The Toy Revolution in India

My daughter, Arya, and I spent some fun time today learning Indian geography thanks to Imagimake. I think I definitely enjoyed it even more than her, while revisiting my childhood GK regarding our 11 main rivers, the 7 main mountain ranges and 3 main plateaus in India. I even shamelessly wrestled a few rivers and mountain ranges to fix them into the outline provided.

But, it got me thinking about how exciting this play-n-learn industry is in India, possibly at its inflection point, and disrupting the status quo established by Funskool, Hasbro, Mattel and the likes. 

- The global toy industry boasts a market size exceeding $300 billion, with India's contribution standing at <1 percent, hinting at significant growth potential.

- India has the second largest population of children and the estimates suggest the Indian educational toys market could reach $2-3 billion by 2026-2027, growing at a CAGR of around 10-12%.

- The 3-8 years segment accounts for the largest market share in the global educational toys market. Increasingly, millennial parents focus on improving their children's communication skills and start teaching them about language, numbers, and letters. 

- Research suggests that early childhood is critical to develop multiple social and emotional competencies in children, and increasing awareness is driving demand for educational toys, especially those that teach about emotions, sharing, waiting, bonding, and caring. 

- Some of the emerging toy companies in India include:

PlayShifu - A technology-enabled early learning toy company that offers educational play experiences for kids aged 4-12 to build STEAM and other foundational skills, estimated valuation standing at $600 mn+

Shumee Toys - Unique range of high-quality, safe and engaging toys for kids.

Havi.co - Makes DIY robotics kits and creativity toys for people aged 6+ 

DICE Toy Labs - On a mission to make cool, India-centric, gender-neutral and affordable toys that are engaging for kids.

Smartivity - Designs STEM educational DIY toys and tech-blended activities for children.

- Make in India has been a game changer for toys manufacturing in India. The government has set up over 60 toy facilities to encourage manufacturing. As of February 2023, over 1,000 local manufacturers and close to 30 foreign manufacturers were granted licences to manufacture toys in India.

According to the free trade agreement with the UAE and the Middle East, Indian toys will have zero-duty market access. 

The government issued Toy Quality Control Order in 2021, to ensure safety and quality standards in manufacturing toys.