Faculty Members Birth New Baby Products Company

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — University of Arkansas faculty members Li Cai and Mark Zweig have launched Good Parents, a company offering innovative and high-quality infant and baby products. Anchored by a novel diaper-changing pad designed several years ago by Cai, research professor of electrical engineering, the company has already sold a few items even before its Internet store opens Feb. 15.

“This is a very exciting time for us, especially Li,” said Zweig, management instructor and executive-in-residence in the Sam M. Walton College of Business. “Years ago, he recognized a problem and not only conceived a solution but designed and built a prototype of it. Since then he has worked extremely hard to commercialize his idea. In this way, I think he epitomizes the entrepreneurial spirit of America.”

About five years ago, Cai invented a simple, easy-to-use diaper-changing pad after several frustrating experiences with his infant daughter, who resisted and often regurgitated when he lifted her by the feet to change her diaper. So Cai developed an invention that helps parents and caregivers change babies’ diapers without having to lift them by the feet, which causes acid to flow from the stomach into the throat.

Previous attempts to commercialize the changing pad were unsuccessful, and then Cai met Zweig, an Inc. 500 firm founder and entrepreneurship expert. Together, inventor and entrepreneur — both of whom became fathers in their 40s — created the company by investing their own capital. With assistance from Dan Hendrix, president and chief executive officer of the Arkansas World Trade Center, which has close ties to the Walton College, Cai and Zweig found a third partner, Joy Hagerty, a certified public accountant. Hendrix also connected Cai and Zweig to Dan Sanker, president and chief executive officer of CaseStack Inc., an innovative logistics company that specializes in sustainable logistics solutions. CaseStack, which recently opened a regional sales office in Fayetteville, is handling transportation and logistics for Good Parent’s products, the first shipment of which recently arrived at the Long Beach, Calif., harbor.

The company will offer Internet sales through it own Web site, http://www.good-parents.com/, and other sites that sell infant and baby products, Zweig said. He and Cai also have partnered with an agent who will represent the company’s products in an effort to sell them wholesale to major retailers.

In addition to the diaper-changing pad, which has received U.S. and China patents, the company will offer luxury and disposable diaper-changing pad covers and a product called Nature’s Nest Nursing Nook, another invention designed by Cai. The nursing nook enables mothers to comfortably feed their babies in bed and other environments. But the focus, at least initially, is on the changing pad, which is a large, rectangular tray with two sections, one to support the baby’s head and body and another, smaller section that can be moved to dispose of the soiled diaper and make room to wipe the baby’s bottom without lifting his or her legs. For a video of how the diaper-changing pad works, go to http://youtube.com/watch?v=Bfo4bdZR8qo.

Cai said there are patents pending on other products that will be offered by Good Parents. Their goal, Zweig said, is to introduce new products continuously. Specifically, they want to create two new inventions and develop one new product each year.

“We will provide the safest and highest-quality baby products in the United States,” said Cai.