Mountain Buggy® celebrates 25 years

Born on the edge of the earth, Mountain Buggy was developed from the simple and humble beginnings of a golf cart and a car seat, and a father's need to create a buggy with all terrain agility; enabling him to enjoy the outdoors with his baby.

25 years on, that still creates an inspiring image - the backyard innovation born of need; parent and child, out there, doing it. In that moment, the foundation and thought leadership of Mountain Buggy’s legendary all terrain platform was forged. 

This August, Mountain Buggy celebrates 25 years of designing innovative and award-winning products; enabling families to live life without limit.

While the design and technology of the brand’s award-winning platform has evolved throughout the past quarter-century, chief executive, Campbell Gower, says the brand’s adventurous spirit, values of innovation and customer connection, and power of being the underdog remain the same today. 

“I’m really proud of what the team has created, of what we’ve built over the past two and a half decades. With Mountain Buggy, engineered for the mountains, designed for the city is not just a strap line. It’s a belief, and something that resonates deeply within us. So much so that the originality and ingenuity behind the first urban jungle buggy lives on with this spirit.

“Our dedication to authenticity, and our absolute ambition to drive forward our all terrain brand has taken us from one edge of the globe to the other, creating terrific experiences for over one million parents along the way.

He says “we reflect their dreams - we work hard to know what they need and when they need it - and become a part of their lives for that very important baby time. Mountain Buggy works hard to make that emotional connection. 

“Driven by strong customer connections, we listen, develop and deliver products that truly matter. Parents want solutions to their everyday parenting problems, but more than that, they want to live their life without limit. Enabling was and still is our purpose.”

Since the early 90s, Mountain Buggy has captured the essence of freedom with its undisputed reputation for performance and strength. 

New Zealand’s spectacular mountain trails are the brand’s backyard; the rugged tracks its testing ground; the country’s stunning landscapes its constant source of inspiration. The brand’s creative direction is lead by its very own customers, who feature as the faces for their campaigns. 

“We send out new products around the world, prior to launch, to chosen Mountain Buggy pilots, who can experience first hand how our products look, feel and perform. This authentic customer connection is just so important.

“Along the way, these families capture their everyday adventures through photos and video. From the various types of terrain, differing seasons, and unique environments, our campaigns present the many different lifestyles that parents anywhere around the world can lead. 

“Mountain Buggy is not FOR them, it IS them - our pilot families truly embody what it’s like to live life without limit.”

Well known for its innovative design, in 2015, Mountain Buggy received two internationally acclaimed Red Dot design awards - the quality seal for the best design innovations across all industries.

The iconic Kiwi brand now sits alongside previous Red Dot award winners including Apple, Dyson and Ferrari. 

“The design of our buggies delivers superior form, function and creative style, as well as world class engineering that’s second to none. Products that deliver manoeuvrability, durability, adaptability and simplicity - every time. It’s our brand’s DNA.” 

The durability and robust nature of Mountain Buggy’s designs were put to the ultimate test in 2005, when a building in Manhattan collapsed. Under it, a Mountain Buggy urban double - with a 7 month old baby aboard. 

“It’s impossible to say with certainty that the buggy actually saved the infant, but the little girl, was released from hospital soon after, while her nanny remained there with both a broken leg and arm.” 

Gower says “the falling building story gives the brand a certain heroic quality, however, Mountain Buggy is truly a brand that is humble in its approach - what you see is what you get -  an honest, sincere, well designed, does-the-job, practical beauty. 

“25 years ago, Mountain Buggy pioneered all terrain adventure; designing innovative and award-winning products that enable parents all around the world to live life without limit. It’s what we’ve done, and will continue to do, from the other side of the world, for decades to come.” 

Mountain Buggy’s 25th anniversary celebrations will run from 1 Aug - 31 Oct.