Whirli

Recorded answer text · Google AI Overviews · 18 October 2026

Top toy and activity subscription boxes available in the UK:

- Whirli: A flexible toy-library subscription where you borrow, play with, and swap out toys instead of buying new ones, helping reduce clutter and waste. - Lovevery Play Kits: Curated, stage-based developmental and Montessori/Waldorf-inspired play kits designed by experts for babies and toddlers. Find options on the BabyCenter Overview. - The Toy Box Club: Delivers a rotating monthly box of 7 to 10 handpicked, sterilized toys for younger children, cutting down on waste as they outgrow items. - The Little Sensory Box: Quarterly sensory-play subscription boxes tailored for babies and toddlers (ages 0 to 15 months) filled with crinkle toys, rattles, and sound buttons. Explore the collections on The Little Sensory Box. - Grow With Me Subscription Box: Eco-friendly, stage-specific toy and play boxes for babies that include expert guidance cards to help parents facilitate learning. Learn more via the Grow With Me Blog. - KiwiCo: STEAM and hands-on educational activity projects delivered monthly for toddlers up to teens. - Banjo Robinson: An interactive, literacy-focused subscription where children receive personalised letters and creative activities from a globetrotting cat.

To help narrow down the best option, could you share:

- Your child's age or developmental stage? - Whether you prefer toy-borrowing/renting or keeping the items? - An interest in Montessori, STEAM, or sensory play?

Recorded answer text · ChatGPT · 6 September 2026

If by “new British toy brands” you mean newer or fast-growing UK-founded brands rather than established names like LEGO or Hornby, these are the ones I'd watch in 2026:

- Ambessa Play - London-based, design-led toys focused on imaginative and educational play. It's one of the more interesting newer UK toy startups; it also appears among the UK's emerging toy companies. F6S - Yoto - A London-founded audio-player brand for children. Not brand-new, but still one of Britain's strongest modern toy/children's-tech successes, with a growing ecosystem of cards and content. - Tonies UK - Technically German-founded rather than British, so I'd exclude it if you mean strictly British-owned. - Sam Labs - British educational/STEM brand making electronics and coding kits designed to be genuinely playful rather than classroom-like. It is listed among the UK's leading toy startups. F6S - Jellycat - Not new-it was founded in London in 1999-but arguably Britain's biggest modern toy-brand success. Its growth remains extraordinary, with UK toy-market sales growth reported at 22% in 2025. Salience - Best Years - UK brand specialising in knitted and soft toys, with a particularly nice handmade/design-led aesthetic. - Le Toy Van - Established rather than new, but worth including if you're looking for contemporary British-designed toys: beautifully made wooden dolls' houses, vehicles and role-play toys. - Jaques of London - Another heritage-style British brand that has modernised nicely, particularly for wooden traditional toys.

### My top 3 to investigate

1. Ambessa Play - most interesting new/start-up 2. Sam Labs - best for STEM/educational innovation 3. Yoto - best example of a British children's brand becoming a genuinely global consumer brand

There's a particularly interesting opportunity here if you're asking from a business/investment or brand-discovery perspective: the UK currently has a small but growing crop of toy startups alongside the big established players. The 2026 UK startup landscape includes Ambessa Play, Sam Labs, Whirli and several other young companies. F6S

If you tell me the age range (e.g. 0-3, 3-6, 6-10) and whether you mean British-founded, British-made, or simply British-looking/design-led, I can give you a much sharper list of 10-15 genuinely exciting brands, including their founders, funding, products and where to buy them.

Recorded answer text · Perplexity · 18 October 2026

The best UK toy subscription depends on whether you want toy rental and swapping, building sets, or monthly creative activities:

- Whirli - best overall for toy variety: A flexible toy-sharing service for ages 0-8, with access to more than 1,000 toys. Plans start at about £12.82 per month, and toys are swapped rather than permanently kept. - Buildurbricks - best for LEGO fans: A LEGO rental subscription with plans from roughly £11.99 per month, useful for children who enjoy building but quickly outgrow or finish sets. - BrickBox - best for monthly themed builds: Sends themed official LEGO sets each month and suits children or adults who prefer a new building project regularly. - Cubie Maths - best for educational play: A maths-focused children's subscription box costing around £28.33, with activities designed to develop numeracy skills. - General kids' activity boxes - best for crafts and screen-free projects: Options include baking, craft, science and learning boxes, often better suited to children who want a complete activity rather than a toy to reuse.

Best choice for most families: Whirli, especially if the child enjoys variety and you have limited storage. Choose Buildurbricks or BrickBox if LEGO is the main interest; choose Cubie Maths for structured educational activities. Check delivery, cancellation, deposits and rules for lost or damaged items before subscribing.