Smol Block, a niche toy company in Goa that manufactures eco-friendly and sustainable wooden toys, is set to showcase its products and launch its new range of toys at the upcoming edition of the world’s largest international toy exposition in Germany, the Nuremberg Toy Fair 2024, where the world’s top toy companies will be in attendance.
Also known as Spielwarenmesse, the Nuremberg Toy Fair 2024 will take place from January 30 to February 3, bringing together renowned toy outfits, trendy start-ups, buyers for major chains and independent retailers in the toys and games industry across the world. This year, 2,000-plus exhibitors, including global and Indian leaders such as Mattel and Funskool respectively, will be showcasing their toys, of which Smol Block will be a part.
“For a bootstrap company such as ourselves to be able to connect with bigger brands in the market at Spielwarenmesse and boost Smol Block to towering heights on the world stage is a great privilege,” said Aaron D’Costa, co-founder of Smol Block.
Smol Block offers a wide range of wooden toys styled in minimalist Scandinavian designs that are built specifically for developing children’s cognitive abilities while promoting open-ended creative play. The sustainable and unique toy catalogue includes stacking collections, puzzles, teethers and building blocks for children. The toys are available at select outlets in Goa and online on the website.
The company’s stringent safety standards and utilisation of sustainably sourced beechwood and rubberwood to craft the toys have rendered its products certified for distribution and sale in the American and European markets, according to D’Costa.
“The main aim of our participation in this Fair is to connect with large-scale companies on a B2B (business-to-business) level and facilitate partnerships with them for distribution of our products within these markets. We are in talks with several companies and upon meeting them there, we will explore opportunities to introduce Smol Block to new international markets,” he stated.
D’Costa also said that two new products will be imminently added to Smol Block’s catalogue – Tower Build and Creator Blocks – and will be launched at the Fair.
“We are a small core team – co-founder Aaron Fernandez, artist Aja and I – with big ideas and design all our products from scratch. We hope to utilise this opportunity to showcase our toys to people from across the world. Our goal is to make a ‘smol’ dent in the toy industry and make our presence known as Goa’s creative sustainable toy company,” D’Costa concluded.
