ZipString rounded off last year by hitting a major milestone — selling more than a million units by the end of the holiday season as the company continues to expand beyond its startup origins. 

“We were so swamped filling orders,” says Co-Founder Austin Hillam, “We were also building the company’s operations with warehousing, distribution, and added staff.”

ZipString launched the ZipString Luma, a glow-in-the-dark version of the classic ZipString toy, in Q3, which gave the company a boost. Good Housekeeping also named ZipString “the hottest toy of the year,” and The Toy Foundation named ZipString Luma a finalist for Educational Toy of the Year last year.

“That truly ‘lit it up’ for us,” says ZipString Co-Founder Stephen Fazio, “We see it as just the beginning.” 

Hillam and Fazio founded ZipString in 2021, fulfilling its first orders out of Hillam’s family basement. This year, ZipString will be showcasing current and upcoming products at Toy Fair (Booth No. 6451).

About the author

Ashley Pelletier

Ashley Pelletier

Ashley is assistant editor for The Toy Insider, The Pop Insider, and The Toy Book with a Master's in journalism from Quinnipiac University. When she isn’t writing her latest story, she is reading a fantasy novel or rewatching one of her three favorite TV shows over and over again. She’s also a big fan of showing people pictures of her two dogs and cat.

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