Trailblazer of the Year
Katherine Gold
President and CEO, GoldBug
GoldBug was founded in Denver over 50 years ago. As the 2nd generation leader of the business, Katherine Gold’s remarkable entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to empowering women have shaped the company’s success. Let’s learn a little more about the priorities of our 2025 American Image Awards Trailblazer:
What is one adjective you’d like GoldBug’s customers to think of when they think of the brand?
Relevate.
At GoldBug, relevate means staying relevant to the needs of today’s parents while continuing to elevate our product offering, impact on maternal health, and industry standards in safety.
We relevate by designing products that solve real parenting challenges—whether it’s co-developing products with doulas to make life easier for new parents or driving industry change through stronger safety testing and standards. Our commitment extends beyond products, with initiatives that support maternal health and ensure moms have the resources they need.
Parenting evolves, and so do we. GoldBug doesn’t just keep up—we Relevate.
Maternal health in the U.S. has been challenged to keep pace with other industrialized nations. GoldBug has made a commitment to communities throughout the U.S. to improve access to health resources through its own initiatives as well as partnering with existing organizations. Can you share more about these programs and their impact.
Our customer base is new moms and when we learned about the maternal health crisis in the U.S. we were driven to action. We believe every mother should have the resources and access necessary to support a healthy pregnancy and childbirth, and we’re committed to doing our part to make that a reality.
We are investing in programs that can help improve outcomes for pregnant women and their babies. As a private company, we have the ability to move quickly, allocate funds where we feel they’re needed most, and support initiatives that can drive broader change.
Examples include our Healthy Beginnings Pilot, which provides flexible financial support to moms in both urban and rural communities—giving them the dignity to make the best choices for their families. Our goal is to show early impact and create a model that, combined with other studies, can influence policy to improve maternal health outcomes.
We have also partnered with Denver Health’s Doula Program, to increase the number of trained doulas. The effectiveness of this program helped provide a path to gain medicaid coverage for doulas in the state of Colorado. This program has proven to increase healthy birth outcomes, and we believe it has the capacity to expand. We are a sponsor to the March of Dimes’ It Starts With Mom campaign, advocating for better maternal health resources.
Building on these efforts, we created an RFP to support 2-3 new maternal health initiatives in 2025 and beyond. By providing funding and resources, we will continue to help bridge critical gaps in care and pilot efforts that can have long-term impact.
What makes GoldBug a strong partner?
GoldBug is built on long-term partnerships—whether with our licensing partners like Carter’s and Fruit of the Loom, our factories, or our retail partners, including Target and Walmart. We have decades of experience helping our partners win. We help them win by bringing innovative products to market, staying ahead of evolving regulations, overcoming supply chain challenges, and executing category expansions.
As a private company, our ability to move quickly and think strategically ensures we’re always positioned for growth for and with our partners.
Since 1968, GoldBug has set the industry standard for quality and safety. How has GoldBug’s approach to product safety evolved through its history, and how do you see the current product safety landscape?
At GoldBug, safety is at the core of everything we do. While some product categories in our industry are highly regulated, others have less oversight, and we’ve made it our responsibility to set the standard where none exist.
We go beyond industry requirements, incorporating rigorous testing and best practices at every stage of our product development process. As more factories sell directly to U.S. consumers—often prioritizing speed and cost over rigorous testing—our approach remains focused on quality, consistency, and compliance at the highest levels.
As regulations evolve and cost pressures grow, GoldBug remains committed to raising the bar—including with our patent-pending designs.
By holding ourselves to the highest standard, we give parents peace of mind that every product we create is made with their child’s safety in mind.
As a privately held company and a family business, what unique challenges have you had to navigate? And equally, what opportunities has this opened up for you?
As a privately held, Denver-based company, GoldBug has always operated with a long-term horizon. Without outside investors, we’ve had to be disciplined—running lean, staying focused, and making smart decisions that ensure stability and growth over time.
Being a family business has brought its own set of challenges, especially during past transitions that tested us. But with no debt and a strong leadership team in place, those experiences have strengthened us, bringing clarity, alignment, and excitement for the future.
Get your tickets to support the future of the industry! We look forward to an incredible celebration on April 29!