Kochi: He is 90, but the craze for toys still drives ahead the life of G Balachandran Pillai. That undying passion in him was on ample display as this Keralite went on to win awards in the recently held New York Toy Fair – one of the iconic trade shows in the business play.
Wild Republic, the US-based company owned by Balachandran, a native of Kannimelazhikathu in Kollam's Sasthamkotta, won two awards in the show this time. Besides being adjudged as the ‘Toy of the Year’, the Ohio -headquartered brand was also recognized for its efforts in the area of sustainable development.
Wild Republic is one of the biggest toy companies in the market that record a huge sale of high-quality soft plush toys via various online platforms, including Amazon. The company, which specializes in the production of toys based on animals and other living things, follows the principle of being in line with nature and has hit the market with a punchline that ‘we create toys that are naturally fun’.
Having opened an array of showrooms adjacent to zoos across the US, the brand seeks to sell visitors the toys of their favourite animals. Its collection varies from small sunbirds to huge anacondas.
Balachandran, who took off with an aeronautic engineering degree from the Madras Institute of Technology decades ago, eventually made his landing into the curious world of toys. Over the past four decades, he has been at the helm of several unique experiments in toy making.
For instance, Balachandran and his team rolled out toys by recording sound bites of several rare bird varieties from the interiors of different forests around the globe. His company also operates seven manufacturing units in India and the products are primarily sold in foreign markets.
