“Our cushions are produced in the southwest”
By Thibaut Calatayud
Lauragais. This company is growing thanks to its nomadic cushions revealed by a TV show
Created in 2018 in Cintegabelle, the company Les Petits Cadors continues to grow. Since July 2020, the company has taken up residence in a workshop in Nailloux.
They can sleep soundly. In Lauragais, Muriel Goudol and Laurent Padiou are at the head of Petits Cadors, a company which specializes in nomadic cushions.
“The idea of the brand is to develop a range of small pillows that allow you to rest or sleep in different situations of daily life, outside of bed,” explains Laurent Padiou.
And for now, the concept has found its audience. So much so that the business expanded this summer. Since July 2020, she has occupied a new workshop located in the town of Nailloux.
An idea that germinates during a car journey
The adventure of Petits Cadors may have started barely two years ago, in 2018, the young Lauragais company is already off to a very strong start. It must be said that everything went well for this couple from Cintegabelle.
Laurent Padiou recounts the genesis of his company with the idea of the cushion called “Isidor”, the best-seller for the car :
"In the summer of 2018, we had the idea when returning from vacation. We had a long journey since we were coming back from Brittany. We had bought a neck gaiter. It's not expensive, but it's is made of very basic materials and it doesn't really work because the thing isn't well designed. So on the way home we thought we'd have to find a way to sleep comfortably in a car. "
Participation in a show on M6
As the days went by, the idea emerged: “We knew we needed a fastening system, because the main problem is that the pillow falls. As soon as you put a pillow on a window, it doesn't hold because in a car there is movement, microvibrations, when you fall asleep the body sags and everything goes with it...", he explains. .
To solve these problems, the nomadic cushion adopts a carton shape. “It allows you to fit the shape of the face well,” explains the Cintegabellois.
In the fall of 2018, the first prototypes were created. Then, at the beginning of 2019, it’s the consecration. Muriel Goudol and her companion participate in the show My invention is worth gold on M6 .
"It made us known quickly. We were able to consider production on a slightly larger scale. We won an order for products. At the beginning, we were in artisanal mode. Now, we are on something a little more industrial."
Cushions made in the southwest
For their brand, the couple strives to work locally . “Our cushions are produced in the southwest. We are starting, so we haven't yet had time to equip ourselves and we are subcontracting the manufacturing. It is done in Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), at the Léopoldine sewing workshop. There are around ten seamstresses who do all the sewing of the flat cushion for us,” explains Laurent Padiou.
Then, the cushions arrive in Nailloux. They are filled with fiber purchased in the Gers. It is clear: “From the start, we wanted to manufacture in France”. At the origin of this choice, we find the couple's desire to be at the head of an eco-responsible company. By producing locally, Les Petites Cadors reduces their carbon footprint and, at the same time, employs local people. And the strategy is paying off…
“The context was almost favorable to us”
“Sales are not stable. We mainly have two sales peaks: summer and Christmas. In 2020, we planned to sell 10,000 pieces. But I think we will be a little above,” confides Laurent Padiou. Good news in a year marked by the economic consequences of the coronavirus crisis.
"The context was almost favorable to us. During confinement, people stayed at home. So we sold quite a few small extra pillows. Then, there was the summer when people favored the car to "Moreover, we mainly sell online, and Covid has boosted e-commerce sales."
If they continue this pace in the coming months, there is no doubt: Les Petits Cadors will become big.
