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As a part of the Morning Lazziness collection highlighting empowering ladies who’re making a exceptional influence with their concepts, I had the pleasure of interviewing Beatrice Toh.
Beatrice Toh is the Founder and CEO of HeyDoodle, the multi-award-winning vary of eco-friendly silicone playmats and inventive play merchandise that mix schooling, enjoyable, and sustainability.
Melbourne-based and a mum of three, Beatrice left a protracted profession in structure to rework her side-hustle right into a thriving full-time enterprise. She based HeyDoodle in 2019 after figuring out a niche available in the market for participating, play merchandise that encourage little one growth whereas supporting eco-conscious dwelling. “HeyDoodle began as a private resolution to entertain my very own kids in significant, inventive methods,” Beatrice explains, “and it has grown right into a model that resonates with households globally.”
In the present day, HeyDoodle has offered over 300,000 mats, stocked by over 800 Australian retailers, and distributed in additional than 30 nations, reflecting its speedy worldwide development.
Underneath Beatrice’s management, the model has earned quite a few accolades, together with the 2025 On-line Retail Trade Award for Finest Small Impartial Retailer, recognition from the Australian Ladies’s Small Enterprise Champions Awards, AusMumpreneur, Stevie Awards, She-Com Youngsters Product of the Yr and Editor’s Alternative, and a Supply Youngsters Incapacity Native Legend award.
Beatrice attracts on her background as a registered architect to use design pondering, strategic planning, and innovation to each side of product growth. Dedicated to social accountability, HeyDoodle often helps charitable organisations, donating merchandise to kids’s hospitals and not-for-profits. Her journey displays a uncommon mixture of creativity, entrepreneurial imaginative and prescient, and purpose-driven management, positioning HeyDoodle as a globally recognised model that delivers each pleasure and significant influence for households and communities.
On this interview, she talks concerning the obstacles she’s overcome, the milestones she’s achieved, and the knowledge she’s gained alongside the best way.
What impressed you to begin your online business, and what drawback had been you obsessed with fixing?
I recognised a transparent hole available in the market: a handy, reasonably priced and mess-free resolution that might be used anyplace, particularly on the go. What started as a self-funded concept to unravel my very own parenting challenges has since grown into HeyDoodle, a thriving small enterprise reaching a world market. In the present day, our reusable inventive play merchandise are used not solely by tens of hundreds of households but additionally in colleges, hospitals, remedy practices and by allied well being professionals.
Motherhood was a driving drive in inspiring HeyDoodle, and my three kids have been carefully concerned, not simply as enthusiastic product testers, however additionally they assist out with small duties across the warehouse and markets from time to time. Combining eco-consciousness with play, HeyDoodle has turn into greater than a enterprise; it’s a mirrored image of my values. Like parenting itself, constructing and nurturing this enterprise has been a splendidly wild and rewarding journey.
How has your online business developed since its launch, and what key choices helped drive that development?
Since launching in 2019, HeyDoodle has developed from a single concept right into a family-owned international enterprise stocked by greater than 800 Australian retail companions and buying and selling in over 30 nations. Our development has been guided by intentionally measured choices centred on buyer wants and a dedication to our model identification, quite than chasing each alternative.
From the outset, we outlined a robust model proposition constructed on sustainability and reusability, and have remained true to it throughout our merchandise, packaging, digital channels and partnerships. This consistency has helped place HeyDoodle as a trusted eco-conscious model. Product innovation has additionally been key; and my architectural background has helped us design contemporary, participating themes and particular collaborations that maintain prospects excited and dependable.
Equally essential has been refining our e-commerce expertise whereas increasing wholesale partnerships, each of which have been essential development drivers. We’ve additionally dedicated to sustainable manufacturing, utilizing FDA-approved, food-grade silicone to make sure security, longevity and environmental accountability.
As we proceed to broaden globally, export advertising and marketing is a rising focus.
In the end, HeyDoodle’s evolution has been fuelled by a steadiness of innovation, sustainability and staying true to our imaginative and prescient – even because the market turns into more and more aggressive.
In your view, what actually units your model aside in immediately’s aggressive market?
I consider it’s our thought of mixture of schooling, enjoyable and sustainability in a approach that resonates with each kids and caregivers.
As a parent-founded enterprise, we perceive our prospects’ wants firsthand and stay true to a model identification that blends playfulness with professionalism and expert-backed studying growth.
Our dedication to eco-friendly, reusable merchandise backed by shut collaboration with suppliers permits us to repeatedly innovate and ship secure, high-quality designs.
I’m additionally so pleased with our strategic partnerships with museums, zoos and cultural organisations as they maintain our model thrilling.
Lastly, I believe our dedication to company accountability and group help ensures that our prospects see HeyDoodle as greater than a toy model: it’s a values-driven motion.
What has been your best advertising and marketing technique to date, and why do you suppose it labored so effectively?
Our best advertising and marketing technique to date has been model collaborations, which have allowed us to authentically prolong HeyDoodle’s attain whereas staying true to our values. By partnering with establishments equivalent to museums, zoos and cultural organisations, we’ve been capable of align our merchandise with trusted academic and family-friendly environments. These collaborations not solely construct model credibility but additionally introduce HeyDoodle to new audiences in a approach that feels natural and fascinating.
Alongside this, we’ve maintained a robust give attention to digital storytelling by utilizing social media and our on-line group to showcase the sustainability, creativity and enjoyable behind our merchandise.
The mix of significant partnerships and genuine communication has created sturdy buyer loyalty and word-of-mouth advocacy.
In the end, I consider it’s labored so effectively as a result of we’ve been constant in delivering worth whereas guaranteeing each advertising and marketing initiative displays our core model identification.
How do you keep related to your splendid viewers and perceive their wants or behaviors?
Staying related to my splendid viewers comes naturally as a result of I am the demographic. I’m a mum of three, so I deeply perceive the challenges, wants and behaviours of oldsters. This lived expertise, mixed with fixed suggestions from the HeyDoodle group, helps me keep in tune with what households need: merchandise which can be enjoyable, academic, sustainable and sensible.
I often interact with prospects by social media, occasions and direct conversations, which permits me to validate concepts, refine merchandise and guarantee HeyDoodle continues to ship real worth to the households who use it.
What’s one branding transfer or marketing campaign that helped elevate your online business to the following degree?
One pivotal branding transfer that elevated HeyDoodle was our collaboration with Australia Zoo, which started once I merely reached out to Bindi Irwin and despatched her merchandise as a present for her daughter. That gesture developed right into a strategic partnership and Bindi’s endorsement, aligning HeyDoodle with a globally recognised title in conservation and household leisure.
Bindi’s help strongly resonated with mother and father who worth sustainability and schooling, whereas the collaboration opened doorways to new audiences in an genuine, trust-building approach.
Mixed with constant storytelling and eco-conscious branding, this marketing campaign created highly effective momentum, boosting loyalty and propelling HeyDoodle onto the worldwide stage.
What does success seem like for you, not simply in numbers, however in objective or influence?
For me, success isn’t nearly gross sales or development. It’s actually extra concerning the optimistic influence HeyDoodle has on households, kids’s studying, and the surroundings.
Success is seeing youngsters interact creatively and sustainably with our merchandise, listening to from mother and father that our inventive play mats make every day life simpler, and understanding we’re fostering eco-conscious habits from a younger age.
It’s additionally about constructing a enterprise that displays our values, helps our group, and conjures up different entrepreneurs, particularly mother and father.
In the end, success is making a model that households belief, kids love, and that makes a significant distinction past the underside line.
How do you personally outline success, past income and development metrics?
True success means discovering concord between my roles as a enterprise proprietor, a spouse, and a mom. If I can develop HeyDoodle whereas nonetheless being current in my marriage and for my kids, then I do know I’m doing one thing proper.
I additionally outline success as constructing a enterprise that displays my values. Meaning designing merchandise which can be purposeful and sustainable, supporting our group by collaborations and charitable initiatives, and creating alternatives for others. It’s equally about inspiring different mums and entrepreneurs to comply with their concepts and consider in what they will obtain. Figuring out that my journey can spark another person’s confidence or braveness is a measure of success that goes past numbers.
Are you able to share a problem or setback that finally grew to become a turning level to your model?
Navigating the influence of the US Trump-era tariffs, which got here at a time once we had been beginning to scale internationally.
As a small, self-funded household enterprise, the sudden improve in import prices threatened each our pricing technique and our skill to compete in a key market. At first, it felt overwhelming. We needed to rethink budgets, provide chains, and even whether or not increasing into the US was possible.
Nevertheless, this problem grew to become a turning level. It pressured us to be smarter and extra deliberate in our strategy to development, prioritising effectivity, sustainable sourcing, and cautious monetary planning. We strengthened relationships with suppliers, explored various logistics choices, and doubled down on our core model values, THAT IS, eco-friendly, reusable merchandise that resonate with households.
The expertise taught me that setbacks may be alternatives in disguise. By staying true to our imaginative and prescient and responding strategically quite than reacting swiftly, HeyDoodle not solely survived a doubtlessly crippling scenario however emerged stronger, extra resilient, and higher outfitted to scale globally. It strengthened the significance of cautious, values-driven development.
What every day habits or rituals maintain you targeted, inventive, and grounded as a pacesetter?
For me, staying targeted and inventive is a continuing work in progress. As a naturally inventive particular person, I don’t suppose in straight strains however as an alternative discover inspiration from many locations . Recent concepts typically come to me by easy, on a regular basis interactions, whether or not it’s a dialog with a stranger, studying buyer suggestions, or observing my very own kids at play.
I additionally make an effort to steadiness construction with flexibility. Having priorities mapped out retains me anchored, whereas leaving room for spontaneous inspiration permits me to remain revolutionary. It’s this mix of self-discipline and openness that retains me targeted as a pacesetter, whereas nonetheless permitting creativity to flourish.
However in fact, don’t overlook the espresso.
How do you strategy innovation and danger in your online business technique?
My coaching as an architect has been invaluable in shaping how I strategy innovation and danger at HeyDoodle.
Structure taught me to steadiness creativity with sensible constraints, to visualise potentialities whereas rigorously assessing feasibility. I apply the identical rules to product design and enterprise technique; pushing boundaries with new themes, designs, and collaborations, whereas fastidiously evaluating manufacturing, prices, and market influence.
Innovation is at all times guided by our model values and buyer wants, and dangers are calculated quite than reactive. This structured but inventive mindset permits HeyDoodle to develop sustainably whereas frequently providing contemporary, participating merchandise that delight households.
What recommendation would you give to somebody beginning a enterprise in immediately’s fast-changing digital world?
Concentrate on understanding your viewers, keep true to your model values, and embrace digital instruments strategically quite than chasing each pattern.
Stability innovation with cautious planning, and keep in mind that authenticity, consistency, and significant connections with prospects are way more highly effective than fleeting digital hype.
The place can our viewers join with you and study extra about your work or choices?
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