Wigan toy company sees surge in demand

The company was founded two years ago by John Nolan and his wife Daniela as a concern selling on Amazon but now has its own online store.

And this year, with bricks-and-mortar retailers having been forced to close their doors and shopping heading online for months due to the coronavirus pandemic, customers have been flocking to Minuenta.

The firm sells toys which it hopes will aid children’s development and board games which families can play together, as well as sensory toys for youngsters with learning difficulties or physical disabilities.

The company has called on the expertise of Abbey Metcalfe, who is a future skills tutor, to help its growth in the latter area.

John, who lives in Garswood, said: “We have seen a humungous increase in demand with people not being able to go out and physically purchase toys for their children.

“People don’t want to be standing in long queues so the whole e-commerce space is growing substantially and our online store is blowing up.

“We’re looking to identify ourselves with tactile, sensory toys for children who may have some learning challenges or difficulties.

“We do an awful lot of arts and crafts and a lot of board games, because we’re all about getting families around the table and off their computers and phones.

“We also do lots of role-playing toys. We don’t want things children will play with for five minutes and we like toys which are similar to what adults do on a day-to-day basis.

“It’s about enabling parents to understand how they can use toys to help their children, rather than just leaving them in a corner playing with a toy.”

John and Daniela have not had the easiest road into business as when they made the move to the UK from Germany they initially faced serious racism problems.

However, when they moved to Garswood they received a lot of support from elected representative Coun Sue Murphy.

Giving something back to the community is therefore an important aspect of Minuenta, with the firm donating £500 worth of toys last Christmas to children who otherwise might not have had anything to open on December 25 and planning to help others again this festive season.

The company is also running a promotion to support Children in Need.

Looking ahead to next year John says Minuenta is looking to start a click-and-collect service for its online store but the company is also looking to work more closely with British manufacturers due to Brexit.

To find out more about the business visit www.minuenta.co.uk

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