Hydro Toys LLC sought to make waves in the water toys industry, as they felt it “lacked innovation,” so they successfully developed a self-sealing and environment-friendly balloon.
Hydro Toys LLC, a part of Austin-based Blue Matrix Labs LLC, has already placed its Zorbz water balloons in 120 Bed Bath & Beyond stores, more than 4,600 Rite Aid stores as well as on Amazon.com. Blue Matrix Labs CEO Kendall Harter said they are targeting between 100 and 200 Toys “R” Us and Five Below stores for the upcoming launch phase of summer.
Zorbz aims to provide families with an alternative for children that isolate themselves with technology. Instead of having their face glued to a tablet or video-game screen, they can play outdoors and have water balloon fights to connect with their friends and communities.
“We first had the idea for Zorbz over nine months ago when we found that the water toy industry lacked innovation in some areas. It was a company agenda to have a high-quality, biodegradable water balloon that was made in the USA,” Harter said.
Zorbz is comprised of Goodyear latex and the balloons are made using aircraft-quality aluminum molds. The valve system is made of out of a non-toxic and biodegradable material. The water balloons are manufactured in Ashland, Ohio; El Dorado, Kansas; and Dallas, Texas.
Blue Matrix Labs started as a self-funded company in 2012. Harter expects Blue Matrix to be profitable by 2015 with projected revenue of $25M. The company has added several brands to its portfolio, including iWich, a sandwich maker to be released in 2016, and SHAGS, a furniture line.
