The company that offers products intended to make ageing easier

And, if you’re in the over-65 bracket or look after someone of that age, Spring Chicken is the greatest idea since sliced bread.

Spring Chicken is a company formed by Sarah Boyle and Anna James, after their own parents developed Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Sarah, who is 48, and 45-year-old Anna worked for Mothercare and noted that while babies were well catered for, golden oldies weren’t.

“We were directors at Mothercare — Anna was on the main board and I was a director of product development,” recalls Sarah.

“We were both on maternity leave in 2008, and my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

“In 2012, Anna’s father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and she was suddenly thrown into this world of trying to buy things that might help him.

“But she was disappointed with the quality of them.

“Everything was beige or off-grey, clunky, badly-designed.

“The salespeople were also pushy, when you should be sensitive towards people in that situation. It worried us.

“I had said to Anna during one of our many late-night talks that a lot of people don’t realise how the factories that make products such as pushchairs often also make wheelchairs.

“To them, it’s just bench metal. It’s just when you think about it, you realise it’s natural. Same with baby nappy companies, who also make adult incontinence products.

“Anna had already talked about the growing demographic — how so many of us were living longer, and that this is going to grow in future.

“We think of Mothercare as a ‘life stage’ market, and this one is, too.

“There are other parallels — when someone is first diagnosed with Parkinson’s, their family members tend not to know much about it and want to find out,” adds Sarah.

“It is exactly the same when you are pregnant with your first baby.”

With 11 million over-65s in the UK now, and predictions that more of us are going to live longer, the products Sarah and Anna sell will be needed by more and more Britons.

“We decided to do something about this, and in March, 2014, we launched our website, with about 300 products,” Sarah reveals.

“Today, we have over 3,000.

“During our time at Mothercare, we were passionate about the social responsibility side of things, and we feel the same about Spring Chicken.

“People can get in touch with us via telephone, but you’d be surprised at how many older people use the internet these days.

“Their family might show them how to use Skype, if they live remotely, which lets you just push a button and it dials the number for you, so it’s really easy.

“Maybe their kids will have set up Paypal or a similar thing for them, so they can buy things safely and securely.

“We find that people who are wary are happier using third-party payment sites.

“This means we don’t ever see their details, bank cards and so on.”

If they make it easy and safe to purchase their goodies, what do Spring Chicken sell?

They’re an Aladdin’s Cave of gadgets and goodies, which can make life easier.

“We work with Sir Muir Gray, who founded NHS Choices,” says Sarah. “Drugs management is a big issue for him.

“Doctors are not always clear that patients are taking all their medicine at the right time in the right dose.

“So we sell a lot of products to remind people about things like that.

“We have a watch that vibrates, a tab timer that can have about 12 different alarms.

“Another thing lets you fill it with a month’s dose, and sends a text message to someone else if you forget to take your medicine.

“Our magnetic fastening shirts are also amazing!

“A woman in the USA created this. Her husband was a football coach and he had Parkinson’s. He kept trying to fasten the buttons on his shirt, but couldn’t.

“One day, the whole team left training except one guy, who came over and fastened them for him.

“The man’s wife designed these magnetic fastening shirts — you’d never know there was anything different about them.”

An instant kettle that boils as you pour, so you don’t waste a penny boiling more water than you need, is just one of the thousands of amazing items Spring Chicken sell, all at very affordable prices.

Large-lettered Scrabble has letters big enough for those with poor eyesight to enjoy the classic game once more, and there are clocks that tell you whether it is morning or afternoon, rather than the time.

On a more serious note, Spring Chicken’s special “pebbles” can prove critical.

“They are bright-coloured pebbles, like a teardrop, you can just carry in your pocket or clip on your keyring,” Sarah points out. “If you get lost, just press a silver button in the middle and someone will be told your whereabouts and that you’re a bit lost.

“This is so good for people with early memory problems. You or your family will already have programmed family phone numbers into it.

“But you can also set up a ‘geo-fence’ — that means you can walk so far within a certain area locally, but if you go beyond it, a relative will get an automatic text message.”

As more of us live longer and have to deal with old age, the mulititude of products available on Spring Chicken are proving to be vital to many.

“One of the products I really love is the YouSafe CallerAlert Door Bell,” says Sarah.

“This idea all started when a 19-year-old plumber went to a job.

“The lady inside was so worried that he might have gone by the time she reached the door, that she hurried, slipped and broke her hip.

“The man heard this, broke down her door, phoned an ambulance, phoned her son and waited with her for the ambulance.

“He went home, thinking it was ridiculous that older people got worried that they had to rush to answer the door, and he invented this amazing doorbell.

“When you press it, it says: ‘Please wait’ on the outside.

“Inside, there’s a very loud chime and flashing light, with a little vibrating remote control. You press the button on it, and it says to the person outside: ‘I’m on my way.’”

Visit www.springchicken.co.uk or call them in Oxford, 01865 339366 or on 0800 9803961 to order a catalogue.

They’re also at Facebook: www.facebook.com/springchicken.co.uk

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