Germany’s hit audio toy tonies break mark of 100 million figures sold

Dusseldorf, Germany – German toy retailer Tonies has now sold more than 100 million audio figurines for its hit Toniebox speaker system worldwide, the company Tonies SE said on Wednesday.

The Toniebox device allows children to place figures, known as tonies, in the battery-powered speaker box to unlock and play audio content.

Tonies have become a major hit since being launched in 2016, and more than 1,100 different tonies figures are now available in various languages, according to the Dusseldorf-based company.

There are figures from many well-known children’s characters and television programmes, such as Benjamin the Elephant, Asterix, Jungle Book, Paw Patrol, Pippi Longstocking, Yakari and Maya the Bee.

The idea for the speaker came from a start-up in Dusseldorf.

According to toy researcher Volker Mehringer, the popularity of the Toniebox and the figures cannot be attributed to a single factor.

“It’s more the successful interplay of various factors, including the appealing and robust design, the high level of mobility thanks to the built-in rechargeable battery, the simple and child-friendly usability and the wide range of audio games,” Mehringer told dpa.

Tonies figures are not only attractive to children for listening but also for playing and collecting, he said.

(dpa)