This Gujarat company wants to revolutionise playtime for children with its robotics toy kits
With Havi.co, Prashant Mamtora designed a DIY robotics toy kit to captivate and engage young minds while fostering STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) learning.
In his seven years of homeschooling his two children, Prashant Mamtora witnessed how toys are a great educational tool for kids. However, Indian parents spend the least on toys as they are predominantly seen as leisure items.
Mamtora firmly believed toys can be powerful tools for cognitive development and learning. Armed with this conviction, the engineer-turned-entrepreneur created an innovative solution to merge play and education seamlessly—.
“Just like Legos, which encourages children to utilise their creativity by constructing structures with interlocking blocks, I envisioned a similar approach but with robotics at its core,” Mamtora tells SMBStory.
He designed a do-it-yourself (DIY) robotic toy kit to captivate and engage young minds while fostering STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) learning.
After dedicating a year to intensive research and development, in 2021, Mamtora introduced Havi.co as a pilot. A year later, it officially started selling DIY robotics kits primarily offline through exhibits and online via its website.
Building robotics toys for children
Bhavnagar, Gujarat-based Havi.co includes Havi Elements, a collection of easy-to-use, intuitive, colourful, snap-fit, durable, and fun electronic blocks that can be used to make hundreds of creations.
“With just eight elements, children can build 100 creations. The journey is gamified to keep it DIY and requires the least intervention from parents and teachers,” says Mamtora.
The company sells four SKUs in the market now—DIY robotics starter kit, DIY robotic toy car, DIY object sensor projects kit, and DIY smart lighting kit—priced between Rs 1,227 and Rs 3,477.
Mamtora highlights Havi.co's unique selling proposition (USP) of seamlessly integrating learning into real-life play experiences, which sets it apart from competitors like Avishkaar, a platform where children can learn skills, like robotics, AI, IoT, electronics, app development and coding
Havi.co offers a distinct design approach, ensuring its products are visually appealing and devoid of cumbersome wires and printed circuit boards (PCBs).
Its toy blocks allow children to unleash their imagination and creativity by constructing an array of practical items, including blind sticks, smart home systems, and sanitiser dispensers.
Mamtora cites an example of his children's creation of a functional hand sanitiser dispenser using the Havi starter kit at home.
Speaking of customers’ response to Havi, Mamtora says, initially, the company sold five to ten DIY kits as a prototype, where he also educated end users (children) on how to explore the toy.
“Every time we make a new version of the prototype, we sell them to users at a price through our website. Based on their feedback, we update the product further. We iterated the prototypes six times before the final version we sell now,” Mamtora says.
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Standing out in the robotic toy market
Since October 2022, Havi.co is seeing an 8% consistent monthly growth. Presently, Mamtora claims the company, with a customer base of around 550, sells 70-100 kits per month. Its average monthly revenue is between Rs 75,000 and Rs 1 lakh. Its Havi Elements - DIY robotics starter kit emerged as the top-selling product.
Havi’s robotics toys are 100% made in India as different vendors from Gandhinagar, Rajkot, and Bengaluru manufacture the toys. “We have different vendors for different processes of the product and, finally, we assemble and pack the products at our in-house facility,” he says.
According to a report by FICCI-KPMG, as the Indian toy market is expected to double by 2025, with a projected value of $1 billion, the "Make in India" initiative is poised to empower domestic toy manufacturers.
Mamtora envisions Havi.co as a key player in this landscape, aspiring to become the coveted robotic toy company from India. The company is available on Amazon, Flipkart, and First Cry, but Mamtora is planning an omnichannel approach for the brand, focusing on increasing tie-ups with schools and institutions.
Looking ahead, Mamtora sets his sights on expanding Havi's reach beyond India, as he aims to establish it as an international brand.
Edited by Suman Singh