Kids 2, Inc., doing business online as Kids2, is an American infant and toddler toy and product manufacturer based in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. The company designs, manufactures and markets Bright Starts,

Baby Einstein Baby Einstein (stylized as baby einstein) is an American franchise and line of multimedia products, including home video programs, CDs, books, flashcards, toys, and baby gear that specialize in interactive activities for infants and toddle ...

, and Ingenuity brand products. Kids 2 has international affiliate operation locations in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, Japan, and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. In 2013, Kids II had more than 400 products under its brands. Ryan Gunnigle is the company's

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

History

The company was originally named Pansy Ellen Products, and was founded in 1969 primarily as an infant bath and toy manufacturer. In 1992, the company debuted its products in

Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1957; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters loc ...

stores. The company re-branded in 1993 and changed its name to Kids II, Inc. Kids II began licensing for

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

in 1999. In 2001, Kids 2 opened its first international office in

. The company expanded to

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and

by 2006 The company expanded its Hong Kong - based testing lab with the addition of a chemical testing sector in 2009. The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) partnered with the company in December, 2010. The partnership allowed SCAD students to conceptualize and prototype toy concepts for the company. The firm acquired the Oball and Taggies brands the following year. In 2012, the company relocated its headquarters from

Alpharetta Alpharetta is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States, and is a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 US Census, Alpharetta's population was 65,818 The population in 2010 was 57,551. History In the 1830s, the Ch ...

, to

. The company's new office space and showroom were a finalist in the design category for ''Atlanta Business Chronicle's'' 2012 Best in Atlanta Real Estate Awards. The company was also a finalist in the 2011 Georgia Family Business Awards in the large business category. Kids II opened an office in

Johannesburg, South Africa Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

in March 2012. The company was one of the first companies in the industry to expand its direct global distribution in South Africa according to Vertical News. The company received 11 awards at the Graphic Design USA Awards for its package design in 2012. Kids II attended Kind + Jugend, an international juvenile products trade fair in

Cologne, Germany Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

. The company showed 350 SKUs at the show. The ''Atlanta Business Chronicle'' named Kids II one of the best places to work in Atlanta in 2013. In October 2013, Kids 2 acquired

, formerly owned by

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

. Baby Einstein products use real world objects, music, art, animals and nature with the intention to introduce infants to the world around them. In April 2019, Kids 2 announced a recall of 700,000 inclined baby sleepers sold under a variety of different brand names and models. In August 2019, Kids II announced a name change to Kids2, opening a new factory in China and launching a new direct to consumer website. In July 2022, Kids 2 acquired a public company, Summer Infant, out of Woonsocket, RI. Summer Infant is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Kids2 and part of the Kids2 Group.

Operations

In 2018, Kids II was named one of Atlanta's top 50 Private Companies. In November 2018, Kids 2 launched Kids2.com, a resource for early stage parents. Kids II has approximately 750 employees worldwide in 8 offices.

References

{{reflist, 2 1969 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Toy companies established in 1969 Toy companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Atlanta Infant products companies