This toy company banned screens and made $500M

Hey there,

Think kids need screens to stay entertained?

Big Tech certainly wants you to believe that. But here's something that might surprise you: Tonies, a German company selling screenless audio toys, hit $500 million in revenue in 2023 by doing the exact opposite of what YouTube Kids and Netflix recommend.

They built a billion-dollar business by refusing to add screens. No apps. No videos. No endless scrolling. Just physical toys that tell stories.

The craziest part? Parents are paying premium prices for products that intentionally do LESS than free apps. And three companies are proving this anti-tech rebellion is one of the smartest business moves of the decade.

Tonies' cardboard box that beat YouTube

You're a parent in 2016. Your kid is glued to an iPad watching the same videos on repeat. You know it's not great, but what's the alternative?

That's when Patric Faßbender and Marcus Stahl, two German fathers, created something radical. A screenless audio player shaped like a soft cube that kids could actually touch and control themselves.

Here's the genius part: Instead of scrolling through menus, kids place small figurines on top of the box. Each figurine contains a story or songs. No screens. No menus. No addiction algorithms.

Tech companies said it would never work. Who would pay $100 for an audio player when smartphones do the same thing for free?

Turns out, millions of parents.

Tonies sold over 7 million Toniebox players and 60 million figurines. They generate over $500 million annually across 30 countries. Parents willingly pay $15-30 per figurine when they could stream audio for free.

Why? Because they're not buying audio content. They're buying freedom from screen addiction for their kids.

Yoto's $100 million bet against apps

Here's one that'll blow your mind: Ben Drury and Filip Denker launched Yoto in 2017 watching parents wage daily screen time battles with their kids.

Their question was simple but radical: What if technology didn't require screens at all?

Yoto created a connected audio player that looks like a radio. Kids insert physical cards to play stories, music, or podcasts. No screens. No ads. No algorithm trying to keep kids engaged longer.

The device costs $100. Each content card costs $10-15. There are free alternatives everywhere.

Parents bought it anyway.

Yoto raised over $60 million in funding and expanded to 20+ countries. They've sold hundreds of thousands of players at premium prices because parents are desperate for guilt-free technology.

The company understood something crucial: Parents don't hate technology. They hate what Big Tech's addiction model does to their kids.

Lovevery's $150 wooden boxes

Jessica Rolph and Rod Morris founded Lovevery in 2015 with a bet that seemed crazy to investors.

They'd sell subscription play kits filled with wooden toys, fabric books, and simple games—zero electronics. And they'd charge premium prices for it.

$120-150 per kit for wooden blocks and fabric cards. Meanwhile, Fisher-Price sells electronic toys with lights and sounds for $20.

Investors questioned the model. Why would parents pay more for products that do less?

Lovevery bet that exhausted, anxious parents would pay premium prices for screen-free play that felt developmentally appropriate and didn't rely on batteries or algorithms.

They were right.

Lovevery hit $200 million in annual revenue by 2023. They've delivered over 3 million play kits. Parents pay subscription fees to receive wooden toys when Amazon is full of cheap plastic alternatives.

The company proved that fighting Big Tech's playbook isn't just ethical, it's wildly profitable.

The pattern nobody expected

Here's what these three understood: Parents feel guilty about screens but feel trapped by them.

Every parent knows too much screen time isn't great. But screens are so convenient. They're free. They work instantly. They give parents precious minutes of peace.

These companies didn't compete on convenience. They competed on values alignment.

They gave parents permission to spend MORE money for products that intentionally do LESS, because those products align with how parents want to raise their kids.

The market paid premium prices for that alignment.

Why anti-tech products command tech-level valuations

Guilt is expensive
Parents will pay premium prices to resolve the cognitive dissonance between what they know is right and what's convenient. Screen-free products eliminate guilt, which is worth far more than features.

Simplicity sells when everything else is complex
Big Tech's products require parental controls, time limits, content filters, and constant monitoring. These products just work without supervision. That peace of mind commands premium pricing.

Physical objects create emotional attachment
A Tonie figurine becomes a favorite toy. A Yoto card gets played 100 times. Lovevery blocks are passed to siblings. Physical products create memories that apps never do. Nostalgia justifies premium prices.

How to build against the tide

Identify what customers feel guilty about
These companies found the guilt gap between convenience and values. Where do your customers compromise their principles for ease? That's your opportunity.

Remove what competitors think is essential
Tonies removed screens that competitors thought necessary. Lovevery removed electronics that seemed fundamental. What "required" feature could you eliminate to serve values better?

Charge more for doing less
Counter-intuitive but true: Customers pay premium prices for products that align with their values, even when those products are technically simpler. Don't compete on features. Compete on alignment.

The biggest opportunities in business often come from going the opposite direction of everyone else. While Big Tech adds more features, screens, and engagement tactics, these companies built empires by stripping all that away.

They understood that sometimes the best innovation isn't adding more. It's having the courage to do less.

What could you remove instead of add?