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Eat Yer Greens is a young company - younger even than the toddlers it decks out in its funky gear. To say it is run on a shoestring would be unfair to shoestrings everywhere - its headquarters consist of one small room at the back of a marketing agency in Richmond upon Thames.

Founders Rachel Sallows and Julia Sandys have space only for two desks and a few rails of clothing samples. This is a brand that punches well above its weight in the retail world.

Less than two years after it officially launched - at childrenswear trade show Premier Kids - the range is already stocked in 100 independent stores, Selfridges and Edinburgh store Jenners.

Eat Yer Greens also has a strong profile online - its garments are stocked by The Baby Closet, a well-known e-tailer of premium children's clothes.

No surprise, then, that the brand is already fielding interest from retailers in the US and Australia.

The effervescent Sallows and more pragmatic Sandys, both 35, have managed all this on financing from Sallows' family and friends. Just £40,000 was spent on marketing in its first year, slightly more than 10% of its first year's turnover, an estimated £300,000.

Sallows says she came up with the idea for the business after giving birth to twins and becoming jaded with the scarcity of individuality in kids' clothes. So, in the best tradition of entrepreneurs, she designed her own.

After friends complimented Sallows on her designs, she decided to capitalise on her sales background (albeit selling fish products for McVitie's) and turn a hobby into a brand. She is flippant about the distinctive name, saying it just popped into her head.

Beyond the name, the brand's appeal is that it recreates adult fashions in tiny form. This year's spring/summer collection includes a kaftan and a 'handkerchief hem' skirt, while a hooded jacket was inspired by a vintage adult's version. However, the original 'granny magnet' logo clothing is still its bestselling line and silky nappy bags have become increasingly popular.

Although the primary market is parents, Eat Yer Greens has gained distribution in gift shops - widening its profile by appealing to those who buy gifts for friends' children. 'You want to give something of yourself in that kind of present, something with personality,' explains Sallows.

There is a Blue Peter-style inventiveness to the founders' marketing efforts. Shocked at the price of store mannequins (£150 each), for example, they decided to make their own out of chickenwire. Sallows' twins, Hannah and Joseph, star in Eat Yer Greens catalogues, modelling their mother's designs, as do the children of various employees of Positive Thinking, the agency within which they are housed.

This cohabitation has provided further benefits. Positive Thinking designers have helped create the brand's website, literature and logo, sometimes accepting payment in Eat Yer Greens gear. And the agency's managing director, Julian Reiter, an old friend of Sallows', arranged a direct mail campaign to help begin a fledgling customer database for the company.

Sallows and Sandys have become adept at eliciting favours from friends, but have discovered the unhappy reality of selling to national retailers, which has often meant enthusiastic-sounding buyers, but more cautious order volumes. Independent retailers, on the other hand, have been seduced by Eat Yer Green's creative brochures and low minimum order value (£250) and have helped enhance the brands' cachet.

Their experience at two consumer shows has left the founders confident of the brand's mass-market potential. 'One mum told us of how she ran after a boy in a playground to look at the branding on his T-shirt,' says Sallows.

To accelerate expansion, Sandys will further exploit her PR background and Sallows will begin designing Eat Yer Greens gear for children older than four. Funnily enough, her twins are soon to hit five, continuing to provide the inspiration that nourishes the designs.

TIMELINE

Dec 2002: Former PR Julia Sandys is approached by her friend Rachel Sallows with the idea of setting up a children's clothing company.

Apr 2003: The pair move into their first office - marketing agency Positive Thinking's old stock room.

May 2003: They commission a factory in India to make 30,000 T-shirts, despite having no firm orders.

Jul 2003: Eat Yer Greens launched to retail trade at Premier Kids show. Wins best newcomer prize.

Nov 2003: The brand takes part in its first consumer show, Spirit of Christmas.

Dec 2003: Launches Positive Thinking-designed website.

Jan 2004: A small story on Eat Yer Greens in Junior Pregnancy & Birth magazine gets the phones ringing.

Apr 2004: The company takes delivery of its first computerised ordering system. Sallows flies off to meet interested retailers in the US. At Heathrow she meets with Harrods' airport terminal buyer. The May/ June issue of the retailer's Junior magazine has an Eat Yer Greens' spring/summer catalogue insert.