When a mom of 2 kids cannot find a suitable toy for them, she decides to take things into her own hands and realizes that other parents are also facing the same struggle. She does not want to resolve giving smartphones to kids. Instead, Haripriya from Coimbatore decided to start Extrokids toystore; selling such toys which help in the proper mental development of kids and keep them occupied. On the brighter side, it limits their screen time. Started with just Rs 5000 from her house in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu is now receiving more than 15k orders.
| Startup Name | Extrokids |
| Founders | S. Haripriya |
| Date of Commencement | September 2016 |
| Industry | Online Kids Toy and bookstore (for all ages) |
| Company Classification | Exporter and Wholesaler |
| Headquarters/based-in | Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Idea | To provide educational and fun toys to kids and limit their screen time. Also, to help in the proper brain development of the kids |
| Investments | Rs 5000 |
| Revenue | Rs 5 lakh in 2019 (latest revenue not disclosed) |
| Number of Customers | 5 lakh+ |
| Recognition | SITA 2023 Best Early Education Enrichment Recognition Award |
Competitors: None as known
The Problem: Why Does This Matter?
Kids holding a smartphone are not a rare sight today. This has become a major cause of concern for parents, but there is little they can find to engage their kids with.
It is hard to find safe, entertaining yet educating toys for kids that can help in developing their intellectual and cognitive skills. Kids’ screen time is increasing way more than required, may it be TV, smartphone, or other gadgets.
S Haripriya (34), a mother of 2 kids (2 years old and 3 months old), had to face the same query while looking for toys in 2017. There are no interactive games available for kids these days.
The Solution: Extrokids Toystore
Extrokids Toystore, an online store which provides toys, books, games, and other products for infants-19 years.
After completing B.Sc. in Electronics, she tried different businesses like eco-friendly napkins, tutorial lessons, and selling gifts, but nothing seemed to work. But her post-partum period made her passionate to make educative and entertaining toys available for kids.
In September 2016, Haripriya launched Extrokids.
Business Model: How Do They Make Money?
According to S. Haripriya, it is important to build trust in a D2C business and it happens with organic sales, to begin with.
The price of their toys ranges starts from Rs 49 to Rs 8,000. They have a wide range of toys, including family games, pretend play items, kinetic sand, educational toys, etc. But their bestseller is memory card games, puzzles, and Shut the Box.
Moreover, her toys are ideal for various age groups which provides the business with a wider reach. Also, she didn’t began paid marketing until her social media account reached 1,50,000 followers and Rs 10 lakh in organic sales.
They take online orders (individual and bulk), thus their working module is both retailer and wholesaler. As of 2019, their revenue was around Rs 5 lakh and have considerably increased.
Challenges/Struggles: What Roadblocks Are They Facing?
She started by providing preloved books and toys. However, soon she shifted her focus to learning toys as there is a huge market gap for such toys.
Societal Norms
Handling a business with a 3-month-old and a toddler was a difficult task for then-34-year-old Haripriya. Every day was a challenge to tackle both things. Moreover, people putting their advice in her basket that she should focus on raising her kids only. After all, this is what a good mother does, according to societal norms.
Haripriya believed consistency is the key and she kept at it even if she had to face losses, waiting for a month to get her 1st order, or struggling to pay salaries. Her mother stood up to support her a few years later and became the face of the company.
With Zero Orders
When they were not receiving any orders, instead of getting disappointed over it, she noticed how those toys were having a positive impact on her kids. Soon, she started adding more and more such toys to her catalogue.
Customer and Sales Handling Was Difficult Without a Website
She was from a family with a jewelry manufacturing background and with a bachelor’s in science, E-commerce was a completely new field for her. She started with selling her products on WhatsApp and Facebook.
With a growing customer base, it became difficult to reply to each query and send pictures individually. Finally, she outsourced website building but the result wasn’t up to the mark.
Mother Banu Became the Rescuer: The Face of Extrokids
It was time to learn everything necessary to run the business and build the website. All this took 6 months and the business lost all the customers.
While in her office with her mother Banu (52), Haripriya came up with the idea to upload a video tutorial on how to play with a particular toy. And this video will feature her mother. Then what, the video without any fancy background or hi-tech editing and effects, reached 60k views. The video went viral and they received loads of orders. To fulfil them they had to work until 2 am.
Soon, Haripriya started making good content videos promoting her products along with raising awareness about how each toy was beneficial for kids’ mental development. Moreover, to build trust with customers. And her mother, always in support of her daughter can be seen explaining the toys in all the videos.
Banu was a homemaker all her life but after her husband passed away, there was nothing meaningful left for her until she decided to support Haripriya with the idea.
In the next 3 years, her revenue reached around Rs 5 lakh. She mentions that if our content is good, then we can do the same even if we do not have a fancy camera, photographers, or equipment.
After all, this is how she did it.
She understands that people want raw knowledge and at that time, they were shooting the videos in their warehouse with toys as the background.
Finally, her patience and positive approach were rewarded. Extrokids now receives 15,000 orders/month with 500+ toys in her catalogue, 5 lakh Instagram followers and more than 5 lakh customers to date.
Moreover, Extrokids won the SITA Early Education Enrichment Recognition of 2023.
Future Vision: What’s Next?
Haripriya aims to create a comprehensive marketplace for kids’ products under one roof. No doubt, she will surely achieve that. She has come a long way, from zero orders in a month to more active daily sales of around Rs 3 lakh.
Learning the entire business at once is not possible. Focus on your mission and take calculated risks. Irrespective of profits or losses, keep moving forward and be consistent for 90 days. Surely, your efforts will pay off, says Haripriya to aspiring entrepreneurs.
Key Takeaways: Why Should Users Care?
From Haripriya, we should learn to be consistent in our aims and objectives. We should never give up on learning if that is what is required to improve our business. Always remember, not everyone has the same prospects towards your mission except a few. Find them and they will help in building your empire. They can be your parents, siblings, in-laws, spouse, kids, or your employees.
Image credits: SITA Awards, Extrokids and Extrokids Toystore Instagram
