For many toy business owners, importing toys from China can effectively improve the profit margin, but finding original and authentic toy manufacturers in China can be difficult sometimes. So, I write this guide to help you find reliable China toy manufacturers with practical soluations and show you thier unique strengths.
The Unique Strengths of Toy Manufacturers in China
Chinese manufacturers are welcomed all over the world. As for the toy business, manufacturers in China has gained their own unique advantages after years of development. Before we get know how to find toy manufacturers in China, let’s understand why exactly we should find them in the first place.
1. No.1 toy manufacturing capacity in the world
China is the biggest manufacturer and exporter of toys, there are tens of thousands of toy enterprises incorporated in China. China’s toy manufacturing volume accounts for about 70% of that of the whole world, which literally makes it the world’s toy manufacturing center.
2. Abundant labor resources and lower labor cost
With the biggest population on this planet, China has limitless labor resources. For that reason, the labor cost of the toy manufacturers in China is relatively low, which obviously lowers the average wholesale price of the toys.
3. Highly developed industrial chain and concentrated industry clusters
The toy manufacturing industry is mainly concentrated in regions including Guangzhou, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang. Among them, Guangdong Province has the largest scale in terms of toy manufacturing and exporting. The complete upstream and downstream industrial chain has been developed in those industry clusters.
4. High-tech oriented industrial environment
With the popularization of the Internet, cloud upgrades, Bluetooth modules, and chip technology have been more widely applied in the field of toy manufacturing. Toys manufactured in China have gained more features in terms of intelligence, interactivity, and education.
5. Strong and reliable logistics supporting
The supporting logistics has greatly facilitated the development of the toy industry in China. Toy manufacturers are well versed in the exporting processes of toys. With the support from domestic logistics providers and international freight forwarders, purchasing toys from China can be just a few clicks within your touch.
Search for China Toy Manufacturers through Online Channels
Internet is a powerful being, given the right way of utilizing, you can find almost anything you want on it. That said, searching for toy manufacturers online doesn’t mean anything like browsing irrelevant information aimlessly, you have to do it through the right platform and with a clear purpose.
If you want to find toy manufacturers in China through the online channel, there are two tools you can utilize to do it: wholesale websites or sourcing agents.
1. Find toy manufacturers in China on Alibaba
Alibaba.com is the largest B2B wholesale platform in the world, there are millions of suppliers in all product niches providing billions of different products to buyers all over the world.
Although there are tons of suppliers on Alibaba, not all of them are original manufacturers or factories. You may easily get deceived by those online Chinese suppliers as they tell you that they are factories with the capability to produce whatever kind of toys you like. Well, the truth is, most of the suppliers you can directly contact without much extra effort are just trade companies instead of original toy manufacturers.
In fact, most of the toy manufacturers in China don’t have a very large business scale, and most of their orders are placed by trade companies. And if you buy from those trade companies instead of buying from the manufacturers directly, you are bounded to pay extra money. A simple trick to distinguish original toy manufacturers from trade companies is to check their product categories. If you find a shop that has an overwhelmingly diversified product range, then it probably is a trading company.
If you want to learn more tips about finding reliable suppliers on Alibaba, check this blog I posted: Tips for Sourcing Good Suppliers on Alibaba: You Never Knew Before.
2. Find toy manufacturers in China on AliExpress and DHgate
AliExpress is also operated by the Alibaba Group – same as Alibaba.com, and DHgate is one of the earliest established online marketplaces in China. These 2 websites feature both retail and small wholesale. If your order quantity is relatively small, you can try to place your order on these two sites.
One thing to be noted is that most of the toy suppliers on these 2 sites use international express or e-package as their main shipping method since the MOQ (minimal order quantity) is too small for sea freight.
3. Find toy manufacturers in China through StrategicSourcing.com
For many new importers, processes like manufacturer searching, overseas shipping, and customs can be really troublesome and confusing. However, you can easily get rid of the painful bits by hiring a sourcing agent, which allows you to access their incredibly comprehensive manufacturer resources and get the most competitive wholesale prices.
StrategicSourcing is one of the most reputable sourcing agents online, also a leading company in the sourcing business in China. Starting from 2015, StrategicSourcing has helped thousands of importers fulfill their business visions. Under the current special international trading circumstance, relying on StrategicSourcing would be a very good option to run a hassle-free toy business
4. Find toy manufacturers in China on Made-in-China.com
Made-in-China.com is one of the oldest B2B marketplaces in China – even older than Alibaba.com. Compared with Alibaba, Made-in-China has stricter supplier entry standards and higher MOQ. Most of the suppliers on Made-in-China are big manufacturers or trading companies. So, if your order quantity is large enough, Made-in-China.com would be a rather good option to find reliable toy manufacturers.
Visit China’s Toy Manufacturing Clusters
There are several toy industry clusters, focused on different toy product niches, located in different places in China. Knowing the locations of these industry clusters and their respective featuring toys would help you a lot in identifying reliable suppliers. Here in this article, I’ll list the 5 main industry clusters to help you grasp a clear image of the toy manufacturing industry in China.
1. Chenghai, Guangdong Province—World’s Capital of Toys
If you have constant needs in purchasing toys in large quantities, then Chenghai might be one of the best options for you. You can find toy companies or factories, or things related to toys everywhere in this city.
What kinds of toy manufacturers are located in Chenghai?
The featuring toy categories in Chenghai include
- Chinese baby toys
- Plastic toys
- China electronic toys
- High-tech toys
90% of the toy factories located in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, or Hangzhou in the remote control toys business have to purchase accessories from factories in Chenghai. So, if your toy suppliers are in those areas other than Chenghai, you may have to pay higher purchase prices.
To elaborate on the powerful manufacturing chain in Chenghai, if a factory in Chenghai wants to produce a remote control toy car for you, they just simply need to assemble the main accessories they purchased from other factories in Chenghai who are dedicated to toy accessories such as circuit board factories or wheel factories. In that case, your purchase cost for this remote control toy car can be greatly reduced.
How do toy manufacturers in Chenghai work? How to find them?
Most of the manufacturers in Chenghai don’t have a dedicated sales team, and their English level is not very good as well. So, toy manufacturers in Chenghai usually send their samples to toy trade companies, and the trade companies will upload all their products to their Alibaba store or independent websites. When customers place orders on those stores and websites, the trading company will place orders to the toy companies.
There are several large toy trading companies that have their own showrooms which can be thousands of square meters. Customers can visit their showroom, choose products, and place orders. There are also many showroom companies in Chenghai where manufacturers can show their samples by renting display racks (one rack costs $500-$1000 per year).
2. Yiwu—The Biggest Small Commodities Distribution Center in The World
The featuring toys produced by toy manufacturers in Yiwu are mainly low-value toys like kids DIY craft toys. Yiwu is the right place to find small toys you can see every day in your country such as loom bands, magic sand, beads toys.
Apart from some DIY toys and low-value plastic toys, Yiwu has many Pool Rafts & Inflatable Ride-on factories, such as the Floating Flamingo, which was in very high demand a few years ago.
A comprehensive comparison between Yiwu and Chenghai
In general, regardless of the price, Yiwu gathers the most complete toy categories, you can easily find all kinds of toys such as plush toys, simple electronic toys here. There are some remote control and other high-tech toy suppliers in the market, but not at the most competitive prices, because there are no manufacturers of complicated remote control and high-tech in Yiwu.
Usually, the price of Yiwu toys is the lowest, but the quality is not as good as you would expect. Take a plastic toy as an example; the materials, glossiness, and color of the plastic toys produced in Chenghai are much better than those of Yiwu. Of course, the price of Yiwu will be half cheaper than that of Chenghai. To sum up, you need to make a balance between the price and quality according to your real demands.
If you are specialized in the plastic or electronic toy business, paying a visit to Chenghai would be a good option to wholesale toys. If you want to buy a variety of small toys, Yiwu might be a more suitable place.
3. Yangzhou/Qingdao—Where Plush and Stuffed Toys Are Mainly Produced
Although you can also find the plush toy manufacturers in Chenghai and Yiwu, the scale is relatively small. And in recent years, these plush and stuffed toy manufacturers have gradually moved to Jiangxi Province in China (Neighboring Zhejiang province) due to the high cost of production.
If you have a large order, I suggest that you go to Yongjia directly. You can take around 1-2 days and visit the factories with a local guide in the area. Generally, some factories of Yongjia and Wenzhou have booths in the Yiwu market, so you can also go to the Yiwu market directly to find the educational toy manufacturers.
4. Yongjia, Zhejiang Province: China’s Capital of Educational and Playground Toys for Kids
Qiaoxia, a small town located in Yongjia City, is the main place where educational and playground toys are produced in China. If you plan to visit China to source suppliers for this kind of toy, you can go to Qiaoxia town as many factories are gathering there.
If you are searching suppliers online, it’s better to pay attention to their locations in China and make sure they are from Wenzhou City, because Yongjia belongs to Wenzhou.
5. Yunhe, Lishui – City of Wooden Toys
Yunhe is rich in wood, which led to the development of the wooden toy industry. There are many wooden toy manufacturers in this area, also, there is a wooden toy market in Yunhe where you can go and find your toy supplier. But I suggest you hire an agent to follow up on the production because foreign visitors are rarely seen around there and the English level of the locals is not that good either.
If you have a large order quantity, you can find many big toy manufacturers there, and some of them are also the suppliers of well-known toy brands abroad. If your order quantity is relatively small, it would be harder for you to do customization unless you take some time to find a smaller factory that accepts customization with your order quantity.
Attend Chinese Toy Trade Shows
1. Yiwu Expo
Address: Yiwu International Expo Center, Jiangdong E Rd, Yiwu, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China
The China Yiwu International Commodities Fair (Yiwu Expo) is held at Yiwu every October. Being certificated by UFI, It is one of the largest export commodity exhibitions in China. There are more than 20 thousand buyers from all over the world who come to this expo every year, and till now, it has been held successfully for 25 sessions.
Toy is one of the main featuring categories of the Yiwu Expo. If you are interested in small and low-value toys, you can definitely expect some surprises from this exhibition.
2. Toy & Edu China
Address: Pazhou Poly World Trade Expo Center, Haizhu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
The Shenzhen International Toy & Education Fair is the largest toy show in South China. This show is focused on toys and educational games which include building blocks, plush toys, educational toys, wooden toys, board games and other categories, and it has been successfully held for 34 sessions. In the latest session of Toy & Edu China, the fair hosted more than 1400 exhibitors from 13 different countries and regions.
Attending this fair will give you access to the toy industry leaders, rising brands and other up-and-coming labels worldwide.
3. Beijing International Kindergarten Supplies Fair
Address: China International Exhibition Center, 6 N 3rd Ring Rd E, Chaoyang, Beijing, China
This show features educational toys and playground toys for preschool children. The latest session of this show covered an exhibition area of 21,500sqm and reached a turnover of RMB1, 200,000,000.
If you want to find manufacturers for toys like blocks, puzzles, and board games for younger children, you should add this fair to your visit list.
4. Hong Kong Toy & Games Fair
Address: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Toy & Games Fair is an export-oriented toy exhibition with a long history. The toy categories it features include plush toys, beach toys, hand-made toys, inflatable toys, baby toys, and educational toys.
The latest session of the Hong Kong Toy & Games Fair covered an exhibition area of 51,400sqm, hosted 2,110 exhibitors, and attracted over 40,000 buyers from 130 different countries and regions.
5. Chenghai International Toys & Gift Fair
Address: Chenghai Exhibition Center, 324 Guo Dao, Chenghai District, Shantou, Guangdong Province, China.
There are more than 3,000 toy manufacturers located in Chenghai – the biggest toy industry cluster in China. With all that manufacturer resources, the Chenghai International Toys & Gift Fair gathers the most capable manufacturers in Chenghai, attracts tens of thousands of professional toy buyers from hundreds of countries and regions and generated billions of transaction amounts
Final Words
If you think this guide to finding China toy manufacturers is helpful, feel free to share it with others. And leave a comment below about anything you want to ask or say about this article. We are StrategicSourcing, a leading sourcing company based in Yiwu, China. If you need help in sourcing and importing toys from China, or you are interested in some particular products, please feel free to CONTACT US.
