"Toulouse. Petits Cadors, the champion brand of naptime"
Touléco was interested in the Petits Cadors and wrote an article for us!
The Petits Cadors brand has opted from the beginning for local manufacturing and an eco-responsible approach. The manufacturing of its nomadic pillows is concentrated in the South-West and should reach 10,000 units by the start of 2021.
It all started with a car trip during the summer of 2018. On the way to Brittany with their daughter, Muriel Goudol and Laurent Padiou, both in visual communication, noticed the discomfort of the U-shaped cushions supposed to allow a small amount during the journey. “When we returned, we looked for a more comfortable solution. I thought of an attachment system to the headrest and Muriel, who is a graphic designer and artistic director, of a carton shape. We created a prototype that we tested with those around us and we realized that we were responding to a real need,” says Laurent Padiou.
After a first artisanal series unveiled during a Christmas market in Toulouse, the couple launched on an industrial scale in the summer of 2019. Under the Petits Cadors brand which has its head office in Toulouse, it now distributes now four different models, filled with fibers from recycled plastic bottles. After Isidor, the car pillow that won a medal in the Lépine competition and was patented for its hanging system, the siblings expanded with the Teodor and Salvador nap cushions and the pillow for two, the Z.
From Pau to Isle-Jourdain
“From the start, we chose French manufacturing despite the many voices urging us to produce in China for reasons of cost. We held firm in the face of this dominant discourse and we finally realized that it was entirely possible,” explain the two founders who managed to concentrate manufacturing in the South-West. The raw material, recycled plastic bottles, is compacted in Ariège then sent to Isle-Jourdain, in Gers, to be carded by the Lahille company which produces a ready-to-use padding fiber. The making of the empty pillows is subcontracted to a workshop in Pau where the fabrics - woven in France for the Téodor range, in Europe for the other models -, the straps and the hexagonal ribbons, are cut and sewn.
Hand filling
The hand filling of the pillows and the finishing touches, entrusted to a seamstress, are done in Cintegabelle, in a brand workshop, where the cushions are packaged and shipped. “From cutting the fabric to installing the packaging and its packaging, the product will have traveled a distance of less than 200 km. This is 300 times less than jeans made in China which will travel on average 60,000 kilometers,” underlines Laurent Padiou. Distributed on its online sales site, the Petits Cadors brand is undergoing commercial testing in various points of sale in France.
“We were waiting to stabilize our production and be sure of being able to meet demand to offer our models to decoration brands, motorway service area networks and even concept stores.” The Toulouse brand, which sold some 3,500 pillows in 2019, is aiming for 10,000 units this year and 25,000 in 2021. Encouraged by the strong orders in recent weeks which have led it to double its production, Petits Cadors is preparing to launch early July new models for children and hikers.
Johanna Decorse
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