Starting with liquor caps, Vini Toys rides its way into India’s toy sector

In 2020, the Indian government decided to encourage goods manufacturing in India after it imposed customs duties on Chinese goods—a step towards building an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. It also included the sunrise sector of toys.

This opened a new avenue for Santosh Nag Pathikonda, Managing Partner of Sai Pet Preforms, which produces liquor bottle caps. With a well-established production setup, Pathikonda decided to diversify in the toy segment and start manufacturing ride-on toys for kids. 

According to IMARC, the Indian toys market reached $1.5 billion in 2022. It is expected to reach $3 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 12.2%.

After a year of market research, Pathikonda learned that most ride-on toy manufacturers were based in Delhi, while South India had none. He established Hospet, Karnataka-based Vini Toys to make ride-on vehicles and began its commercial activities in October 2021.

“When I launched Vini Toys in 2021, I was confident on the production side because of my experience, and as per my market study, no manufacturer in South India was doing this,” Pathikonda says.

Vini Toys offers 22 SKUs in three product categories, including tricycles, bicycles, and kick scooters for children aged three to ten. According to the founder, the brand sells 4,500 to 5,000 ride-on toys per month. 

Between October 2021 and March 2022, Vini Toys made Rs 40 lakh in revenue. In FY23, it generated sales worth Rs 2.59 crore. With more products in the pipeline, it aims to earn Rs 28 crore in revenue in FY24.

History of the firm

Sai Pet Preforms, Vini Toys' parent company, has an integrated plant that processes plastics and metals while meeting the BIS criteria. It started with manufacturing PET preforms—plastic products used to make containers—also supplied to other beverage manufacturing units.

"In 2017, we made a switch from preforms to producing liquor bottle caps," says Pathikonda. As alcohol brands have a patented cap with a different opening mechanism, Pathikonda got the rights to two patents and started manufacturing them. 

At present, it supplies liquor bottle caps to Tamil Nadu-based SNJ Distillery, which works with multiple alcoholic brands, including Royal Palace.

Vini Toys’ manufacturing facility in Hospet is built over an area of 24,000 sq.ft., with nine injection moulding machines that produce plastic components of the ride-on toys. 

Every month, the company produces 9,000 tricycles and 2,000 kick scooters and builds its bicycles—3,000 per month— in a facility not owned by it in Sonipat, Haryana. 

"We are one of the very few organised companies in the sector. Before us, the distribution in our industry was typically handled by bulk buyers,” he says, adding that the bulk buyers act as middlemen and decide the prices and the clients to sell products. 

Pathikonda says it has placed field officers in various states who “ensure these products are sold from the distributor warehouse to the retail outlets.” The company also has depots/warehouses in some locations, where field officers speak to dealers without the bulk buyer’s involvement.

Vini Toys is available in over 300 stores across eight states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Assam, and West Bengal. To track product performance, the company digitally maps the outlets. 

Vini’s products are also available on Amazon, Flipkart, and Meesho. However, the company is more focused on selling offline.

New products

Vini Toys plans to add six new SKUs in the kick scooter category that targets children aged between six and eight.

The company makes tricycles in the premium segment, with prices ranging from Rs 3,200 to Rs 6,500. "The low-cost tricycle market is huge, and we plan to launch in that category soon," Pathikonda says. It also plans to introduce a new category of magic cars by June 2023.

"All of our products have BIS certification,” he says, adding that the company does it to ensure the safety of children. Every product is tested in the lab, and the report is sent to the BIS office, which certifies the product is safe. 

"Another USP is our manufacturing process. We manufacture all the parts in-house, which ensures the products’ aesthetics are uniform," says the entrepreneur. 

Vini Toys has an advantage in South India since some of its competitors, including Dash Star and Luusa, are based in the north. 

Despite this, the company has difficulties finding skilled workers in the region. According to the founder, most of them are in North India, with a handful around Chennai. 

In fact, the company had to close its Hospet manufacturing unit for a few months in August 2021 due to a staffing shortage. 

Going ahead

“We will continue doing the facelifting of our products by bringing new colour combinations and designs,” the founder says. With the launch of six low-cost tricycles and the magic car category, Vini Toys plans to achieve a target of Rs 28 crore in revenue by FY24. 

The company also plans to put cartoon characters' faces on the ride-ons to attract customers. "We are discussing taking the licence of Marvel characters for the front of the ride-ons. But, it will depend on how much business it can bring," he adds.