Company Profile - Connetix

Connetix - developing connections around the globe

Over the last year, Connetix has seen major growth and success - not only for the brand, but also its growing team of dedicated and diverse individuals. Brea Brand, CEO and co-founder of Connetix Tiles, gives Toy World a look into Connetix’s achievements in 2024 and what’s on the cards for 2025.

This time last year, the global Connetix team was 45 people strong. How has the team expanded since?

The global Connetix team is going from strength-tostrength. As we plan for the future, with big projects on the horizon, along with high-level demand for our brand, we have learned to be agile and expand as the brand grows. This has seen our team increase to 57 staff across all areas of the business. Operating a successful work-from-home model allows us to recruit the best people for the role from all over the world, contributing to a dynamic team with diverse skillsets and experiences. We’ve recruited eight international staff members in the past twelve months, which has been invaluable in bringing localised knowledge and support to solidify our place in overseas markets.

We’ve worked hard to foster an amazing team culture and are incredibly lucky to have a strong workforce of women, making up over 70% of our team, as we strive for inclusivity and honour our family-focused approach to business.

Over the past 12 months, what have been Connetix’s biggest successes and ‘pinch me’ moments?

It’s been an outstanding year, seeing high doubledigit growth across the globe, embracing opportunities and achieving some amazing business milestones. We’ve formed strong relationships with industry partners and continued to expand into quality retailers across the globe. Looking forward, the next twelve months promise to bring exciting product developments.

From the very beginning, we’ve had our sights on setting up an international showroom, and this year we secured the ground floor of the iconic 1960 on Grand building in the LA toy precinct. It was incredible to see this cutting-edge space come together and gain prime visibility with the Connetix name on the side of building. This also marked the debut of Toys Down Under, an initiative where four Australian brands joined us in the space, to each showcase their product offering and build a bigger Australian presence in the US market and beyond.

We have been able to connect with like-minded people and forge many lifelong relationships. Leanne, the owner and founder of My Creative Box, is one of those people. This year, an opportunity arose to invest in My Creative Box to support its global expansion. It’s been an incredible business partnership, and we’re excited to help propel this range of immersive activity boxes to an international audience.

It's been an award-winning year for our brand, earning industry recognition and many prestigious awards. Connetix was honoured to be included in the John Lewis Christmas Top 10 alongside some impressive brands, which gained us incredible exposure leading into the golden quarter.

One of our biggest achievements has been the community we’ve cultivated through our social media channels. Recently, our Instagram account reached over half a million followers, and this continues to grow. It has been heartwarming to see how people have embraced our newly launched Roads Range. For a product we’ve had planned for years to finally come to life and be so well received is incredible and sets the stage for more new products over the next year.

What can visitors to the Connetix stand in Nuremberg expect to see this year?

Nuremberg is guaranteed to impress with a brighter and bolder booth than ever before, displaying our biggest ball run yet. We also have our first private meeting room on the stand to showcase a huge amount of NPD launching over the next 24 months. Visitors can see our extensive range in signature pastel and rainbow colours and immerse themselves in the open-ended nature of all our products. They will meet our amazing team – some of whom are travelling from Australia – to learn more about how Connetix nurtures children’s learning and development.

How do 2025’s major launches build on your existing portfolio?

Over the past few years, we’ve focused on expanding our Product Development team to bring new initiatives to the market that push the limits of magnetic tile play and position ourselves as leaders in magnetic construction toys. Our creative team is guided by the latest research and thoughtfully designs products with customer feedback and demand at the forefront. Everything is built to last, entirely compatible and designed to bring people of all ages together through the shared joy of play.

How will Connetix be supporting its global retailers this year in terms of POS, in-store events/activations, marketing assets, etc.?

We take pride in being a great brand to partner with, often hearing retailers commending us on the level of support they receive and the way we do things at Connetix. We focus on working closely with the retail channel, maintaining a high-level of communication and transparency and taking on board feedback to stay committed to improvement. When joining with Connetix, retailers have access to a suite of innovative marketing strategies, alongside connecting with our thriving social media channels, which achieve a global reach.

Do you have any major goals or aspirations this year in terms of company growth, product launches or other landmark achievements?

Driving our mission is a world-class team of educators, industry experts and play specialists. We will continue to leverage this unique brand strength to bring new developments and perspectives to the industry. Our team’s expansion across the globe speaks to the transformative projects we have lined up for this year and into 2026; we know these releases will be an opportunity not to be missed.