Screen-free audio players are taking New Zealand by storm, with two of the world's largest companies reporting record-breaking growth.
Tonies says what they’ve seen has been "nothing short of remarkable" in terms of what families are looking for.
"They're not anti-screens – they're just looking for new solutions that allow the children to disconnect,” Tonies NZ general manager Mark Duggan said.
The German company started making its products available in New Zealand just two years ago, and since then its growth has outpaced other countries.
It doubled the number of Tonies boxes sold from 2024 to 2025, and it's on track to double again this year, Duggan said.
Tonies audio players work by placing small figurines on devices, which play stories and songs.
Rival company, Yoto, operates via the same concept but with cards instead.
Yoto arrived here last year, and it says it’s been “overwhelmed” by the uptake.
"We've seen our customer base really double over the past year… and our New Zealand families are our most engaged families in the entire world,” Yoto NZ country manager Sharina Simnet said.
She said they have seen listening hours and numbers really increase, growing 125% last over the past year, with NZ families listening to one hour of Yoto a day.
Yoto is currently only available online and through Kmart, but it is looking to expand in the coming year.
"It is really going to be a priority market for us next year,” Simnett said. “We're going to be opening a local fulfillment center and really engaging with more retailers in the local market."
Smaller businesses are looking to capitalise on that sentiment, as both Tonies and Yoto look to expand their footprint in the Kiwi market.
Hawke's Bay mother Anna Murray started her own business, Little Listeners Club, which rents toys to parents, including Tonies and Yoto players.
“Parents hear about us through word of mouth and when you're talking at school pick-up or drop-off or daycare, kindy, play centre, that sort of thing,” she said.
Murray said it wasn’t about demonising screens, but about giving parents, who often feel more stretched for time, more options.
"Parents talk a lot, and parents, in particular mothers, are on recommendations from other parents as well,” she said.
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