having thought of their concept .
But the event that will really make the Toulouse company take off is when it will participate in the television show "My invention is worth gold" produced and broadcast by M6 , the winner of which will be offered a order of 1000 products by the show's partner, the e-commerce player Cdiscount.
“We finished among the three winners of the show, which allowed us to have a big spotlight, but also to produce on other scales and to get closer to an industrial process thanks to the order of a thousand cushions.
Two months later we went to the Lépine competition in Montpellier where we won the gold medal, so that got people talking about the product again,” explains the father.
The desire to make “made in the South West”
After these multiple appearances to the general public, Petits Cadors contacted a company in northern France to produce its pillows, which it began to offer in several products. The company's best-seller, "Isidor", dedicated to car journeys, was joined by " Salvador ", designed for outdoor use, "Mini Salvador" which targets children, "Téodor" specialized for naps then "Z ", a tandem pillow for two people .
From now on, the company wants to review its production system which it considers non-optimal, the cushion filling companies it used until now not being specialized in sewing.
To speed up its production times and improve the quality of its products, the young company then decides to completely review its manufacturing system by prioritizing a logic of proximity.
"We called on the Léopoldine sewing workshop in Pau, which sends the cushions made to our workshop located in Nailloux. From there, we hand-fill the products with a fiber designed by a company in Isle -Jourdain, then after the padding a seamstress closes the cushions and the product is ready. It travels 200 kilometers maximum", explains Laurent Padiou.
> Read the full article by Thomas Alidières on the La Tribune website
