Have you heard? After becoming a first time mom, I encountered a common challenge parents know well. Out to lunch one day with my husband, I noticed my almost one-year-old son Cooper had a dirty diaper. With no changing table in the men’s room, which too often is the case, I took him to the women’s restroom and found it was not easy: there was no place to hang my diaper bag, the table was incredibly dirty, and the surface was cold, hard and uncomfortable for my baby. Exasperated, I walked back to the restaurant dining space and had an ah-ha moment. I thought, ‘there’s got to be a better way!’ Throughout the day my husband and I continued to discuss the problem and the solution. By the end of the night I was armed with only a need and a mom-driven mindset, I was on a mission to create what is now Pluie.
I had spent two years in culinary design developing food products. This innovation itch carried into my test kitchen work and television appearances on The Food Network. I cooked professionally during the day and imagined what the changing table would become at night. I was obsessed with every detail, but knew I needed a team to conceive my vision. I was fortunate to find the perfect brand consultant, industrial designer and engineer to help me bring Pluie to life.
Along the way, I was pregnant with my second child, and the public restroom diaper struggles continued (only made more difficult juggling a growing belly). At the same time, Pluie design attributes were tested and finalized. Claire was born and we spent 10 weeks together at home. Maternity leave is short and it is precious, every moment she slept, often on me, we talked (I talked, she listened) about all-things diaper changing tables. I know she could sense my excitement as together, with the support of many others, we continued to build Pluie.
In 2020, I packed my knives and left the kitchen to pursue Pluie full time. I met Brittany Hizer through a mutual friend and our first coffee turned into a five-hour lunch. Although within the first five-minutes, I knew she was my perfect partner and new co-founder and COO. We took a bathroom selfie next to the (gross) changing table, not knowing we wouldn’t be together for many months. A week after this first meeting, COVID-19 isolated us. I was back in the kitchen (at home) caring for my two children no longer in daycare. Brittany and I juggled toddler activities and the supply chain, conducted research while watching Frozen, fashioned an early changing table prototype out of tape during nap time and even did pitches in our pajamas. Over the months, we really learned the power behind the word “mompreneur.”
The result of these chaotic yet exciting months is the world’s first self-sanitizing and most advanced public diaper changing table! Our patent-pending UV-C light system (placed behind a protection panel) sanitizes the changing space when closed and not in use, and is known to kill 99.9% of germs, bacteria, and viruses through a photochemical reaction that damages their DNA. Our signature table, proudly made in the USA, also includes first-to-market features such as a plush, leak proof cushion, a retractable security strap, and multipurpose durable handles — all of the things Cooper and I desperately needed during that lunch long ago.
To learn more about Pluie and how to purchase, please visit us at www.hellopluie.com
Established in 2020, Pluie is modernizing the outdated public restroom diaper changing table experience with the world’s first and only self-sanitizing table, powered by a patent-pending UV-C light system. Pluie is proudly female-founded and operated by Addie Gundry and Brittany Hizer. Pluie is a made in the USA company, headquartered in Chicago. For more information, visit hellopluie.com.
