Back in 2020, Chronicle Books acquired eco-friendly brands Petit Collage and Ridley’s Games. Three years later, the company is looking back on how far the brands have come since then, including an expansion of sustainability efforts in both brands, exploring new realms in product development, and upcoming products for the holiday season and into next year. The Toy Book (TB) caught up with the Chronicle Books (CB) team for an update on the business.
It’s been three years since Chronicle Books acquired Petit Collage and Ridley’s Games. How have these companies been integrated into the portfolio, and how have retailers and consumers responded to them in the U.S.?
Ridley’s Games and Petit Collage have been fully integrated into our portfolio of games, puzzles, and children’s toys. These brands build upon our success in the puzzle business with Galison and Chronicle LEGO puzzles. We have increased distribution (for these brands) by introducing Ridley’s and Petit Collage to all our retailers in the gift, book, and specialty business, making an effort to expand beyond toys to ensure consumers with various needs and interests have access.
Petit Collage has been committed to sustainability for years, has this mission spread to other aspects of Chronicle Books?
This is very much a two-way street between Chronicle and Petit — it’s really more of a mission alignment. Chronicle has a fantastic environmental task force of people who have informed meaningful change for Petit Collage by using ‘scuff-proof’ varnish, a plastic-free alternative to lamination for packaging, and Petit Collage introduced Chronicle to biodegradable bags to replace single-use plastic polybags. These are just two examples of game-changing production shifts that remove plastic from tens of thousands of products each season. But the biggest change since the acquisition has been to Ridley’s Games — it now uses FSC-certified materials across all new production, it no longer creates any products with plastic components, and its latest game, Roarsome, is packaged in a dinosaur egg-shaped case made from corn starch. Shared production knowledge means changes are maximized and the mission to create eco-conscious products spreads organically.
Some of Ridley’s Games’ bestselling products are jokes and trivia cards. What do the brainstorming processes behind these products look like?
Our team works together brainstorming the next trivia and jokes, which is truly so much fun. We have a game developer who leads the conversation about the themes and reviews the jokes and trivia, which can come from anyone on the team for inspiration. It’s incredibly fun to be a part of creating and playing as these awesome concepts come about.
Petit Collage continues to embrace sustainability by increasing sustainable materials. | Source: Petit Collage
Petit Collage continues to embrace sustainability by increasing sustainable materials. | Source: Petit Collage
Roarsome's packaging is shaped like a dinosaur egg and is made from cornstarch. | Source: Ridley's Games
Saving Shakespeare launches Ridley's into the escape room space. | Source: Ridley's Games
Many new parents have an affection for great design. How does Petit Collage develop products for little ones while keeping parental tastes in mind?
We believe that a great toy is one that can be loved and handed on through generations, so our aim is to design classic toys that sit beautifully in any home. At Petit Collage the use of bright colors and natural woods stimulate little ones’ senses. The play value is high, and the quality and design mean our toys have a great shelf presence. Instead of blending into a nursery, they stand out as a design piece.
Why is it important that brands like Petit Collage that use sustainable and organic materials be accessible to average families?
We strongly believe that it is our responsibility to make the right sustainable decisions so our customers can buy the products they like with the confidence that we have produced them in an eco-conscious way. We strive to create long-lasting, well-made, safe, and sustainable toys, games, and activities for every budget. With a range from $6-$50, we hope we are achieving this.
What do Ridley’s Games and Petit Collage have in store for the 2023 holiday season?
Petit Collage has lots of new toys and games designed to bring joy to little ones and develop essential skills through play. Our 5-in-1 Wooden Musical Elephant is the star of the show this season with five instruments that make lots of sounds, offering endless ways to play! Joining our elephant in our early years wooden category we have a pull-along hedgehog, a woodland pop-up, and a farm sliding maze – all made using FSC wood and packaged using 75% recycled materials. We are also thrilled to introduce two brand-new board games designed for kids ages 4-8: Dogscapades: A Barking Mad Game All About Dogs to test just how well kids know dogs and their tricks, and Bees, Trees, Seas, and Me, which tackles the tricky subject of biodiversity by teaching children about their planet through play. For the Ridley’s brand, we are really excited about our first escape room game, Saving Shakespeare, which is already a huge hit. We also have an award-winning game, Van Life, which is super fun to play and was just recognized by [your sister publication] The Toy Insider in its Holiday Gift Guide, so thank you again for that!
What do loyal customers of Ridley’s Games and Petit Collage have to look forward to next year?
For Petit Collage we are creating a range of products using up to 90% recycled materials. This is a challenge from a product development point of view because there are limitations with recycled materials, but the products are really beginning to take shape. We are very excited to be able to share these next fall! We’re also working on more toys that shake, wobble, spin, and bring so much joy! For Ridley’s, look for more escape room fun, entertaining trivia games, and some fun ideas we can’t share quite yet but are brimming with excitement about!
