Parents are always willing to spend on their children, so perhaps its not a surprise that one of 2012’s largest growing small businesses is a quirky little product line – Cuddle Covers (www.cuddlecovers.com), a series of playful pillow covers that turns a simple child’s sleep aid into a cutesy little soft toy.
Founded by Ilan Sharone of Fun Life Toys, Cuddle Covers animal-themed pillow covers help bring boring pillows to life. Launched in December 2011, these pillow covers come with names like Louie the Lion, Izzy the Unicorn, Barry the Bear, Kit the Cat, Max the Dog, and Donn the Dinosaur, in the name of helping a child to sleep.
Sharone started Fun Life Toys as a complimentary business to his marketing and retail distribution firm Urban Marketing Group, which he previously founded in 1999. As a child growing up, Sharone would attend trade shows with his father, which sparked his interest in the product industry. His father would always show him the latest toys and other novelty products to help spark and spur his imaginations, lessons which he would incorporate into Fun Life Toys. His interest in entrepreneurship also started early, first as a DJ in elementary school – a premature attempt, as he’d later admit – and a messenger service after graduating from high school, servicing top talent agencies in Hollywood.
That business sense and creative spirit would today serve him in inventing toys and interactive products for children and adults alike, such as Cuddle Covers.
The only problem for Cuddle Covers? Kids may not actually want to sleep now, not with such cute pillows!
