Sophie La Girafe is almost 60 years old. It is not only a French toy but a big population of babies from different parts of the world knows Sophie The Giraffe.
It was the first toy that popped in my head when I found the Toys on Hive Community. One would find it on high-end toy boutique shelves. I love the simplicity of this toy. Whenever I saw Sophie around, it reminded me of my daughter's infant years. This toy was a life-saver when we traveled.
It is basically a 7-inch tall baby teether, but did you know the history of this toy?
Did You Know?
Sophie the Giraffe was born one Thursday on the 25th of May 1961 on Saint Sophie's Day in France. At that time, the only available animal toys were those small farm animal toy figures. It was Monsieur Rampeau who came up with an idea to create a giraffe using the 100% natural latex from the Hevea Tree by rotational molding of rubber. It was the first exotic animal on the market during the 60s and it caught on with mothers through word of mouth.
Vulli, a french company based in Rumilly in the Haute-Savoie region, continues to manufacture Sophie while safely guarding the secret production techniques of this famous toy. It was such a success in France that they decided to expand to international markets.
Sophie The Giraffe is a National Tradition in France
Sophie became a national tradition in France. Almost every newborn got one since most mothers had their own when they were babies as well. My daughter's Sophie was a gift from my mother-in-law on the day she was born.
What Made Sophie a Success
Before they exported Sophie to different countries, the CEO of Vulli hired a psychotherapist to figure out what's so special about this simple toy that made it so popular.
It appealed to all five senses. It stimulates hearing through its squeaking sound, the brown dots for sight, it's safe to smell, taste and chew its 100% natural rubber, and the round corners and size were easy to grip.
The original French packaging was translated into different languages and shipped off to different countries.
My Takeaway
Now that my daughter is 6 years old, I passed Sophie on to my niece when she was born early this year. It makes me happy to see her chewing on the giraffe's ears the last time I saw her when I visited Manila several weeks ago.
I wrote this post for sentimental reasons and while I was looking for Sophie's picture in my albums, I encountered photographs of Anaïs when she was a baby. I spent some time browsing through them and felt nostalgic.
Did you own a Sophie the Giraffe when you were an infant? Did you have any traditional toys in your country? What were they?
Thank you for reading. I will most likely share more toy posts in the near future.
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References:
Sophie The Giraffe Philippines
Wall Street Journal: How a Rubber Giraffe Became a Jet Setter