Born to Play in the U.S.A.
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Source: The Toy Book: https://toybook.com/born-to-play-in-the-usa/
Creating the Next Generation of Toys, in New York
Born to Play, the company behind The Original Super Dough, Nano Art, and Taba World, is betting that creator-led product development and domestic manufacturing can move faster together than the traditional toy production cycle. Founded in late 2024 by industry vet Daniel Delapa, the company quickly built momentum across content, toys, and retail — with Blippi creator Stevin John onboard as Chief Content Officer and Partner — and is now expanding its U.S. manufacturing footprint.
According to Delapa, the company’s New York-based factory has become a strategic engine for speed and supply chain resilience. “Our New York manufacturing facility has been an incredible journey; we are consistently growing 25% month-over-month, and have a completely vertical manufacturing stack,” he says. “We are producing our own plastic, converting and making our own product, packaging, and shipping both domestically and internationally.”
That vertical stack includes U.S.-based 3D printing capacity that enables rapid product iteration and short-run production, allowing the company to react to trends in real time. The model also gives Born to Play optionality in sourcing and pricing, a pressure point for many emerging companies navigating post-pandemic supply and logistics volatility.
Content and audience data remain core to Born to Play’s positioning. “At Born to Play, we focus on being on the cutting edge of trends and technology,” Delapa says. “With our content studio, we are constantly testing play patterns through our audience and influencer network and continue to leverage that model into 2026 and beyond.”
Retail partners have leaned into the model. Delapa notes that the company’s launch year was challenging but yielded big wins. “As a company founded at the tail end of 2024, we faced the full year of challenges, and our ability to globally source enabled our growth, ramping up domestic manufacturing in key toy categories,” he says. By positioning as an insights-driven brand with manufacturing flexibility, Delapa says Born to Play has become a “go-to resource” for retailers and distributors looking “to drive incremental growth on emerging trends at unbeatable prices.”
Balancing that creator DNA with the realities of manufacturing, retail timelines, and pricing has been a key learning curve. “At our core, we are creators with toys as our passion and platform to express that,” Delapa says. “Speed to market is important, but knowing your audience and community is equally important. Balancing the two, we believe, is what has led to our rapid success.”
The company’s licensing and distribution strategies are evolving alongside product and content. “We start our development process with the audience (the consumer) in mind,” Delapa says, noting that Born to Play develops “tiered ranges that complement the channels of distribution we put our products through.”
For retailers looking to get in on the action, Born to Play has opened a permanent showroom at The Toy Building in El Segundo, California, securing its space at The Toy Association’s purpose-built West Coast home. Buyers can visit Suite No. 1104 during the LA Spring and Fall Previews to discover the company’s latest product offerings.