#252: How One Company’s Bubble Toy Got Nominated For A Major Toy Award with Ron Weizman
The highest honor your toy can get in this industry is the Toy of the Year® (TOTY®). This award is so coveted, that just a nomination alone has been said to boost sales and recognition of the brands lucky enough to earn one. A TOTY win can trigger a flood of retailers knocking on your door, desperate to get your product on their shelves.
So what does it take to get a TOTY nomination? That’s what we’re breaking down in today’s episode.
In this episode, Ron Weizman, co-founder of South Beach Bubbles shares how a simple idea to get his kids off screens turned into a thriving toy business focused on outdoor play.
Ron shares how his team turned classic bubble play into the never-before-seen Poppin Colorz line, and how it made its way to be nominated at the 2025 Toy of the Year® (TOTY®) Awards.
Ron opens up about the scientific challenges of making stain-free colored bubbles, how to stand in a crowded toy market, and why waiting for perfection isn’t always the best move for your idea.
If your eye is on a future TOTY nomination, this episode is one you can’t miss.
Listen For These Important Moments
[01:46] - The Importance of Unfiltered Feedback in the Toy Industry
[04:33] - The Birth of South Beach Bubbles
[09:17] - What Went Through in Making PoppinColorz Bubbles
[11:30] - Challenges and Successes that Ron & South Beach Bubbles Experienced
[17:32] - Balancing Imagination and Practicality in the Toy Industry
[18:47] - How Embracing Higher Price Points Can Lead To Your Toy’s Success
[19:20] - PoppinColorz In The Making
[23:27] - How South Beach Bubbles Creates A Trend Of Their Own
[27:44] - Why Perfection Isn’t Necessary
[31:26] - Creating a Lasting Community Impact by Giving Back
-
This episode is brought to you by www.thetoycoach.com
🎉 PoppinColorz Hydra 2-in-1 is nominated in the Outdoor Toy of the Year Category! 🏆 Show your support by checking it out and casting your vote today! Click here: Vote Now
Bring color and excitement to playtime with PoppinColorz. 🎨✨ Check it out on Amazon: PoppinColorz
Follow them on LinkedIn for updates and behind-the-scenes fun: South Beach Bubbles on LinkedIn 🌟
Discover how South Beach Bubbles is making a difference by supporting amazing organizations like Autism Speaks. 🌟 Visit autismspeaks.org to learn more about their incredible work, resources, and how you can get involved in creating a more inclusive world. 💙✨
-
[00:00:00] Azhelle Wade: You are listening to Making It In The Toy Industry, episode number 252.
[00:00:10] Welcome to Making It In The Toy Industry, a podcast for inventors, entrepreneurs, and makers like you. And now your host, Azhelle Wade.
[00:00:22] Azhelle Wade: Hey there, toy people, Azhelle Wade here, and welcome back to another episode of Making It In The Toy Industry. This is a weekly podcast brought to you by the toy coach. com get ready, because today we've got a burst of creativity.
[00:00:38] Azhelle Wade: Today's guest is Ron Weizman, co founder of South Beach Bubbles, the company that's making outdoor play bigger, brighter, and better. Since 2016, Ron and his partner Shooki Grasiani have been spreading joy with innovative products like Wow Amazing, giant bubble kids and the groundbreaking PoppinColorz Bubbles that vanish without a trace.
[00:00:57] Azhelle Wade: South Beach Bubbles has taken the toy industry by storm and recently earning a coveted TOTY nomination and partnerships with major retailers worldwide. Ron is here today to share how they've revolutionized an evergreen industry with fresh ideas, fearless innovation, and a mission to bring families together.
[00:01:15] Azhelle Wade: Ron, welcome to the show and congratulations on your 2025 nomination for Toy of The Year.
[00:01:21] Ron Weizman: Thank you. Did you vote?
[00:01:22] Azhelle Wade: Now? Oh, yeah, I did. I'm like, did I vote now? But you know, it's really funny. The link you sent me worked. I could vote for you. But when I tried to go back to the main categories, I couldn't.
[00:01:32] Ron Weizman: Well, as long as you voted for us.
[00:01:35] Azhelle Wade: Anyone listening from The Toy Association fix that. Cause I'm trying to vote unless I get a direct link, I'm having technical difficulties. So Ron, I'd love to start off this interview by having you finish this sentence. The thing that surprised me most about the toy industry was?
[00:01:49] Ron Weizman: I'd have to say after eight years, some of our best friends are now, you know, part of the industry and the unfiltered feedback we get when, you know, we're asking retailers, many of your friends, manufacturers, retailers alike, uh, different ideas and different concepts.
[00:02:05] Ron Weizman: And, and, uh, everyone just gives us unfiltered feedback and it's, it's great. You know what I mean? Sometimes you want to hear it, sometimes you don't, but I think it's really the feedback we get from our friends. And it's funny because, you know, our business is. It's been around about eight years and now all of at least our friends are industry friends and it's, we're helping each other out and I, and I know that's kind of a common theme, but the unfiltered feedback is great.
[00:02:28] Azhelle Wade: So you were surprised by getting unfiltered feedback. Why is that?
[00:02:31] Ron Weizman: Yeah. So basically when you're showing someone some product or a proof of a product, they'll look at it and sometimes they'll, they'll give you some feedback that. You want to hear, but not necessarily is the truth. But I think in this industry with our friends, they really give us the unfiltered feedback, which is great because the unfiltered feedback is, is what you need.
[00:02:50] Ron Weizman: It's, it's what makes the product, you know, stand out on the shelves.
[00:02:54] Azhelle Wade: What is the most unfiltered feedback you've received recently? Share it. I wanna hear it.
[00:03:01] Ron Weizman: Here's the thing, you know, sometimes you think you got the next best thing or it doesn't even have to be something big. It could be something little. It could be something on a, on a product packaging that you ask a retailer friend and say, "Hey, uh, What do you think about this?"
[00:03:13] Ron Weizman: And they're like, "I think you should completely move your logo to this side." It could be as something as small as that, or it could be as something as big as "What else you got, Ron?" One, you know, everything in between. So there's nothing specific that stands out right this second, but there's things that pop out and be like, I wouldn't do this, or I don't like those colors, or, you know, can you do this with it, with this product?
[00:03:36] Ron Weizman: It's just in general.
[00:03:37] Azhelle Wade: Well, okay. I was actually curious when you mentioned that I thought one of the unfiltered feedback would be on color, and is there a color that maybe this year people have, you've heard people tell you, "No, that color's not working. Stay away from that color right now."
[00:03:50] Ron Weizman: Uh, in the way our color bubbles?
[00:03:51] Azhelle Wade: Well, in any, any..
[00:03:54] Ron Weizman: No. Yeah. I mean, obviously when we go into product design, we're, you know, we, we try to look, uh, at colors that are trending, right? So you find colors that are trending, but sometimes you don't want to put a square peg in a circle. Yeah, you don't want to force it too.
[00:04:10] Ron Weizman: So sometimes you throw things on colors on products and it's like, it just doesn't work. So, and that unfiltered feedback is what we need, you know, because sometimes if they're sugarcoating it because they're your friend, sometimes your friend sugarcoat things, they'll be like, "Yeah, yeah, it's fine."
[00:04:27] Ron Weizman: All of a sudden, you know, it's like, I don't get it. Why is it, you know, why isn't this product, you know, horrible, you know, but, you know.
[00:04:33] Azhelle Wade: So eight years ago, you started South beach bubbles, 2016 big dreams. What inspired you and should you start this journey?
[00:04:46] Ron Weizman: I'm going to give you the short version on it.
[00:04:48] Ron Weizman: Um, because I think, uh, you know, our, our story's a little out there, but I'll give you the shorter version. It's, it was basically more of a hobby. We didn't come from this industry. And we want to get our own kids off of gadgets and electronics. So it didn't start as, "All right, we're going to start a business."
[00:05:06] Ron Weizman: It's, it was more, uh, getting our own kids off of our electronics. And we saw a product like this, making giant bubbles in a park, huge bubble performers, and we're like, why can't we do something like this? Uh, for kids that can, can hold it, these wands are smaller. And then we actually started looking around and researching.
[00:05:23] Ron Weizman: We saw that bubbles were made in, in large bottles. And we're like, well, if we're going to do something like that, that would be so hard to ship giant bowl of juice everywhere. And it's going to be way too expensive. Why ship water? Water is bulky. And that's where we came up with our concentrate pouch.
[00:05:38] Ron Weizman: Just add water. The concentrate pouch is a funny story. Cause we were like, we were brainstorming one day and we're like, "What can we really put this in?" And there was a, our kids yogurt pouch, like a sip up yogurt pouch was just sitting on the table and we're like, what if we put it in a pouch?
[00:05:55] Azhelle Wade: So what was your first product?
[00:05:56] Ron Weizman: Uh, it was our Wow Amazing Concentrate Kit. That was, that's our claim to fame. And it was a pouch that really, concentrate where you just add water. And that's what took us a few years to develop because we were tinkering and uh, we wanted the perfect solution. That was, um, and that was our first product.
[00:06:12] Azhelle Wade: Wow. Congratulations. What was your first big order?
[00:06:15] Ron Weizman: Well, we started off actually as an Amazon company, so, but we started selling on Amazon, but it was funny because at the time Shooki was working corporate and I was with my family business and we would call like local learning expresses and during his lunch break, I would pick up the phone and I'd be like, "Listen, we have this great new products called Amazing Giant Bubbles, Giant Bubbles, just add water.
[00:06:36] Ron Weizman: Just give us like 30 seconds of your time." Shooki would run over there. Uh, pop open in his trunk, you know, show him the big bubbles. They'd buy a case. I mean, it was reaching locally uh, we'd go to trade shows, pitch tents, and that's kind of where the whole idea started.
[00:06:53] Azhelle Wade: Well, turning this concept into a brand must not have been an easy process. What was the moment that you realized you had something magical on your hand? Something that wasn't just one product that could be a full business.
[00:07:07] Ron Weizman: Yeah. I mean, look like, you always have aha moments, right? So even going early, early back when I was telling you, like going to, we would pitch some tents and go to local shows here around Fort Lauderdale, seafood festival and jazz festivals.
[00:07:21] Ron Weizman: And we'd have homemade packaging with our wands and our solution just to get to us some feedback out there. And we'd maybe be making these giant bubbles. I remember one time where, uh, there was a police officer came by where she blowing bubbles all day. And he's like, uh, you've been hitting my squad car for three hours.
[00:07:36] Ron Weizman: Can I get two for my twin daughters? Find out like there was a huge line of people coming up to us and wanting these giant bubbles. I mean, the only, and we have grandparents and parents and coming up. And even the grandparents that weren't local, they're like, the only thing that stopped them was how many they can fit in their luggage to take home, you know?
[00:07:55] Ron Weizman: So that was like the first real aha moment. And we thought, you know, our target audience would be like parents of children, but we found out it was more like, you know, grandparents of children because they could really relate. It wasn't like, uh, an electronic gadget where they can't relate. Yeah, it was nice. Yeah.
[00:08:11] Azhelle Wade: So like outdoor play products have timeless appeal. We all know, but it's also an incredibly competitive space and price and it can become kind of a commodity item. So how did you position South Beach Bubbles to stand out in this category in the toy industry?
[00:08:29] Ron Weizman: Yeah, well, even taking it back to when we, when I told you we were researching, first of all, there was nothing out there for giant bubbles, but we saw that everyone else had them in jars.
[00:08:37] Ron Weizman: So we said, I ship water. So there was a concentrate. And even now with when we built our brand is recognized and we started selling some of the things that people come up to us and be like, you have a great product. What about small bubbles, regular bubbles? But we didn't want to sell a commodity. We're not a "me too" company.
[00:08:56] Ron Weizman: We don't want products that sit on the shelf that blend in. So it took us two years to develop these color bubbles. The pink and the blue that we started off with. And you know, we call them regular bubbles because we were a giant bubble company to begin with, but it took us two, two and a half years to develop this because we wanted something different and not sell a commodity item, like you said, you know?
[00:09:16] Ron Weizman: So it's, it's tough.
[00:09:17] Azhelle Wade: Well, let's talk about the PoppinColorz Bubbles. I mean, hold on. I was doing it earlier until, oh, there we go. There we go. Okay. First of all, it's a little out of control. Like it's a little, it's like, how do you stop it? You don't, you don't want to stop it.
[00:09:35] Ron Weizman: You don't want to stop it, yeah.
[00:09:36] Azhelle Wade: You know, I was like, I was amazed. I turned it on and immediately like thousands of colorful bubbles are coming out. It's amazing. I'm actually going to surprise my husband when he comes home. Because I think that would be fun. Oh yeah, okay. Oh, I just got it on my computer. Alright, tell me about this. Okay, I just got it on my laptop. That's perfect. The keys are white. I'm wiping it away with my hand and it's coming right off. So tell me about the colors in the color bubble.
[00:10:00] Ron Weizman: Correct. So a pink pizzazz that matches your hair color perfectly. So it's, it's, it's great. It's actually my favorite color. And then we have a blazing blue.
[00:10:11] Ron Weizman: But when you think of color bubbles, what would you think of right off the bat?
[00:10:16] Azhelle Wade: Messy.
[00:10:16] Ron Weizman: Messy right away. Correct. And that's exactly what we, it took us two years to develop is something that would, it would be stain free and it, and it'll vanish. It's going to come right off your laptop. You know, by the time you're finished with this, everything's gone.
[00:10:31] Azhelle Wade: They're like, is it disappearing or do I have to wipe it away?
[00:10:34] Ron Weizman: Yeah. Wipes away. Disappears. Yep. Any fabric.
[00:10:38] Azhelle Wade: So this is what your TOTY nomination is for. And having a nomination like this is a massive milestone in the industry. What does this recognition mean to you and your team? And what does it reflect on your mission for your company?
[00:10:51] Ron Weizman: Right. I mean, it's cliche to say, you know, it's like an Oscar. Everyone uses that word, but
[00:10:56] Azhelle Wade: It is!
[00:10:57] Ron Weizman: But it really is. And it really is a team effort. And it's, you work so hard in those two and a half years. Long hours and weekends and holiday and then you're playing with the formula. Formula fails and you're like, should I keep going?
[00:11:10] Ron Weizman: What this is actually, it gave you the recognition that you're like, "Wow, I worked hard. We worked hard on this. We got through the recognition. You know what, I'm going to keep going. I have some other things in the pipeline as well." And that's what it does. It gives you that, you know, the recognition to keep going for the other innovation, the, you know, the future innovation stuff as well.
[00:11:30] Azhelle Wade: Can you share a pivotal moment when you almost gave up on this idea?
[00:11:34] Ron Weizman: Yeah, of course. This in particular is easy because this is a super hard formula where you also, you know, while you're playing with it, it's like, okay, color bubbles. Now I'm going to have to. Take this and, and tell the world we have color bubbles now, you know, they're going to be like, "What do you mean you have color bubbles?"
[00:11:51] Ron Weizman: You know, because it's what, you know, bubbles are just bubbles. We, we know bubbles. It's 2024. soon. Right? So it's, we know there's bubbles out there. What are color bubbles? So we've created something. Now we got to tell the world what are color bubbles. And then once you do the color bubbles, you know, then you're like, yeah, but wait, color bubbles, they must stain.
[00:12:15] Azhelle Wade: Wait, I have a question. What do these two levers do? This one makes the bubbles. What is this one for?
[00:12:20] Ron Weizman: This one is, so it's, this is, this is my favorite piece. It's the Hydra, so you have the, this is the water feature, right up here. See it? Right in there. Water. Water goes up there. Top. Yeah, top triggers water.
[00:12:38] Azhelle Wade: Oh, I didn't put any in there. That's why it's not there.
[00:12:43] Ron Weizman: And then, and then what's cool is you got this going on, and you got a little bit of this.
[00:12:48] Azhelle Wade: Oh, that's so fun!
[00:12:49] Ron Weizman: You can do it both ways.
[00:12:51] Azhelle Wade: It's like distraction while you're attacking. It's like, look at these, gotcha! You know, it's like, great. Yeah, I'm sorry. Okay, go on. When did you almost give up on this TOTY nominated idea?
[00:13:02] Ron Weizman: Um, yeah, I mean, listen, the, the solution itself is difficult enough to play with it and be like, all right, the colors, the staining, you're playing with it. And we're like, ah, are we out of our minds? What are we doing here? You know, we're, we could be, uh, banging out another 10, 15 SKUs while we're playing with color bubbles over here, right? But we pushed through We showed a couple of close confidants that are in the industry, and we're like, you guys have something here, you know? We launched it at the last Toy Fair, and some other outdoor companies would come up to us and be like, "Wow, that's unbelievable!" When they, you know, when they see the colors and they see it disappear.
[00:13:38] Ron Weizman: At first we'd be so scared. We have people come up with their white shirts and just spraying the blue and it disappeared within a few minutes. It was, you know, you got to do it though. You got to go for it, you know.
[00:13:48] Azhelle Wade: That sounds like a commercial you need to have. Like a child, like throwing these bubbles at their mom in a white dress. And
[00:13:55] Ron Weizman: Yeah, I mean, we've done that a few times already. So yeah, it's scary the first few times. And then when you know, you know, you're confident because you've done it in every single situation, like it's going to disappear and then it's slowly disappearing. And you're like, come on. And then there it goes. We're like, all right, now at this point in time, like we're good with it.
[00:14:16] Azhelle Wade: Is there anything that the customer has to do to make the solution to make sure that...
[00:14:19] Ron Weizman: This is pre made. It's all ready to go. It's not like our giant bubbles where you just add water or anything like that. This is a pre made solution. And then yeah, so you just put it right in and it works with any bubble machine too.
[00:14:34] Azhelle Wade: Because of this, did this TOTY nomination change how you're going to be approaching your new products that you develop for the next year? Like, let's say you already had some innovations in the pipe, but maybe this nomination made you say, "You know what, let's put more of our effort more of our team behind this."
[00:14:50] Azhelle Wade: Or did that nomination make you say, "Maybe we should focus more on this line of our brand?"
[00:14:56] Ron Weizman: Yes, well, it did. Well, the technology behind it is great because not only that, with the two colors that we started with is pink and blue. So when you think of gender reveal, so, you know, you have gender reveal opportunities there, you know.
[00:15:09] Ron Weizman: There's so many world of opportunities there as well. With this technology, it's like we're all in and yeah, you want to just keep expanding it and you want people to know about it. You want people to have fun with it. That's, you know, you got to get it out there. And now we have more of a platform that we, than we did prior because of the wow, amazing line and the recognition and the brand.
[00:15:27] Ron Weizman: So, you know, we have more eyes on us now. We go to a lot of dozens of trade shows, you know, and, and we're out there. So we get to expose it more than let's say, if we develop this six, seven years ago, eight years ago.
[00:15:40] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. Oh, that's a great point. Sometimes people want to rush to make their best product right away. But if you have no visibility, when you make that best product, it's almost a little bit of a waste.
[00:15:50] Ron Weizman: A hundred percent. And actually there's a saying that I just recently picked up and I, and I love it. It's like, if your product that you put out is 100% perfect, that means you took too long to put it out there.
[00:16:02] Ron Weizman: Right. I love that saying like, it's something that's because anything you put out, there's going to be a V2. There's going to be a V3, you know, you got to put it out.
[00:16:12] Azhelle Wade: You know, when you were sharing the story about how you built your business, I was thinking people like you and I who started their businesses in a very scrappy way where it wasn't fully figured out and it wasn't all done the right way.
[00:16:25] Azhelle Wade: It was just kind of like put together. Like, I almost feel people starting businesses today feel like they need to have everything perfect right off the dot. Like, they're like, I need a perfect logo. I need the perfect name. I need to trademark everything, which I mean, you should trademark, but like, they want to trademark like everything, like subtext and sub lines and websites.
[00:16:45] Azhelle Wade: And there's so much that could actually distract you and stop you from even starting the business. If you go too far down those roads. Like I've now redesigned the logo for my course because I hated the logo, but I just made it to get it out there. I didn't care. I was like, this is good enough. People know what it is.
[00:17:01] Ron Weizman: Right. Yeah. And you're not going to please everybody as well. Do you mean you could, you're going to move that logo 10 times. You're going to give it to people. They're going to move them logo left with that logo, right? That's why there's V1s, V2s and V3s, because you're taking the consensus of the majority and be like, okay, this is great.
[00:17:17] Ron Weizman: Next time we'll do this. Next time I'll do that. Not to say that the product. isn't great the way it is, you know, you're just going to tweak it some, you know what I mean? Based off of, but you got to get it out there is what
[00:17:26] Azhelle Wade: You got to get it out there. Someone else might beat you to it too.
[00:17:29] Ron Weizman: Exactly. A hundred percent.
[00:17:31] Ron Weizman: I don't know.
[00:17:32] Azhelle Wade: All right, let's move on. I want to talk about how you're innovating the space some more from giant bubbles to color bubbles that vanish without a trace. Your products are innovative and fun. It's clear that you are always looking at what's missing. Like why has no one done this? Or why has no one done that?
[00:17:47] Azhelle Wade: What's your secret to balancing that imagination and that white space spilling mentality you have with the practicality of like, can this actually work? But how do you do that? Yeah.
[00:17:58] Ron Weizman: I mean, look, we, as a company, we do not have a large 40, 50 page catalog. So there's a balance. I mean, you can be a company and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with this.
[00:18:08] Ron Weizman: You can be a company that has an 80 page catalog, but we pride ourselves that when someone comes up to us, let's say at a trade show, a retailer, uh, and they see our product, I know for a fact, they're not going to say, I just saw that two booths over, you know what I mean? There's a little bit of give and take, we don't have, you know, uh, an assortment of SKUs, but with the SKUs that we do have penetrate, you know, so there's a balance of things.
[00:18:37] Ron Weizman: Um, that's the way we decided to do things. That's what's worked for us. But, yeah, I mean, I don't know. Everything's a give and take. It's kind of what works for you.
[00:18:46] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. Is there a limit of how far you'll take things? Like, what is the MSRP on this?
[00:18:52] Ron Weizman: $34. 99.
[00:18:55] Azhelle Wade: So PoppinColorz is $34, 99
[00:18:59] Ron Weizman: For the hydro, which is two and one, right? The water. We have, we do have different blasters with the PoppinColorz. So we have, we have an entry, we have an entry level, The Cosmic and $19.99 retail, uh, Extra $29. And we also have party favors. We were, you know, there's, there's other items as well that we have, you know, that also are part of the PoppinColorz line. This particular item is the one that got TOTY nominated. We do have a PoppinColorz line. This is the one that got nominated. Which I am biased. This is my favorite. And it's funny because, you know, we, we develop things and we've been doing this for eight years now.
[00:19:37] Ron Weizman: My kids are getting a little older now and I brought it home into the backyard and they were both when we brought the Hydra and they were both fighting over it and to try to play for it. I knew we had something there. And then when we added the color bubble technology, we knew it was a winner. So we're glad we got recognized for the TOTY for it.
[00:19:54] Azhelle Wade: But when you come up with an idea, outlandish as colored bubbles and, you know, you look at the industry that's been around for way longer than your business, right? And you're like, "Wow, how's no one done or perfected this before?".
[00:20:07] Azhelle Wade: When you start developing it, is there some, what are your guideposts for like, all right, this is getting too expensive. This is why people haven't developed it before. How do you make sure it's practical that somebody will be able to afford this, that retailers can place it and sell it through? Like I've worked at companies before where I've had ideas that, you know, they're like, no, we're not going to make a product that expensive. It's too risky. How do you balance that?
[00:20:29] Ron Weizman: Well, we definitely have a graveyard for ideas that, that were, yeah, we, it definitely, there's definitely a graveyard of ideas that were just, we priced, it was priced out. They're great ideas, but we felt like it wouldn't move on the shelf because the price point we had to get it at something like this, where it's, it's a two and one, you know, water and bubble blaster at 34. 99 where the consumer doesn't have to buy two units because it does have, like, to me, this is a no brainer, right? So something like this is a no brainer, but yeah, I mean, there are ideas that you spark, and then when you price them out, you're like...
[00:21:04] Azhelle Wade: Uh You're like, uh oh, there's a reason that doesn't exist.
[00:21:07] Ron Weizman: Exactly. There's a reason that doesn't exist. Plus, I mean, you're reading and listening to what people are saying on other products, and you're trying to perfect things, right? So, if they're saying, you know, this is a cool item. I'd really love to have something that shoots waters and bubbles. Hey, okay.
[00:21:21] Azhelle Wade: Right. Well, let's talk about that. So, PoppinColorz Bubbles are the world's first stain free paint. free color bubbles. How did this idea come about and what went into perfecting the tech so that it would not stain?
[00:21:33] Ron Weizman: I'm not going to tell you what went into it.
[00:21:36] Azhelle Wade: Like how many hours? Not the formula.
[00:21:39] Ron Weizman: I know, I know. I'm kidding.
[00:21:42] Azhelle Wade: Give away the whole formula right now.
[00:21:44] Ron Weizman: I'm kidding. I think it goes back to when we were doing giant bubbles for many years, people were coming up, you know, retailers were coming up to us and saying, "Hey guys, you also have small bubbles?" And we're like, "No, we don't." And that's when we started saying like, it would be cool if maybe we had, we're looking into things like there's no color bubbles out there.
[00:22:02] Ron Weizman: Can we do something like this? And you're looking into things and you're trying and you're tinkering, your, your chemistry is coming into play. And like, and you start making something like, you know, I think our first formula, I made something that was like staining everything. I'm like, no, one's going to buy this.
[00:22:14] Ron Weizman: Like, I wouldn't, right. You know, and then I think we started thinking about, I remember like the ink that disappeared, like that type of stuff. Okay, that's cool. Like, it's like a color disappears. Like, what if we have some type of, uh, bubbles that didn't actually stain or leave a mess? So that's, that's the whole progression into it.
[00:22:30] Ron Weizman: But you're doing this as a small company, all while still supporting your current day to day needs. You know, so that's the thing is we don't have this huge team, like, like these larger, you know, toy companies to scale. And again, that's probably why it also takes us a little longer because, you know, you're also running your day to day while you're trying to develop something that's groundbreaking like the PoppinColorz Hydra.
[00:22:52] Azhelle Wade: So did you bring in a product developer to work on the innovation part of this?
[00:22:58] Ron Weizman: We do a lot of things on hand. We do have, yes, we did it like even for, we have, we have chemists that we work with that, that, but we kind of also at some point we take it over, uh, we perfect it and sometimes we do get help, but we have a lab here.
[00:23:13] Ron Weizman: Uh, we get our help. We get our hands dirty and we do the tinkering here.
[00:23:18] Azhelle Wade: I'm so glad I have one. I have one package. I have one free. You're so right. This could be a fun.
[00:23:24] Ron Weizman: It's really good back there. It's really good. Yeah.
[00:23:26] Azhelle Wade: It looks perfect. Now, how do you stay ahead of trends while remaining true to your brand's vision in the industry?
[00:23:35] Ron Weizman: Yeah. I mean, look, with trends, I mean, for us, look, we're an outdoor company, right? So we have a niche, we do things. So in our world, trends are a little bit more limited. We're not looking for other trends that are in different spaces. We're looking more for type of trends in our industry. So the trends that we try to pick up could be something with a colors.
[00:23:55] Ron Weizman: It could be something, if we look down the road to license something to do, you know, People come up to us to license things. So we look and see what's smart for our company and for us, and kind of make that decision of is it worth it versus is it not worth it type thing. But yeah, I mean, look, we're trying to make our own trend here.
[00:24:12] Ron Weizman: You know, we're trying to be the trendsetters. You know, I just came up with color bubbles for sakes.
[00:24:18] Azhelle Wade: Would you say that your brand's mission and vision is the same as what it was when you started it to just get kids off of devices and off of screens?
[00:24:25] Ron Weizman: That is a definite goal. I mean, we're having a heck of a time doing it. We're, we're having a real good time doing it.
[00:24:32] Azhelle Wade: And you like put something like this and an iPad in front of the kid for testing and just see what they go for?
[00:24:38] Ron Weizman: You want to play color bubbles with, with a blaster that goes at blast water and color bubbles? Or do you want to play that iPad, uh,
[00:24:45] Azhelle Wade: For the next Roblox,
[00:24:48] Ron Weizman: Exactly. No, I mean, that's what lights us up. And it's, it's funny because even like during the COVID years, my wife would be scrolling like on her Instagram or whatever, and like she's from Baltimore and she'd be looking at people don't even know. And she's like, look, everyone's playing with their Wow Amazing. Giant bubbles out there. Cause they were getting outside and they weren't buying it because of us. It's just, she was just happened to see it while she's scrolling and everyone's outside playing with it. And that in itself was like, wow, anything that kept us going. It was great.
[00:25:16] Azhelle Wade: I know you're going to the ASTRA Toy Boat. This is going to be such a hit there. I feel like you should bring it up to the beaches. I know you can't carry it up in your luggage to give to people, but maybe you can give away, like, coupons or something. You can give away coupons.
[00:25:30] Ron Weizman: Or we're gonna be like Oprah. You get a Hydra! You get a hydra! Yeah, it's going to be good. It's going to be fun. I mean, you know, you're on the beach or having a cruise shooting some water at people. It should be fun.
[00:25:47] Azhelle Wade: Going to be great. So with customers all over the world, how do you ensure that your toys resonate with different cultures, different people?
[00:25:56] Ron Weizman: For us, look, we're bubbles. It's funny. Like, yeah, I'll go back to even the Tracia things like, you know, the big ones like Nuremberg and Toy Fair, right? Yeah, you see people in suits or what have you walking by, you know, serious face andwe'll do some big bubbles and They'll even crack smiles, you know, they don't want to and they're like they're walking They're walking to their next meeting.
[00:26:18] Ron Weizman: I'll blow a big ball in front of them and they'll crack a smile and be like and I'm like don't burst my bubble, you know, and they'll, they'll love it. So I mean, bubbles, who doesn't like it? But they've been around for so many years. Right. And it's been a commodity, let's be honest. Right. But if we took it into a space where it's innovative, like, why does it have to be the same bubbles that, you know, that, that we grew up with just like anything else in any other space is trying to innovate. So we're also trying to innovate.
[00:26:45] Azhelle Wade: Would you say because you've innovated commodity products, are your prices tending a little bit higher than the commodity versions of those products?
[00:26:54] Ron Weizman: We actually keep our prices in line. Even at Color Bubbles, our APEC party favors are in line with every other, regular little bubble vial one.
[00:27:03] Ron Weizman: So there's always a little bit of premium because actually our products are made in the USA, there's going to be a little bit of a premium there, but we always look at pricing and we're always in line and sometimes even better. So we have no issues there.
[00:27:15] Azhelle Wade: So we'll talk to me about the pricing strategy there. Cause PoppinColorz, you have this big piece. It's $34. 99. You've got a $19. 99, but you're saying you have like the party favor. I'm guessing the standard bubble.
[00:27:26] Ron Weizman: Yeah. Uh, yep. $11. 99. They're party favors. Any pack, you can get pink, you can get blue, and they're party favor bags. Just
[00:27:32] Azhelle Wade: Standard wand?
[00:27:33] Ron Weizman: Standard wand but they have our color bubbles. We're going to have a two pack impulse item there, so that's coming into play now for 2025. So there's going to be no reason not to buy it, even, you know, in any economy.
[00:27:44] Azhelle Wade: So the reason I'm asking all of that is because I'd love to hear now what advice you might have for someone who has an idea. In a section of the toy industry that maybe is pretty saturated or commoditized, like you've been able to innovate and even compete price wise in this category, if somebody else has an idea for, let's say puzzles, but they're thinking like, no, that's so overdone.
[00:28:09] Azhelle Wade: Like so many people have done it. Maybe I shouldn't. What advice would you give for somebody in that situation?
[00:28:15] Ron Weizman: Well, here's the thing. Not everything works just like we said. We do have a graveyard of things that just didn't price out, right? But I don't think you should get scared of being a little bit higher in price.
[00:28:27] Ron Weizman: You know what I mean? If you are different and you have the reason to be higher. So we listened to the consumer. We came out with like, uh, just going back to our giant bubbles. We had our concentrate kit, which was the originator. And then we had a, now we have a grab and go kit. We listened to the, they wanted a, we have a bag that converts into a bucket, right?
[00:28:46] Ron Weizman: So you don't even need a bucket. Just something like this, you know, at a little bit less price point. So listen, going back, the pricing can be a little bit higher if there's something behind it that makes a difference, right? And consumers know that. And if it's something they need and they want, do not be scared.
[00:29:03] Ron Weizman: Look, if you're totally pricing yourself out, I don't recommend.
[00:29:08] Azhelle Wade: What I was going to say is can we quantify a little bit because some people say, okay, yeah, the standard in my category is $9. 99. So I'm just going to do a $24. 99. That'll be fine. Right? Like, no, if you double how innovative something is like percentage, could you go up in price?
[00:29:23] Azhelle Wade: Like probably five to 10? Like, have you identified any standards for that?
[00:29:27] Ron Weizman: I don't think there's a standard. I mean, and it could be anything, you know, puzzles or this , or a plush, you know? And again, I always recommend if you are going to do something also, you do want to start small, right? We've done that ourselves where we were like, this is the next best thing.
[00:29:43] Ron Weizman: Bring five containers in, you know, like, no, like you don't want to do that. You kind of want to test the market, even though your margins are going to be smaller, right? There's going to be other things that are, you know, when you buy volume, obviously you get those types of discounts, but you should always test the market first, right? Even if, if it's breakeven or making it a little bit, that's what you want to do. There's, there's always going to be a V2, but what I'm saying is there is going to be room to market up if you're different, if you have the innovation, because people are going to pay for convenience to
[00:30:16] Azhelle Wade: Oh, this is great. So I'm going to ask you my closing questions, but before we do, I just want to ask, where can people vote for PoppinColorz Bubbles?
[00:30:26] Ron Weizman: So there's a couple of places I hope they're going to be able to vote. Uh, I hope you'll be able to post it on your link somewhere as well.
[00:30:34] Azhelle Wade: Of course, we'll put on the link.
[00:30:36] Ron Weizman: They can find us on LinkedIn. So there's actually two ways to vote. There's a popular vote and that is for non TIA members and anybody can vote. Anybody can share. And if anybody can please share for us, shameless plug. So there's a popular vote and then there's a TIA vote. where you have to be a TIA member to, uh, to actually, uh, so there's two ways to kind of get the nod for the win
[00:31:00] Azhelle Wade: And voting closes January 10th, right?
[00:31:02] Ron Weizman: Yes. Yes.
[00:31:04] Azhelle Wade: And the winners will be announced at the TOTYs in February or March?
[00:31:08] Ron Weizman: Yup. The end of February. I think it's February 28th, if I'm not mistaken.
[00:31:14] Azhelle Wade: Oh, awesome. So we will find the link and put the link in the show notes. So you can vote for PoppinColorz. So just head over to thetoycoach.com/podcast and look for this episode.
[00:31:26] Azhelle Wade: Now, for our closing questions, Ron, can you share a story about a time that your product surprised or delighted your customers in a way you weren't expecting?
[00:31:33] Ron Weizman: Yeah, I'm going to even go, I'm going to go way back. I'm going to go not even way back. I'm going to go to a, to a couple of different places. I'm going to go back to when we first started with our giant bubbles. We went to a couple of local places. Some of them were, uh, it was the Dan Marino Foundation that supports autism awareness. We're big with that. We donate our time. We donate products. It's near and dear to us. So. I remember the first time we went. We went to the Dan Marino Foundation for Autism Awareness in Miami.
[00:32:03] Ron Weizman: And we had a little tent out there. And we put out buckets everywhere and let everyone play. And, um, kids who were on the spectrum were using it. And watching their parents faces and watching the kids faces, making these giant bubbles, it felt like a sense of accomplishment. And they were making these giant bubbles.
[00:32:19] Ron Weizman: And we were like "wow" and that's where it kind of like steamrolled. And it's a quiet toy. So it doesn't make loud noises or anything with the giant bubbles. So that was an impact, but just seeing the sense of accomplishment when these bubbles were coming off the wands and there were both the kids and the parents were looking at it, it was like, that was like a moment of, wow, I didn't even think of that.
[00:32:38] Ron Weizman: And then from then on out, you know, for the last seven, eight years, plus we donate to different charities and we work with a different autism organizations throughout the year.
[00:32:48] Azhelle Wade: Can you say the name of that organization again so we can throw it in the show notes?
[00:32:51] Ron Weizman: Yeah, of course. Autism Speaks is the one that we work with.
[00:32:55] Azhelle Wade: Fantastic.
[00:32:56] Ron Weizman: Yeah.
[00:32:56] Azhelle Wade: What's one piece of advice that you wish more people knew about when they're starting in the toy industry?
[00:33:01] Ron Weizman: It also goes back to what we talked about a little bit earlier. I think it's one of those things where if you're going to keep waiting, it's never going to come out. You're never going to get it out on the shelf.
[00:33:11] Ron Weizman: I think at some point. You have to put something out, you know, uh, it's almost like a fear of jumping into the pool or something for the first time. You just got to do it. And if you're going to wait for that perfect logo or that perfect placement of the logo, It's never going to happen. And it's cliche as it is, but that's one of those things is you just got to get it out there because you'll never know. Not knowing is, is kind of worse than anything. So
[00:33:36] Azhelle Wade: I think that's the secret of any entrepreneur. That seems like they're doing a lot. It's just like, we just don't stop doing. We just keep doing, we keep doing things just
[00:33:44] Ron Weizman: If you think everything's gonna be a hit. That's, that's not going to happen, you know? So it's not. Yeah, yeah. We have the graveyards of stuff like I said.
[00:33:53] Azhelle Wade: What toy or game blew your mind as a kid?
[00:33:56] Ron Weizman: Uh, I'll probably age myself here, but my first Halloween costume was He Man. I loved He Man with the sword. He Man was great. I mean, Matchbox cars were also great. I, I would say.
[00:34:10] Azhelle Wade: Do you remember what it was about the He Man?
[00:34:12] Ron Weizman: I love the He Man. Well, I had this, I mean, I'll get into it. I had a tricycle. I had the sword. I was going around my sidewalks and terrorizing people.
[00:34:19] Azhelle Wade: Oh, you wanted to be He Man.
[00:34:21] Ron Weizman: Yeah, I wanted to be He Man. I was like, I mean, I was, that was my like Halloween costume, like three years. I was probably like, I wanted to be He Man.
[00:34:29] Ron Weizman: So, He Man was my guy. So, yeah.
[00:34:34] Azhelle Wade: Ron, thank you so much for taking behind the scenes of South Beach Bubbles for this gift. Oh god. All right, out of control.
[00:34:44] Ron Weizman: Don't forget to vote.
[00:34:46] Azhelle Wade: Okay, don't forget to vote for this awesome PoppinColorz. Oh, you don't have to leave it on. I didn't know I could do like a quick, like a quick trigger.
[00:34:58] Azhelle Wade: So today in the podcast, we explored how you have turned your desire to get your kids off of electronics into a global phenomenon about outdoor play products. I love that. And now that you've earned a TOTY nomination, I'm sure that your influence in this industry is just going to grow. And I'm hoping and hoping, hoping that you win your dedication, creativity and quality and innovation is a reminder to everyone here that even the most timeless industries and the most evergreen categories. There is always room for fresh new colorful ideas. For the links to buy South Beach, products, head over to thetoycoach. com forward slash podcast. Look for this episode and you'll find the link to some of my favorite products from South Beach Bubbles. Of course, we're going to put the poppin colors, but I'm going to look for a couple other things too.
[00:35:46] Azhelle Wade: If you love this podcast and you haven't already left a review, what are you waiting for? Your reviews keep me coming back week after week. They inspire guests like Ron to come join us and share their insights. So wherever you're listening to this podcast, scroll on down, leave us a rating and a review.
[00:36:02] Azhelle Wade: As always, thank you so much for spending your time with me today. I know that your time is valuable and that there are a ton of podcasts out there. So it truly means the world to me that you tune into this one until next week. I'll see you later, toy people. Bye Ron.
[00:36:15] Ron Weizman: All right. Thank you.
[00:36:18] Thanks for listening to the making it in the toy industry podcast with a shell way, head over to the toy coach.com for more information, tips, and advice.
-
🎓 Unlock dozens of trusted factory contacts, develop your idea, and grow your toy company contact list TODAY by joining Toy Creators Academy®, learn more here.