Kiwi Crate Expands Its Leadership In The Youth Maker Market

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Kids creativity company Kiwi Crate is extending its leadership in designing and delivering products and experiences for young makers. With the launch of three new brands that triple its addressable age range, as well as the nationwide distribution of its kits at Target stores and the introduction of its first creativity app, Kiwi Crate continues to extend its reach and build its brand.

Kiwi Crate has been successfully building an ecommerce and content platform and designing and delivering hands-on products and experiences that encourage children's creativity since 2011. CEO and Founder Sandra Oh Lin believes the time is right to expand. "Over the past three years, we've developed deep capabilities in product design and innovation with a focus on quick prototyping and end-user testing.  We have the superior sourcing relationships and technical infrastructure we need," she said. "We've more than doubled our margins since launch and our net revenue year-to-date is up 70 percent year-over-year with our busiest season ahead of us."

"We're excited to leverage that platform to cement our leadership in providing compelling and enriching experiences for young makers.  No matter the age of the child, preferred distribution channel or desired experience—whether it's digital or physical, DIY or send-me-everything-I-need—we want to provide the solution," added Lin.

The three new product lines will expand Kiwi Crate's penetration of the children's market beyond the core 4-to-8-year-old demographic to reach children from ages 3 to 16+ by addressing the need in three areas: a recognition of the importance of creative play and open-ended exploration for young children; an understanding of the need for more hands-on exposure to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for boys and girls; and a respect for value of the maker movement in helping to instill confidence in young girls.

The new brands, which launch for pre-order Sept. 16, are:

• Koala Crate (www.koalacrate.com), for kids ages 3-4, is being launched in partnership with Highlights for Children, to bring developmentally appropriate, enriching projects for parents to explore with their preschoolers.
• Tinker Crate (www.tinkercrate.com), for kids ages 9-14+, delivers a hands-on project and magazine focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)-based projects to promote creative problem-solving skills and inquiry-based learning.
• Doodle Crate (www.doodlecrate.com), for girls ages 9-16+, introduces young makers to new materials and interesting techniques through hands-on crafts that support self expression.

"We know parents want to raise creative problem solvers, but moms and dads are busy and need help providing quality experiences," says Lin.  "We've been successful because we make it easy for parents to bring great projects to their 4-to-8-year-olds, and we're confident these new offerings will tap into their desires to provide the same inspiration and quality materials to younger and older children as well."

Accompanying these new brand launches are initiatives designed to expand Kiwi Crate's product distribution. After a successful test in select Target stores, the national retailer is expanding its exclusive Kiwi Crate line into 1,700+ stores nationwide. Lin is bullish on the potential of distribution through the retailer channel for Kiwi Crate's continued growth: "Our retailer revenue went from zero last year to over seven percent of total revenue this year.  We have plans to expand to two other major retailers this year to continue to accelerate our reach through this channel."

In addition, Kiwi Crate recently launched its first smartphone app, Kiwi Corner (available for free in the App Store and on Google Play), to provide on the go access its library of 1500 DIY ideas including art projects, holiday crafts, science experiments, make and play games, and more.

About Kiwi Crate:
Launched in 2011, Kiwi Crate is a commerce and content platform dedicated to kids' creativity. Its family of brands delivers hands-on projects for kids 3-16+. The projects are designed to inspire creativity and pique curiosity. All projects are reviewed by experts and tested by kids.

Kiwi Crate's investors include Comcast Ventures, First Round Capital, Mayfield Fund, Felicis Ventures, Forerunner Ventures and 500 Startups, among others.

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SOURCE Kiwi Crate