Emoshees, a Czech phenomenon in toys, are heading to the Polish market, with the help of the CzechTrade agency. Almost 20,000 of these educational toys have already been sold in the Czech Republic and Germany, and more than 2,000 are used by kindergartens and primary schools, as well as pedagogical and psychological counselling centres in their work with children.
Scio is launching the sale of its toy Freddy and his flies from the Emoshees product line on the Polish market. Like Czech parents, the toy will help Polish parents better understand and work with their children’s emotions. "The timing of the launch on this new market is no coincidence, because what better time to talk to children about their feelings than after a year and a half of the pandemic," says Aleš Rumpel, who is in charge of the whole project at Scio. And while the toy is known as Ferda a jeho mouchy in the Czech Republic, Ferda und seine Fliegen in Germany, it is heading to the Polish market as Ferdek i jego muchy.
Freddy will be distributed in Poland by WRS by Ann, which does not normally handle the distribution of toys, but its owner was personally interested in the whole concept. "2020 was exceptional all around the world because everything went into lockdown overnight. Educational institutions were closed and children lost contact with their friends from school and kindergarten. As the mother of five-year-old Alice, I saw how much my daughter struggled with her emotions every day. She didn't understand the whole situation, fear prevailed over joy, and I didn't have the skills to talk to her about what was going on. So, I looked for a solution, but I didn't find anything other than consultation with a psychologist and online courses. That's why I fell in love with the Czech version of Freddy and his flies at first sight," says Anna Kalbarczyk, the exclusive distributor of the book Freddy and his flies in Poland. "The idea, concept and structure of the book were so clear that I began to wonder right away if this combination of toy and book could be of interest to other mothers and children in Poland, who were thinking like me and faced the same problems." adds Anna Kalbarczyk
The sale of Freddy and his flies on a foreign market would not be possible without a translation of the book, including a modification of certain cultural/national aspects. The Polish translation was provided by Anna Wanik and edited by Joanna Lewandowska. The CzechTrade agency played an important role in entry to the Polish market and in finding a Polish distributor. "Freddy the frog, who helps develop the emotional and social intelligence of children, immediately won us over. We believed in this unique product from the very beginning. We started working for Scio six months ago by looking for Polish companies that distribute toys and similar products. We subsequently sent these companies an offer of cooperation, called them and met some in person to introduce them to the product. We also acted as a mediator and assisted in negotiations with Polish partners,” explains Ivo Šipl, Director of the Foreign Office of CzechTrade Poland, adding: “I’m pleased that we were successful in finding a distributor for Scio and that our Warsaw office helped Freddy enter the Polish market."
Polish Freddy has his own website at www.ferdekijegomuchy.pl and a campaign to launch Freddy onto the market is about to begin. Anna Kalbarczyk, the exclusive Polish distributor, has extensive experience in this area, as she has been working in marketing and public relations for 20 years. She has been running her agency WRS BY ANN since 2013. Scio is now looking for ways to enter other foreign markets too.
The Emoshees concept
Freddy the frog from the Emoshees product line is an educational toy. As well as the plush toy frog, the set includes eight plush flies and a book. Each of the flies represents a different emotion and helps children manage feelings of fear, anger and jealousy, but also helps parents develop feelings of joy, confidence and the desire to learn new things in their children. Part of the product, intended for children from approximately 4 years of age, is also an illustrated book with stories that offer parents dozens of activities, games and advice on how to work with emotions.
The book contains stories that cover typical situations for children of preschool and early school age in a friendly and open manner. The main character, Freddy the frog, is accompanied by his friends, the plush flies: anger, fear, confidence, loneliness, sadness, joy, jealousy and curiosity. The book is supplemented by extensive methodological material on how to continue working with children for teachers and parents. Teachers, child psychologists, parents and children collaborated on its development.
Scio
The Covid-19 pandemic has not diminished interest in higher education, quite the contrary. While less than 21,000 candidates took the National Comparative Exams last school year (2019/2020), which are used by more than 50 Czech and 30 Slovak faculties as part of their admission procedure, this was 22,630 this year.
How kids of different ages, their parents and teachers rate distance learning can be seen by comparing the results of an extensive questionnaire survey of 6th and 9th graders.
