From a single statistic to serious scale: How Yoto went international

“We came across a piece of research that showed that children listening to audio really helps inspire creativity and imagination way more than screen-based content,” said Yoto’s CEO and co-founder Ben Drury as he talked about his motivation for starting the UK-headquartered business.

Ben read that statistic in 2015 and the same year he came up with Yoto, an audio brand for children, with his business partner Filip Denker. Both fathers were worried about the number of hours their young children may spend with screens.

A year later they created a prototype, and in 2017 they took their concept to funding platform Kickstarter and the idea that started with two concerned dads became a reality.

“The basic principle of Yoto is ‘kids in control’. We use these simple Yoto cards that children put inside the Yoto Player, and it will play their favourite music, stories, and educational activities,” said Ben.

The initial Yoto Player was a hit and in 2020, Yoto launched its second-generation Player. This coincided with the company’s international ambitions and in June of that year, the Yoto Player reached the US.

International expansion is where HSBC’s expertise proved invaluable for Ben and Yoto: “We've seen Yoto being used in over 200 countries and we have a few primary markets: UK, US, France and Australia.”

“Our partnership with HSBC has grown over several years and I personally banked with them before,” he said. “The bank was a natural partner for us given their broad international reach and strong network across many countries.

“We have only just started to tap into that network, but we have a team in China, and being able to talk to and spend time with local HSBC staff and go on trade missions has been helpful and will continue to be so in the future.”

Our relationship with Yoto began in 2022 between corporate banking director Aman Nirwal and Yoto’s CFO Ben Averis. “The initial conversations with Yoto were really around understanding their journey,” said Aman.

That conversation sparked a connection with local suppliers in Shenzhen, where Yoto produces its products, highlighting the value of HSBC’s networks on businesses of all sizes.

This introduction leveraged our international network and the power of our local knowledge. For Ben and his team to know that there were partners on the ground to help navigate any obstacles that could arise was a huge help.

“HSBC's international network is really valuable and quite special,” said Aman. “It is a differentiator to others in the market because we have global clients and a global client footprint that helps us build relationships.”

International growth has been important to Yoto as it looks to the future of what can be achieved for children around the world. But that is not all that the relationship with HSBC has allowed Yoto to do.

Ben Drury said that the lending facility has been extremely helpful with investing in stock: “The HSBC facility fits wonderfully on top of that equity finance and allows us to really invest in stock and inventory so that we are ready for peak times such as Christmas.

“Some of that stock, which has been financed by HSBC means we can take more risks and can expand faster.”

Expanding fast is key to meeting Yoto’s goals, but that does not mean that the company has forgotten just how important user feedback is for them. They are a company built for families and their most heartfelt feedback has come from families of children with learning difficulties who have had positive experiences with the players.

“I am most proud of the work I have done, with HSBC’s support, for companies like Yoto who are entrepreneurial and really drive change,” Aman said.

“Being able to be part of that journey and help them unlock that growth, enter new territories and provide structured facilities, that they potentially would not have got without HSBC's Growth Fund, I think is really rewarding.”