New Product Development Policy

Last updated: Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Mifold the Grab-and-Go Booster seat

Product development and product improvement process

 

What is the Mifold Grab-and-Go booster seat?

 

The Mifold Grab-and-Go booster seat is the most advanced, compact and portable child car booster seat ever invented. It is more that 10x smaller than a regular booster seat and just as safe.

 

What is the history of the design and development?

 

We designed and developed the Mifold Grab-and-Go booster seat over a period of three years and since its launch in April 2016 we have continued working to evolve the design and engineering to enhance the product. We follow the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen (改善), which is the Japanese word for "continual improvement". We are always striving to improve our products based on valuable comments from our customers, our production experience, and our ongoing internal reviews of Mifold.

What changes have we made?

Since launching the original Mifold seat, we have made several minor updates to the product for a variety of reasons including: manufacturing efficiency as production volumes increase, technical improvements for enhanced function and operation, and also changes based on customer feedback.

As of this update, the changes implemented have been minor and do not materially affect the function or the safety performance of the Mifold. As such, the changes have been implemented into the product as they become available and the model number has not been changed.

When we update the product, changes are reviewed against the regulatory safety requirements that Mifold already complies with worldwide. Crash tests of the Mifold production is conducted on an ongoing basis which includes the modifications that are introduced into the product.

If in the future a change made that adds a new feature or requires recertification of the product to the regulations, the model number would likely be changed to reflect this.

All Mifold production, including versions with minor changes, meet or exceed the relevant regulatory safety standards and in every instance, continue to be available for sale worldwide as newer inventory flows through. 

How do we implement modifications?

We created the ultra-compact booster car seat category with the launch of the Mifold Grab-and-Go booster seat, and we aspire to continue to be the world's pioneer in advanced, compact and portable child car safety products.  We simply won’t get there by standing still. Our kaizen strategy is to introduce all changes as quickly as possible to make sure we are always updating our products to make the best-ever seats available to consumers.

As soon as we finalize a modification through strict internal review and product testing where appropriate, we immediately  introduce the changes at our production facilities and the updated versions are sold worldwide to our network of retailers and distributors with their next order. 

Why don’t we advertise modifications and new versions?

With the types of modifications discussed above, we follow the proven practice in all manufacturing industries, where variant modifications are implemented continuously within the products lifecycle and between major upgrades/launches.

When do you advertise modifications and new versions?

We are constantly working on new product development projects and, in due course, we will launch completely new versions of the Mifold Grab-and-Go booster seat. These new versions and other new products will be launched into the ultra-compact car seat category.  For these introductions, we will prepare significant marketing communication programs to introduce these new products to consumers.

Is it fair that someone may have an older version that we have since improved? 

Yes. Older versions of the Mifold with the same model number as a more recent Mifold are considered equivalent or the same. Minor differences are a natural byproduct of our continuous improvement process.

A customer who bought a Mifold seat many months ago has received the benefit of owning and using one before someone else buying one now. As with any new and evolving technology, customers can choose to wait as it subsequently develops, or they buy and use it immediately.

There will often be a short overlap when updated versions and older versions could be available simultaneously. This is normal in all manufacturing industries where products are manufactured, shipped, stored, distributed and sold through retailers and other platforms worldwide.

What if a customer prefers the newer version to the one they originally bought?

Under the company’s warranty and product replacement policy, the company does not replace previous versions of the Mifold seat with a newer version, simply because we have flowed through a modification. As long as there is no fault with the original Mifold seat it will continue to perform as intended at the time of manufacture for the whole of its life and is not subject to the warranty and replacement policy.

How can customers hear about new Mifold products?

 

The Mifold.com website and social media channels will always be the first place to hear about any new products.