As kids, playing is our whole world. Building castles, stacking blocks, pretending to cook were like grand adventures. However, nowadays toys have just become another purchase, often forgotten after a few uses. They wondered what if play could be more than that? What if toys could grow with a child, spark curiosity, and make learning effortless? And that thought stuck with them. Before they knew it, they’re on a journey to bring back the magic of meaningful play. Who are they? Lets dive deep into it.
Virang and Tanya started the journey in 2013. They introduced the concept of toys and games actually acting as learning tools. Toycra’s a result of wanting to disrupt the way play-based education is approached in India. Especially, for the age group of 0-10years. Till date, they follow the motto, ‘Play to Grow’. Each product that they add is another step towards making toys an investment. Rather than a frivolous expense, it should add some value.
Identify your niche and stick with it – it’s not always an easy journey but once your audience recognises the passion you bring to the table, you will rule that niche! Don’t lose sight of why you started the business in the first place. – Virang and Tanya, Founders Toycra.
A Business Story Rooted in Passion
Interestingly, after the idea of Toycra was born, Virang and Tanya started dating. They have complementary skills, so working together was a wonderful and learning experience for them. Tanya manages retail, marketing, and community building, while Virang focuses on operations, design and B2B. This division allows them to maintain unified vision and make independent decisions. Couples’ dinner table conversations are mostly around new ideas and initiatives for Toycra.
Riding the E-Commerce Wave
E-commerce was booming in India when Toycra launched. And soon they became one of the largest independent toy sellers on Flipkart and Amazon. They launched their own website, recognizing the need for a dedicated toy platform. The website is now among India’s most trusted independent toy speciality websites. Toycra was first to introduce global award-winning brands in India. Those brands were Fat Brain Toys, Magnatiles, Battat, and Top Bright, etc. This brought a wave of a higher quality products in the industry.
Beyond Retail market, Toycra pioneered in experiential workshops and playdates within their premises in 2014. This brought hands-on engagement into the shopping experience. Today, they’ve their own brand Open Ended by Toycra, where they manufacture toys. It has 50+ SKUs designed to support long-term developmental plays already. In 2023, they were also awarded KSP Toy Brand of the Year.
Curating Quality, Ensuring Safety
Foundation of Toycra is built on three pillars: Curation, Quality and Service. Till date, they’ve never promoted or stocked any fake, untested, copied, or low quality brands. Their WhatsApp concierge service serves 100+ orders across India daily, providing personal recommendations and services. Toycra houses one of the largest children’s books collections in India, specially handpicked by Tanya. Their customers, the parent community, trusts them to curate the absolute best. To provide toys that aren’t fragile and actually add value to the home and learning. Toycra has what parents value, it’s a passion project.
Toycra follows strict BIS and ISI certification, with increasing awareness around the safety in toys. They reject substandard materials, and flimsy parts. Infact toys from their Open Ended range do not have sharp edges. They are coated with non-toxic water based paints. All parents expect best for their kids. Every Toycra toy is designed for longevity, engagement, and educational value. Quality play is the need of an hour and they are working aggressively on it. It is for parents to get real value for money.
Play-Based Learning: A Game Changer
“Our funda is simple and uniform across the board: strike a balance between joyful + meaningful play, and that toy becomes an asset to a family. It should be fun enough for kids to stay engaged, and should add value to their overall wellbeing with longevity so that parents see value for money + value in subconscious education. For this, we make sure the toy has elements that grow with the child, that offer something fresh every time they are picked up, and that support early childhood learning concepts.” said founders.
Children learn best when they are immersed in play. Play is when their mind is not being dictated by an external force. When they have the freedom to use their creativity and expression individually. Also, kids learn more when they use their hands, when they get messy. They learn when there’s no rigid structure, but a tool that lets them flow freely. A simple example – you can draw a square on a board and force the child to rote memorize it. Or you can give them a shape sorter to physically touch and explore the shape. 10/10 times the child will remember playing with the square. Also, Child getsa sense of achievement when he/she matches it to the shape sorter.
A Proud Moment
‘Open Ended’ by Toycra was chosen as a part of thoughtful gift hamper by our now Honourable Shri Prime Minister of India. Being recognized by the Honourable Prime Minister was a surreal milestone for Toycra. It came as a validation to years of dedication to Indian toy manufacturing for founders. It also motivated them to Bringing Indian Toys to the World. With 10years of experience and over 5million happy families, Toycra is ready to go global. Make in India initiative provides the perfect opportunity for many Indian brands to compete internationally. Toycra is leveraging its expertise, design thinking, and quality-based commitment, giving life to their vision.
Open Ended by Toycra brings musical toys, pretend play sets, and motor skill development tools. These toys ensure continuous learning and growth in kids. They are designed for long-term engagement that evolve with children. Toycra incorporates quality-tested and sustainable materials across multiple categories, starting with wooden toys.
Conclusion
Toycra has one of the highest clients return ratios. Most of the kids start their journey with them when are infants, till early teens. They also work with preschool and school chains across India. Specially for setting up their play areas and educational toy rooms. Toycra also work with a lot of Paediatricians using their toys in practice with children. As they gear up for global expansion, Toycra continues to stay true to its core. This story is an inspiration for entrepreneurs who wish to turn their passion into impact. Gujpreneur is excited to bring more such interesting stories of Gujarati businesses! Stay tuned!
