What is a subscription box for kids?

The subscription box for kids is created as various specific needs&interests of the kid’s audience, it’s usually being a series of box kits and sent to the users at a frequency of weeks or months. a kid subscription box is also called the kid craft monthly box, kid craft monthly box, monthly activity box, etc.

In addition to the actual goods, children can also get an extra sense of expectation and value.

Discover. Compared with common toys, the scope of subscription boxes is very wide, and many kits are rarely seen by children. it can inspire children’s enthusiasm for exploration.

How are the subscription box for kids look like?

• KiwiCo

KiwiCo is a STEM subscription box for kids. Inspire young innovators with monthly hands-on educational projects. The flexibility of KiwiCo’s subscription box offerings means you can find great activities for all ages, their materials are quite good. It’s one of the most popular companies in the world.

• Mel Science

MEL Science subscription box sends one science project per month, with an AR lesson to go along with it, accessible through the coordinating app. This fun subscription gives kids all the materials they need to build a simple project, and the opportunity to learn through play. Their materials are quite good and same level as KiwiCo.

• Little Passports

Little Passports’ box is more diversified, it uses play to help children explore far-off nations, make rockets, or extract DNA, etc. These exploratory activities are a great option for kids who has an explorer’s heart, so we can investigate alongside kids. The box will have activities, recipes, puzzles, souvenirs, STEM experiments, etc.

Where to find kid’s subscription box manufacturers?

Due to the many materials involved in children’s subscription boxes, few suppliers can provide all raw materials. If the manufacturer does not have good raw material suppliers or no experience in DIY craft experience, it is difficult to develop the kids’ subscription box.

We can introduce some places to find the manufacturers.

• B2B Platforms. like Alibaba, Global Sources, India Mart, etc.
• Exhibition(examples in China). Toy exhibition like Canton Fair, HK Toys Fair.
• Toys Market.
• #1 Yiwu Toys Wholesale Market
  #2 Shantou China Toys Market
  #3 Nansantiao Jinzheng Toys Market
  #4 Yangjiang Wutinglong international Toys & Gift City
  #5 Baigou Plush Toys wholesale market
  #6 Yunhe Wooden Toys market
  #7 Zhengzhou Toys wholesale market
  #8 Guangzhou Toys Wholesale market

There are many showrooms in the market. We could find suitable manufacturers there.

• Google keywords searching.  Searching the keywords like subscription box manufacturer, monthly box factory, activity box manufacturer, etc, we will find many treasures here. Although there are many suppliers on B2B platform, homogeneous products are serious and the supplier’s levels are uneven. The manufacturers who have their own websites will have clear businesses goals, they are more professional and reliable. We can pay more attention to them.

What kind of manufacturers is suitable for a subscription box?

We can find some potential suppliers easily, but not all suppliers can do a good job. Why?

It is determined by the complexity of materials for the kid’s subscription boxes. Many materials are easily purchased from the market, but most of the time, they are not suitable and need to be tested and adjust repeatedly.

An excellent manufacturer can not only get all materials but also find problems and provide solutions and suggestions in the proofing process. they are able to develop the box with the buyer together.

The following points will help us to choose professional kids subscription box manufacturers

1. Main products: If the supplier’s main product is very clear, and it is easy for customers to know what business they are doing. then we can know that they have a clear positioning of their business, and they should be very professional in this product. Because they are deeply running in this industry and understand the market and customer needs very well.

2. Customization cases: Let the supplier provide some similar subscription box cases and make an

introduction. We can also request videos or pictures, etc, or ask about the content of their case,  it’s a good

way to help us understand the market situation too.

3. Professional Questions: We ask some customization questions, such as what problems often occur in kids’ subscription box customization and how to solve them. Can the production process meet our customized needs, if not, is there a good solution? Through some communication, we can roughly judge whether they are professional and reliable.

4. Verify supplier identity： The supplier can be required to provide a business license.If your supplier is in China. Ask the supplier for the registration documents of the company/factory (documents of the company from China will be in Chinese) Below is a picture for reference.

5. Request Samples： In addition to the selected samples that we need, we should also get more different samples. For example, different packaging boxes and manuals (see what processes they can do and how the quality is), different products (check what processes can be do), and view the entire set of products (details of products). The samples are very helpful for us to know suppliers, we could get more information than we thought.

Some suggestions on customizing subscription box/Monthly box

1, Quality, Price, Timeliness & Service: In cooperation with suppliers, we must pay attention to four aspects: quality first, price second, timeliness, and service last.

Quality always comes first. In addition to the value of the product itself, consumers will get additional value. If the quality fails to meet expectations, the kids wait for a month to receive a box with poor quality, which can easily turn from expectation to disappointment. It has had a great impact on our brand.

2. Cost Reduction or Outsourcing:  Outsourcing is more important than a low price. We can test and purchase all accessories and materials by ourselves, and then send them to the manufacturer to achieve the purpose of cost reduction and quality control. This not only increases our procurement time cost but also transfers all the risks to ourselves. If any material has a problem, we must communicate with each raw material supplier to solve the risk. It is better to give all the raw materials to the manufacturer so that they can help them choose

the raw materials, and all the problems will be handed over to them to solve. It can not only provide procurement efficiency but also make it easier to do quality control.

3. Focus samples: Because the kid’s subscription box needs many accessories or kits, many details need to be modified repeatedly. When proofing, we must clearly put forward our needs, in this way, the manufacturer could be closer to our ideal demand when proofing.

If the customized sample does not meet expectations, never rush to change manufacturers.

First, collect the problems in the samples.

Second, find the cause of the problem.

Third, let the manufacturer provide solutions or suggestions.

Then do the second proofing.  

This is a necessary step in proofing.

4, Focus on the design of packaging, description, and content creation

When we finish market research, product analysis, and audience analysis. How to do project design when preparing to develop products? We can use Fiverr, Upwork to find content creators.

Could we find some magic STEM Toys for 7 year olds ?

The seed growth experiment is quite good.

What does seed baby like? Seven seed experiments satisfy children’s desire to explore.

Who says seeds need sunshine, water, air and suitable temperature to grow? The children have their own ideas about the growth of seeds. Some think that the seeds like to drink milk, and some think that the seeds can understand their speech and grow up by whispering to them.

Are these ridiculous? Not at all. Because no one is born to know it.

Today, let’s see how foreign teachers make children learn about seeds? Through 7 experiments, let the children explore, research and summarize by themselves.

Experiment 1: do seeds need light to grow?

The children prepared two identical containers, the same soil and water, put in the same seeds, and made labels, light and dark

Dark seed is put in a carton to avoid light except for watering during the period. Place light seed in a place where you can normally get in touch with the sun.

A few days later, the seeds that saw the sunlight had germinated and were healthy and strong. But only two seeds that did not see the light germinated, both thin and small, and one of them had withered.

Experiment 2: what kind of temperature does the seed like to grow?

The children used the same cups, placed the same soil, water and seeds, and made two labels, one is “low temperature” and the other is “room temperature”.

They put the “low temperature” cup into the fresh-keeping layer of the refrigerator, about 5 ~ 7 ℃.

After a few days, the seeds at room temperature had germinated, while the seeds at low temperature had no improvement at all.

Experiment 3: do seeds need air to grow?

Because the vacuum environment is not easy to create, so we can put the seeds into cold boiled water, so as to create an environment without air. The other has normal soil and water.

After a few days, the seeds in the water have been soaked, while the seeds in the soil grow well.

Experiment 4: is seed coat necessary for seed germination?

Put wet tissue on two trays, and then put three different seeds on each tray. The left one is the complete seed, and the right one is to remove the seed coat or break the seed in half. Keep the tissue moist during the period. After a few days, one side of the whole seed germinated, while the one on the right did not grow, and some even rotted.

Experiment 5: what liquid can help seeds grow?

Plants need water to grow, but what kind of water can make them grow better? I met a child who likes to drink milk before. She thought that the seed also likes to drink milk, so she poured several boxes of milk into the flowerpot. A few days later, the flower died smoothly Children always have a variety of conjectures. The following experiment only provides ideas. Teachers can change the liquid according to the conjectures of children in their class.

We prepared ordinary water, salt water, sugar water and vinegar water. The same seeds and soil were put in.

After a few days, healthy seedlings have grown in the cup of ordinary water; there is no growth in the cup of salt water; there is a small seedling in the cup of sugar water; there is no growth in the cup of vinegar water.

Experiment 6: different seeds, who grows fast?

There are many kinds of seeds. Please collect the seeds and have a growth competition! Whose seed germinates first, whose seed grows fast~

The same seed can be put a few more, in order to avoid bad seeds, leading to the failure of the experiment. You can label each seed with its name next to it.

The children are usually in high spirits, watching every day to see if their little players have sprouted. (Note: keep the tissue moist during the experiment)

Experiment 7: do the seeds look the same?

What seeds have you seen? Do they look the same? Please collect the seeds, and then pick up the magnifying glass to observe carefully~