Business opportunity during pandemic - The rising of toy industry

We’ve been ‘stuck’ at home since the beginning of 2020, it is already more than a year nowr. Some countries might start letting kids back to school, some countries might still struggle and decide to extend the lockdown. With this article, I would like to share my observation through all this pandemic time. How it affect our baby product business. You will be surprised that actually the toy industry are rising. And what toy category that rising up so much during pandemic.

Content:

| Toy industry's may be thanking to pandemic

| The rising toy category during pandemic

| Building blocks

| Trampolines and playsets

| Smart toys

| Musical and art & drawing toys

Toy industry's may be thanking to pandemic

Parents pointed to loss of income and uncertain economic climate as two factors that would require them to rethink some of their spending even when stores reopen their doors.  Just another factor certain to affect toy sales this year. 

So what steps can toy makers take to head off these challenges?  They must do what they do best: turn to new bells and whistles and think outside the box.

1. Toy brands should turn to new ways to engage moms and kids which allow them to interact with their toys. 

2. Leveraging influencers to host in-home playdates that allow kids to touch and play with the hottest new toy while moms look on is just one way. 

3. It might also include product demonstrations in driveways and cul-de-sacs, or the seamless integration of social media with platforms that really matter to moms.

Now is the time for toy makers to be as innovative with their marketing as they are with their new products.  With a little creativity and strategic thinking, toy makers have the opportunity to navigate the shift in family toy buying that’s headed their way.

The rising toy category during pandemic

Building blocks

In late April, sales of Legos were up 64% year over year on eBay Australia, and rose as high as 92% one Sunday night. Basic Fun, the maker of Lite-Brite, Lincoln Logs, and K’nex—old-school toys that require users to think creatively and put things together with their bare hands—has also seen sales soar. Chief Executive Jay Foreman told the New York Post that the company had its best first quarter ever this year.

Read also: Building blocks for baby

Our recommendation

Plus-Plus: The construction toy with one shape and endless possibility! Build flat or in 3D. Fun for kids from age 1 to 101.

Newmero: Fun to play with numbers

Read also: Unboxing Newmero - A fun way to let your children falling in love with math

Trampolines and playsets

Toys that let kids get their energy out have jumped: The Asians are interested in mini trampolines, while Americans are furnishing backyards with bounce houses, playground sets, and slides. The Chief Executive of MGA Entertainment, which manufactures play houses, basketball hoops, and trampolines, recently reported that sales were up 100% in March compared to 2019.

Our recommendation

Fold & go kids trampoline: Featuring pre-assembled trampoline mat with a padded frame cover, the Fold and Go Trampoline is easy to set up and doesn't use bungee cords.

Smart toys

Demand for smart toys is on the rise due to its user engaging property. Smart Toys are electronic component embedded toys that have their own intelligence and behaves according to the environmental stimuli. It enables to reduce the smartphone industry threat by using artificial intelligence to attract children. Many smart toys like Spin Master's interactive Luvabella baby doll, Hasbro's bluetooth-connected Furreal motorized pet, Barbie's futuristic hologram Barbie, Lego's app-based coding playset and Mattel "smart" baby monitor have been launched.

Read also: Recommended toys to develop child's skills for the future!

Our recommendation

PLUGO: The physical-virtual play is not only a lot of fun, but highly educational for youngsters.

Read more: 5 Recommended STEAM APP for children in 2020

Musical and art & drawing toys

Without formal art classes to attend, children are expressing themselves through drawing, painting, coloring, sculpting, and crafting. Music classes have been canceled along with the rest of school (not to mention live festivals and concerts).

Read also: Playing open-ended toy with Dena toys - My First Rainbow

Art & Drawing Toys, which includes play dough, putty and drawing tablets, went up in Russia (+35%), the UK (+141%), Germany (+159%), France (+261%), the US (+653%), and Brazil (+674%), compared to January. Musical Toys were also up in the Netherlands (+40) and Brazil (+166%).

Our recommendation

Hay Dough

Welcoming you to be part of BabyLux family, planning to start own business by being baby products distributors but not sure where to start, drop us a message!

Unboxing Newmero - A fun way to let your children falling in love with math

Do you remember how you felt when you were learning mathematics? Memorizing formulas, writing them over and over but don’t understand it. This is the way we generally learn mathematics. In the development of young children, mathematics has always been an ability that everyone sees important. Mathematics also represents the M part of Math.

In one of Gurganus‘s study, he said that the more keen child's sense of number, the more conceptual the quantity and number calculation will be. Many studies have also pointed out that in the learning process, children must diversify their learning through direct contact, such as games, which can strengthen their motivation to learn and make him remember more deeply.

To learn mathematics, is it really necessary to learn in such a boring way? There is an interesting invention called Newmero in Denmark, a building block invented specifically to help kids learn mathematics. Very interesting, right?

Contents:

| What is Newmero?

| Why Newmero has design like this?

| What can Newmero teach?

• Play with numbers

• Play with colors

• Games

| Where can I use Newmero?

What is Newmero?

Newmero is a compound word, new + numero (number number in French). It is a brand-new building block teaching aid specially designed for children who do not understand the concept of math. Children's acceptance of building blocks is very high, thus the founder designed a building block to let children easily understand the concept of mathematics from their textbook, and combined with the teaching plan, so that Newmero's unique shape and color can easily let children learn mathematics through games.

For example, when kids does not understand which number is bigger between 11 and 7? The concept of 534 turns out to be 500+30+4. When we write numbers on paper or blackboard, this kind of blunt learning can easily make children uninterested, but what if it becomes a building block? It is completely different!

What's amazing is that since its development in 2016, Newmero has almost swept the world's awards, including even the awards selected by teachers.

Why Newmero has design like this?

Newmero building block teaching aid looks very simple, but not as simple as its appearance, it also allows children to develop their own problem-solving skills. Newmero is divided into seven characteristic parts:

A. Left jig saw pattern

B. Counting knobs

C. Numeral value

D. Bottom edge

E. Stacking/connector knob

F. Right jig saw pattern

G. Back side

There are many ways to use, for example:

Understanding the value

The symbol 5 combined with the counting knobs on top of the brick makes it easy to understand 5 and its value.

The relationship between numbers

Which is larger and how are numbers related and sorted? Simply stack the bricks on top of each other using the connector knob and the counting knobs will provide guidance.

Which numbers are friends of 10?

Two bricks that “bonds to 10” fit together along the jigsaw pattern like a puzzle on the side. 2 and 8 show the match on the picture. The bricks can also do “Bonds to 100” and “Bonds to 1000”!

If they are not friend of 10, why?

The bricks can also explain where to look for the answer. Simply place them back against back and the bricks will explain where to look for the answer. Do you need a smaller or bigger number to find the friend of 10?

What is the structure of multidigit numbers?

Simply build numbers as staircases using the connector knob. Composing and decompose numbers physically. 3526 is simply a 3000, 500, 20 and a 6.

What can Newmero teach?

A. Play with numbers

For example, in kindergarten we can teach like this

1. From one to ten

• Identify numbers and quantities

• Learn to count from 1 to 10, then from 10 to 1

• Number sequencing and sorting (1, 2, 3, 4, 5,…)

• Number recognition (associate the symbol of numbers to the sound/name of the numbers)

• Even or odd numbers

2. From one to twenty

• Identify numbers-numbers and quantities

• Learn to count from 1 to 20, then from 20 to 1

• Number sequencing and sorting (1, 2, 3, 4, 5,…)

• Number recognition (associate the symbol of numbers to the sound/name of the numbers)

3. Numbers over 20

• Count 10, 20, 30... learn about the multiple of 10

• Learn how to count from 20 to 100

4. Skip number

5. Comparing numbers

6. Patterns and colors

• Recognize the color pattern and continue to add bricks

7. Exercises for addition

• The counting knobs on top of the bricks help to make the addition

8. Add two numbers together to equal 10

• The Newmero bricks fit together if the numbers are right. If the child chose to put together wrong Friends of 10, then the Newmero bricks will not fit like a puzzle

9. Practice simple subtraction

10. Buy and sell games

• Use Newmero as money and practice buying and selling games

B. Play with colors

Newmero has a total of four colors of orange, green, yellow and blue, through

1. Use the concept of number to learn about logical thinking

2. Color grouping: combining the same colors together

C. Games

I thought Newmero is a very serious teaching tool, I don’t expect that there are actually a lot of games that can be played with Newmero, you can use Newmero blocks to build an animal.

Or use it to play domino.

Where can I use Newmero?

1. At home

Let's take a look at the video, we know that learning mathematics can become so visual and so simple

2. School

Newmero adapts to all existing math curriculums. In kindergarten, training children to work together is also one of the important lessons. Newmero also has Large pack, Small pack, School pack and Kindergarten pack, which is suitable for everyone to practice in the classroom. The founder of Newmero suggested that 4-5 children should be grouped together, and they can also compete in mathematics with each other, which is very interesting! There are also lesson plans for teachers to download.

Welcoming you to be part of BabyLux family, planning to start own business by being baby products distributors but not sure where to start, drop us a message!