The history of tonies®

Patric has an idea

Our co-founder, Patric Faßbender, discovers a niggling problem. His two daughters (aged 3 and 5 at the time) love audio books, but the CDs he owns keep on getting scratched. Keen to find a better way, Patric dreams up a new kind of audio player for kids. To help him make it happen, he brings in Marcus Stahl – an engineer, fellow father of two, and his future co-founder. Together, they create a cube-shaped speaker that can play audio as soon as a special figure is popped on top. The Toniebox is born.

Patric and Marcus launch the Toniebox in Germany, alongside a line-up of 14 Tonies.

Awards start arriving

The Toniebox starts turning heads. First came a Red Dot Design Award, followed by a German Design Award, and an iF Product Design Award the next year. Not a bad way to kick things off.

We top Christmas wish lists all across Germany and sell a whopping 148,000 Tonieboxes – more than double what we planned for. We completely sell out of Tonieboxes and Facebook groups light up as parents try to track them down. Tonies sales hit 1.2 million. Merry Christmas to us!

We start packing our bags. After winning over families in Germany, tonies® heads overseas, launching in the UK and Ireland. It’s the start of a much bigger adventure.

Muddy puddles arrive

Peppa and pals make their way to the Toniebox as our first Peppa Pig Tonie launches. We’ll have five more Peppa (and George!) Pig Tonies joining the tonieverse over the next few years.

Disney joins the crew

Big news! Disney comes to the party with some of their most popular characters. We say hello to Simba, Belle, The Little Mermaid, Lightning McQueen, Finding Nemo, Mickey Mouse and Elsa – who’s still one of our bestselling Tonies to this day. We’re never letting that one go.

The next stop is a big one. We land in the USA, bringing the Toniebox, Tonies and plenty of storytime magic to families across the Atlantic.

Fast Company names tonies® as one of its ‘Most Innovative Companies of 2021’. We weren't going to argue.

Another passport stamp. France becomes the next country to welcome tonies®. We mark the moment by ordering a celebratory pain au chocolat.

PJ Masks and CoComelon arrive

We expand our ever-growing crew of pre-school favorites with crime-fighting heroes Owlette, Catboy and Gekko, and the first of three CoComelon Tonies with JJ.

As part of Disney's ‘From Our Family To Yours’ holiday campaign, we celebrate the magic that happens when favorite Disney characters become Tonies. You can watch it here.

Sleepy Friends drift in

Bedtime gets a little cozier with the arrival of Sleepy Friends, a tonies® original created to help little ones wind down. Think calming Tonies, gentle nightlights and plenty of sleepy-time support.

Things get a little sweeter

We’ve never been known to turn down a sweet treat. So when the chance to make Leibniz Biscuits in the shape of our Toniebox and Creative Tonies comes along, we jump at it.

The Bat-Signal gets the tonies® treatment

We launch our partnership with Warner Bros. and DC Super Heroes with Batman – a huge addition to our range for older kids.

We don’t talk about bestsellers…

Or do we? Encanto launches and shoots to the top of our US bestseller list immediately, before making its way to the UK. It's also one of our first Disney Tonies to feature original cast audio.

A pretty big milestone

As the tonies® family keeps growing, so does the business behind it. In 2023, we reach profitability for the first time. Our finance department are ecstatic.

We join the Disney 100 celebrations

To celebrate Disney's 100th anniversary, we create a limited-edition Red Mickey Toniebox. All 30,000 units sell out, making it an instant collector's favorite.

Next stop: Canada

The tonies® adventure continues across North America, bringing stories, songs and a whole bunch of fun to even more families. We remember to pack a warmer coat.

Patric and Marcus hand over the reins

After more than a decade at the helm, Patric and Marcus step back from day-to-day operations, passing the baton to Tobias Wann. Every good story needs a new chapter.

It’s Blippi!

In one of our biggest multi-market launches yet, Blippi comes to the tonieverse bringing with him adventures to the farm, the moon, a pirate ship and more. Everyone gets the excavator song stuck in their heads for months.

Peppa’s back and she’s ready to learn

Learn with Peppa launches, helping little listeners explore emotions, relationships, early math and more.

A million and counting

Less than four years after arriving in the USA, we sell our one millionth Toniebox. We couldn't be happier to be part of so many family storytimes.

In a pineapple under the sea!

SpongeBob arrives on the Toniebox ahead of the franchise's biggest summer in years, with a new movie and 25 years of nautical nonsense to celebrate. It also stars the original voice of SpongeBob, Tom Kenny. Aye-aye, Captain!

Something prehistoric happens

We team up with the Natural History Museum to create a set of Pocket Tonies packed with fascinating facts and prehistoric adventures. No fossils were harmed in the making of it.

G'day, Australia and New Zealand

Our passport continues to fill up. We head to the other side of the world as tonies® lands in Australia and New Zealand.

We launch Book Tonies

Longer stories for bigger kids. Book Tonies open up a whole new world of full-length audiobooks, so listeners can keep growing with tonies®.

The internet's favorite teacher goes screen-free

We bring YouTube sensation Ms. Rachel to the Toniebox with exclusive audio adventures. The crowd goes wild. She sells out almost immediately.

10 Million Tonieboxes

Nine years after the very first Tonieboxes went on sale, we sell our ten millionth one. It's a milestone we're incredibly proud of, and feel very grateful to all the families who have made room for us on their bookshelves, bedside tables and kitchen counters.

Say hello to Toniebox 2

A big moment for the world of tonies®. Toniebox 2 arrives with a new look, lots of new features, and something called Tonieplay – a whole new way for kids to play. With a Tonieplay controller in hand, they can make choices, shape the story and decide what happens next.

One for very little listeners

We launch My First Tonies, introducing very little people (from 1+) to the world of tonies®. With soft silicone characters and age-appropriate audio that develops over time, they're designed to grow alongside little listeners.

We’re really defying gravity now

Wicked (our very first Musical Tonie) launches as the second movie hits theaters. We’re all ‘dancing through life’.

We get cuddly

Some of Disney's best-loved characters become our first Cuddle Tonies, bringing stories and cuddles together in one soft companion.

The one where we didn’t get fired

tonies® is the star of the show on BBC One’s The Apprentice. Candidates create an original children’s story which is turned into a bespoke Tonie and pitched to some of our retailers. We even get to keep the Lord Sugar Tonie!

Classic favorites for new ears

We team up with Hasbro to give boardgame classics like Monopoly, Guess Who? and The Game of Life a Tonieplay twist.

This episode of Bluey is called…

Believe your ears. Our most requested Tonie of all time finally arrives “for real life”. Bluey, Bingo and Muffin launch with a Tonieplay game in tow, ready to blow the socks off all our little (and big) listeners.

Happy birthday to us

We celebrate ten years since we sold our first Toniebox in Germany. What started as a pipe dream in Patric’s daughter’s bedroom has turned into a full-blown international business selling Tonieboxes all over the world. That’s probably worth a slice of cake, right?

Wild Pokemon appear!

We launch a next-generation collab with Pokémon, bringing Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Bulbasaur to tonies®.

Cue the lights for Toniebox Lite

Our littlest Toniebox yet takes center stage in a big move for tonies®. It’s smaller, lighter and ready to go wherever our listeners roam.