Brand Profile - Connectix

Vital connections

Australian construction specialist Connetix is entering 2024 off the back of a very strong 12 months, which witnessed multiple consumer awards, significant team growth and an expanding global sales structure. Rachael Simpson-Jones caught up with CEO Brea Brand about how Connetix is building on its current portfolio and how its appearance on the Q1 trade show circuit will boost brand awareness.

Since launching in June 2019, right before the Covid-19 pandemic, Connetix has enjoyed remarkable success, becoming one of the industry’s most dynamic and fastest growing young companies. Speaking to me from her home in Perth, Australia, CEO Brea Brand is clearly delighted with the progress her company has made since its earliest days. From 15 in 2022, the team has now more than doubled to 45 members, most of which are based in Australia, with some stationed outside the country. In the UK, Glenn Harrison heads up the team as International Sales manager while Steve Cox serves as sales manager. Kaylee Smith is the latest member to join the construction specialist’s team, onboarding as internal eCommerce manager. Her remit, Brea says, is to ensure the Connetix brand values are always retained. There are also several team members in the UK and EU whose job it is to assist with retailer and customer support.

In addition to this behind-the-scenes growth, Brea is thrilled that Connetix’s range of uniquely beveled magnetic tiles took home a number of UK consumer awards last year, further filling a trophy cabinet that already contained several from 2022. The Connetix 120 Piece Pastel Creative Pack was the big winner, netting a raft of nods from top toy testers: a Made For Mums 2023 Toy Awards Editors’ Choice award, a Dad’s Choice award and three Loved by Parents Awards (Silver in Best Educational Toy, Gold in Best Pre-School Toy and Platinum in Best Construction Toy). Across the rest of the range, the 50 Piece Rainbow Transport Pack and 212 Piece Rainbow Mega Pack were both honoured with 2023 Creative Play Awards. Connetix also took home three Toy Shop UK – Independent Toy Awards: the Transport Pack won gold in the Special Needs category, along with silver for the 48 Piece Pastel Shape Expansion Pack in the STEAM category and bronze in the Educational category with the 64 Piece Pastel Starter Pack.

For Brea and her team, these accolades reaffirm everything that makes Connetix Tiles special and serve as a stamp of approval from both the wider toy industry and UK consumers. Many Connetix team members possess qualifications such as master’s degrees in teaching or childhood development, while Brea herself is a master’squalified early childhood educator and experienced upper primary school teacher and entrepreneur. Co-founder Dave Alexander has a strong background in engineering and finance. Like their consumers, the business duo are also both parents to growing kids. Combined, the team brings a huge amount of knowledge and passion to the design table and creates toys that fuel open-ended, explorative play in a range of settings.

“As well as consumers’ homes and playrooms, Connetix is present in educational establishments across the globe,” Brea explains. “As a company, we’re passionate about getting our products into the hands of children everywhere, so we engage with nurseries, pre-schools and primary schools to place Connetix sets right at the junction where play and learning meet. As experts in how children absorb information from the world around them and transform it into developmental benefits that set them up for life, we truly believe our products belong everywhere kids are.”

Connetix’s product portfolio continues to grow, with its safe and sturdy magnetic tiles available in an everexpanding variety of shapes, colours and sizes. Made from non-toxic, ABS plastic, free from BPA, lead and phthalates, Connetix Tiles are internationally safety rated and manufactured with ultrasonic welding and metal rivets to make magnetic tile play safer for little hands. The unique bevel design provides added durability and clearer refractions. At the time Brea and I spoke, the company’s new launches for 2024 were still under wraps; Brea tells me that one of the biggest challenges the company has faced is the number of manufacturers imitating new Connetix releases. Because of that, the company is careful not to reveal too much, too soon. Connetix is also looking into diversifying its manufacturing processes, exploring new and rapidly growing global manufacturing hubs that offer improved capabilities. Again, Brea is playing her cards close to her chest, and we agree not to mention which countries are on the table in the near future. However, Toy World is able to reveal that Connetix has recently expanded its manufacturing into India.

“I can tell you that, come London Toy Fair and Spielwarenmesse, we’ll be showcasing extensions to our current best-selling ranges, including Pastel, Rainbow and Clear, and further in to 2024 we’ll be launching a whole new line that will immerse even more kids to the open-ended play our tiles promote,” Brea adds. “We’re always looking for new and exciting ways to enhance traditional magnetic play with our tiles too, and to elevate the interactivity on offer. In our experience, this is what really cements those developmental benefits we care so much about: the hand-eye coordination, fine and gross motor skills, colour and shape recognition etc. In our Ball Run packs, for example, you’ll find clear fluted tubes so you can follow the ball as it makes its way through the run, as well as ‘special effect’ tubes and split tubes that let kids race their balls against each other.”

As you can see from the images on these pages (or if you’ve seen the product in person) you’ll know Connetix not only feel great to play with, but they also look great too. It’s therefore unsurprising that Connetix has built up quite the Instagram following over the past few years. The @connetix_tiles Instagram account has over 400,000 followers and counting, who love to watch the build inspiration videos the company shares (ideas include mini golf, spinning tombola-style tumblers, animal ‘Guess Who, car ramps and hologram-style optical illusions) and comment on the numerous beautifully styled pictures of Connetix constructions in action. Users also share their own creations using #connetixtiles (over 30,000 posts). The Connetix Facebook page, meanwhile, has 44,000 followers alongside a private Connetix Community Facebook group filled with over 17,000 passionate play enthusiasts and parents wanting to chat all things Connetix. The Connetix TikTok account has nearly 16,000 followers and there’s also a YouTube channel, LinkedIn and Pinterest page. The followers of these accounts are a combination of retailers and consumers, all of whom are kept up to date on the latest launches and award wins, while they can also take part in competitions and giveaways to win free sets.

The company’s strong social media presence forms a vital part of its marketing efforts too, generating plenty of organic content across Instagram and Facebook. Connetix is also running print advertising campaigns across both consumer and trade media titles (including Toy World, naturally), exposing its growing product line to as many marketing channels as possible to raise its profile across the globe.

It’s for the same reasons that Connetix (along with the rest of the industry) is about to tackle show season once again. The company exhibited at London Toy Fair and Spielwarenmesse for the first time in 2023 and will return to both events this year, keen to further cement its place in the toy landscape. Taking home the unofficial award for the longest trip undertaken to attend the show, Brea and her team also netted the London Toy Fair Best Stand Award for their hugely impressive, colourful and inventive stand, which placed the product front and centre and helped draw in visitors with its can’t-miss colour scheme. Brea says visitors to the stand at Olympia (UN68) can expect the same level of impact, while the company’s stand at Spielwarenmesse (Hall 4, Stand F54) will be even bigger and better than before.

“At the toy fairs we’ll be making a real statement with our stands: that we’re serious players in this industry, that we’re here to stay and expanding all the time,” Brea explains, when asked how the company is approaching the UK and German shows. “We’ve made huge strides within the toy market, considering Connetix is only four years old, but there are still people out there we want to reach and the combination of the two trade shows will allow us to do just that. Our brand awareness is rising all the time but, of course, we want to keep expanding that awareness by demonstrating the unique qualities of Connetix and the myriad ways kids can play with it.”

Indeed, for a young company, Connetix has achieved impressive global distribution: it is currently stocked in more than 1,300 leading retailers in 75 countries worldwide, and that number is growing all the time. Part of the reason for its penetration in the global toy market is the company’s unwavering commitment to its retail and reselling partners, which include toy stores, educational suppliers and therapy services. The Connetix website prominently features a store locator, which helps drive footfall into stores, and the company is also unveiling new retail and customer support programmes this year.

Brea says: “We really value and prioritise the relationships Connetix builds with its retailers, so we nurture these relationships in a variety of ways. For example, we’ll always maintain open, consistent communication, operate a balanced pricing model and involve resellers in planned annual sales. This is why we’ve gained such a loyal and valued retail network. Retailers can also easily access support through our dedicated, world class support team, while also benefitting from a suite of company assets they can use according to their individual marketing needs.”

“On top of all this, Connetix nurtures relationships with its retailers by taking the needs of smaller stores into consideration when making business decisions,” adds Brea. “This includes ordering stock and keeping a close eye on stock quantity. With over thirteen hundred resellers across 75 countries, we also warmly welcome and encourage feedback to help guide our trajectory and maintain the value of the brand.”

To book an appointment with the Connetix team at either London Toy Fair or Spielwarenmesse, contact wholesale@connetixtiles.com or swing by the stands (London Toy Fair: UN68, Spielwarenmesse: Hall 4, Stand F-54).