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 498,71 ...

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 t ...

. The company designs, manufactures and markets Bright Starts, Baby Einstein, and Ingenuity brand products. Kids 2 has international affiliate operation locations in Australia,

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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 subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, China,

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, Japan, and

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

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 loca ...

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

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

. The company expanded to

, the

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, Australia, China, Japan, 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 C ...

, 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

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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. 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 Baby Einstein, formerly owned by

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

. 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 Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsocket lies directly south of ...

. 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