7 Toy Maker Success Stories [2023]
The toys market is growing at a CAGR of 2.5% and will reach a market size of $103 Billion in the next few years. Toys play a critical role in a child’s growth and development. They help in brain development, enabling the kids to acquire logical and reasoning skills.
Besides, toys help kids develop spatial reasoning and social and communication skills. Therefore, starting a toy-making business today could be the best decision you are about to make.
To start your toy-making business, identify a potential niche, and focus on delivering suitable toys.
Here are some real life success stories of starting a toy maker:
1. Toybox ($2.4M/year)
Ben Baltes (from Oakland, California, USA) started Toybox about 6 years ago.
My founders and I all LOVE building. We’re freaking obsessed with it and it’s an incredibly empowering experience to us. It’s the reason we all bonded as friends.
- 3d printers were wayyyyy too expensive
- The status quo of the 3d printing experience sucked for kids (it took us months to get comfortable with it as highly technical adults). We figured if we could figure out how to build this thing at a low price and with great user experience, then we could absolutely take the market by storm. Luckily, we were all user experience engineers with a knack for hardware. So we set out to do it.
Learn more about starting a toy maker:
Where to start?
-> How much does it cost to start a toy maker?
-> Pros and cons of a toy maker
Need inspiration?
-> Examples of established toy maker
-> Marketing ideas for a toy maker
Other resources
3. ZZZ Bears ($120K/year)
Justin Baum (from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA) started ZZZ Bears over 8 years ago.
My full-time job is in advertising. (Think Don Draper with less Brylcreem,) And from 2005 to 2012, I worked at JWT, the United States Marine Corps’ longtime ad agency. As the Creative Director, I was in charge of recruitment advertising - writing the television commercials, print ads, billboards, etc - for the Marines during two of the most unpopular wars in our nation’s history.
Today, we donate ZZZ Bears monthly to children who have lost a parent in the line of duty through our partnership with TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors).
5. KiwiCo
KiwiCo delivers STEM, STEAM, science and art kits that provide serious fun and hands-on learning. Find kits for kids of all ages today!
- Website traffic: 2.33M/month
- Business rank: #20.9K
Check out their full website ➜
6. Make Community
Make: celebrates your right to tweak, hack, and bend any technology to your will.
- Website traffic: 620K/month
- Business rank: #55.9K
Check out their full website ➜
7. Buy Closeout Toys Online
Empire Discount is a wholesale supplier of NEW toy closeouts, value priced toys and school supplies from leading manufacturers such as Mattel, Fisher Price, Hasbro, Playskool, Bandai, and more.
- Business rank: #112K
Check out their full website ➜
Hey! 👋 I'm Pat Walls, the founder of Starter Story.
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