Amanda and Matt McKay have built Freddy & Co into a $1m plus baby mat company

Meet the former Socceroo and his wife who have built a $1m plus baby play mat supply business in their Brisbane shed and you won’t believe their plans for next year.

Amanda and Matt McKay have built a successful baby play mat business from home.

WHAT started as a side hustle born out of frustration for a young mum has turned into a $1m plus full time business for the mother of three and her former Socceroo husband.

Amanda McKay was a maths/science teacher schoolteacher – married to former Brisbane Roar captain Matt McKay – when she got the idea for the online play mat business while on maternity leave with her first child Freddy.

She was having a coffee with a friend from her mothers’ group and they were looking for suitable baby play mats that featured child-focused designs, as well as parent-friendly prints.

“Not only could we not find any that combined the two, we were also shocked to discover there were no mandatory safety standards for play mats in Australia,” Mrs McKay, 35, said.

“I wanted both options – one with a fun educational print and on the reverse side had a more neutral design. I thought I could fill the gap. I had the idea and Matt was willing to back me.”

Amanda and Matt McKay have built a successful play mat business from home. Picture: Tertius Pickard

What started as a thought with ambition in 2016, went live on their Freddy & Co website – named after their son – a year later.

Their non-toxic polyurethane 2m by 1.4m and 15mm thick play mats – tested to European and US standards – are designed in Australia, made in China and stored at the McKay’s Brisbane home before being sent to customers.

“For the first six months of the business I went back to school full-time and Freddy went to daycare for a year,” Mrs McKay said.

“Matt was still travelling a lot and Freddy & Co was a side hustle. I’d get home from work after spending time with Freddy, pack the orders to go out the next day.”

Mr McKay, 39, retired from a professional football career in 2017 and was a shareholder at investment managers Ferguson and Hyams.

However, he stepped away when Freddy & Co received its online Covid boost and the business when from side hustle to full-time.

Freddy & Co play mats can now be found in over 17,500 homes around Australia resulting in an 82 per cent increase in turnover in 2020/21 which saw them break the $1m annual turnover barrier.

The play mats sell for up to $179.95 each online and Freddy & Co market through Instagram and baby expos, particularly the Pregnancy, Babies and Children's Expo.

The couple remain focused on the online business and they have no plans at this stage to sell their play mats wholesale.

Mrs McKay said they are now able to spend more time together while looking after their three children.

“I never in a million years thought that this little business of ours would be able to support our family,” she said.

Matt McKay when he played for the Brisbane Roar.

Mr McKay said Freddy & Co was a change in direction from his professional football career where he played 279 games for the Roar and 59 for Australia.

“There are never enough hours in the day. I actually had more spare time when I was playing football,” he said.

Mr McKay said the 2020/21 financial result was a surprise.

“The result was a bit sharper than we thought and we have been able to handle that with just the two of us and employing a marketing contractor to help out,” he said.

“This financial year we should come pretty close to $1.5m. But we’ve worked hard. Amanda has worked really well in her side – the marketing, SEO and building brand awareness. I’m more on the customer service, being able to talk to people, and logistics side, which I’m totally comfortable with.

“I love being able to work from home and spend time with the family and the business has given us the opportunity. When the kids are at school age we will be able to progress the business further.”

However, things will change for the McKays in 2023.

After Christmas they plan to be digital nomads, taking themselves and their three children – six-year-old Freddy, Patrick who almost four, and one-year-old ruby – on a 12-month dream trip around Australia.

Mr McKay said they will continue working on the business while they are away.

“We will be updating a few designs and looking to grow in sales volumes. We’ll move to 3PL (Third Party Logistics) for the logistics side when we’re way and when we get back we may look at expanding into our own warehouse,” he said.

“Our business is purely online and next year hopefully get to some expos as well. We enjoy getting out and meeting people, meeting families and getting our product out that way but it’s purely online and we will be able to run that from around Australia.”