Toy Company KiwiCo Sees Children as 'Young Innovators'
*By: Madison Alworth*
Many toy makers may feel imperiled by the closing of Toys 'R' Us, but KiwiCo seems to be doing just fine.
The company, which sells kits that encourage kids to build and create their own toys, says sales have grown at an annual rate of about 60 percent a year since its founding in 2011.
"This year we are approaching $100 million in sales," said Sandra Oh Lin, the company's founder and CEO, in an interview with Cheddar.
KiwiCo took in a round of financing to the tune of $10 million early on. It started producing STEM-based toys, but evolved to sell crates of materials to build toys for everything from engineering to art to more.
"In a few weeks we are actually launching a new line called Atlas Crate, which is all about geography and encouraging kids to see themselves as global citizens," Oh Lin said.
"We are really about encouraging kids to see themselves as young innovators. We want them to embrace the thought that they are makers, that they have innate creativity. What we are trying to do is instill that creative confidence as well as the tools."
The crates are available as stand-alone products and through a subscription service. A [monthly subscription](https://www.kiwico.com/) starts at $19.95 but goes down in price if customers sign on for longer periods.
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/kiwico-subscription-services-for-stem-toys)
Elon Musk took the stage for Tesla's 2023 Investor Day in Austin, Texas and unveiled what he called the company's Master Plan 3, which emphasizes "sustainable energy for all of Earth."
The cannabis industry is continuing to explode around the world and, at its current pace, is projected to balloon to a market value of nearly $60 billion by 2027, according to cannabis data company BDSA.
U.S. markets ended mostly lower on the first day of March, on data indicating inflation is likely to stay high and Federal Reserve policymakers hinted support for more aggressive rate hikes. Cheddar News speaks with Sam Stovall, Chief Investment Strategist at CFRA who breaks down the market's action.
