Toys and games can help babies grow and improve both motor skills and cognitive development. Yookidoo is a company that is dedicated to producing high-quality and unique toys and games for small children. The items in their catalogue are stimulating and interactive as well as innovative. Recently, their “Musical Duck Race” was listed as a finalist for the International Toy Award 2016 and a finalist for the ASTRA Toy Award 2016.
“Musical Duck Race” is a battery-operated toy that is intended for children ages 6-36 months. It features four ducks that race around a pond that is filled with actual water. Each duck displays a different spraying effect and the leaf lever activates nine water effects and random sounds. To preserve batteries, the toy will automatically shut down after three minutes.
Yookidoo has many successes to their credit and they have much more planned for the future. Osnat Feingold, the Head of Marketing Communications, recently discussed the company and its hopes for the future:
Meagan Meehan (MM) of Entertainment Vine: When was your company started and why was that specific name chosen?
Osnat Feingold (OF): Yookidoo was founded 10 years ago. The name stems from the oft-spoken pretense “You Can Do It!” We were looking for something fun and festive – and we found it!
MM: Right now many toys do you offer? What are your age ranges?
OF: Our current line up tallies up to more than 30 SKUs, including our patented baby gyms, playmats, soft toys, and of course our award-winning line of bath toys. Those are the splash heard ‘round the world! All in all, we’ve got more than 30 toys designed specifically for infants and toddlers ages 0-3 years.
MM: How do you think up ideas for your products? For example, do you ever work with inventors?
OF: Our internal design team includes both product developers and designers who nurture every Yookidoo creation from concept all the way through production.
MM: What are some of your most unusual products? Which are most popular?
OF: Well, we revolutionized bath toys by introducing battery operated bath toys, which allowed us to provide amazing new water-safe features and play patterns. To date, we’ve sold more than 1 million bath toys, with the Yookidoo Submarine Spray Station leading the charge. We’ve won countless awards for our bath toys and our Musical Duck Race was recently voted “Best Bath Toy” in a U.S. focus group.
MM: To date, what has been the most rewarding part of working with the company?
OF: I love seeing the photos parents send us of their babies laughing, discovering, and exploring with our toys. Every 31 seconds a Yookidoo item is sold somewhere in the world. That’s a lot of happy babies!
MM: Where do you hope the company will be in ten years?
OF: We’re definitely going to continue to lead the bath toy category into even more exciting innovations. We’re also looking to expand our offerings to a wider range age range.
MM: What advice would you give to someone who is striving to enter the toy/games industry?
OF: The toy industry has got to be the most fun work in the world. I’d say if you dream about toys, follow your heart!
MM: How many awards have you won this far?
OF: Yookidoo is honored to have received almost 30 awards. We’ve been recognized both by our peers in the industry and by consumers, which means so much to us.
MM: Are you most proud of any particular accolade?
OF: Yes. We won the Toy of the Year award at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in Germany. The products vying for this award were evaluated by top toy specialists so this was quite an honor. We’re also proud of the recent Best Bath Toy win for the Musical Duck Race.
MM: How did you think up the idea for the “Duck Race” bath toy?
OF: Well, we saw how much toddlers loved our bath toys and we wanted to design a bath toy that would provide the same level of joy and excitement to even younger children. The Musical Duck Race came out of that desire to delight and surprise babies 6 months and up – although kids as old as 6 love the race too!
MM: What’s next for you?
OF: We’ll continue to put our best, most innovative, foot forward in the bath toy category, striving to come up with the toys of kids’ wildest dreams!
* * * * * *
To learn more about Yookidoo, visit their official website, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube.
