Helping to Benefit the World, One Token, Plushie, and Storybook at a Time!
In this episode of Behind the Print, we’re joined by Karalyne Ley, CEO of Bene World Toys. With an extensive background in early childhood education, Karalyne share her unique approach to teaching children important lessons on benevolence, kindness, respect, and other essential skills on spreading good.
Below, you’ll find the transcript of our conversation, edited for clarity to ensure easy reading. If you want the full, authentic experience, make sure to check out the video attached below.
Connor: Welcome back to the Behind the Print Podcast, where we feature industry leaders and uncover the creative minds and their businesses within the world of professional printing. Our mission is to provide inspiring, actionable resources that elevate your business projects and accelerate your journey to excellence, profit, and print.
Today’s episode is Helping to Benefit the World, One Token, Plushie, and Storybook at a Time. Joining me today is the CEO of Bene World Toys, Karalyne Ley. Karalyne, welcome to the podcast.
Karalyne: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
Connor: If you’re ready, let’s dive right in. Sound good?
Karalyne: Absolutely.
Connor: So tell me a little bit about yourself and what you do.
Karalyne: Sure. I formed a company called Bene World Toys, and our focus is on providing educational plush kits for kids. These are not just your typical stuffed animals. They’re stuffed animals with a purpose.
We really wanted to try to benefit the world by teaching kids valuable skills and lessons they can carry with them as they grow. Our plushies focus on helping kids learn how to be good team members, good friends, and good listeners. We teach what the word respect means, along with kindness, patience, empathy, and all of those great skills parents want their kids to have and that we, as adults, need to role model for them.
The storybooks come along with the plushies, and we also have a unique token reward system with one of our product lines. That’s something we’re really excited about.
Connor: What inspired you to create Bene World Toys?
“We really wanted to try to benefit the world by teaching kids valuable skills and lessons they can carry with them as they grow. Our plushies focus on helping kids learn how to be good team members, good friends, and good listeners. We teach what the word respect means, along with kindness, patience, empathy, and all of those great skills parents want their kids to have and that we, as adults, need to role model for them.”
Karalyne: It started with my background. I’ve been a teacher all my life. I was also a children’s business franchise owner for many years and taught very young children, up until about the age of eight.
Over the years, I noticed a gap. Kids aren’t always learning at a young age what it means to be respectful or what it means to listen to their teacher in school. These are things we often take for granted as adults.
With my own three kids, I started something at home where, as a family, we decided we were going to teach benevolence and what that means. We wanted to teach our kids how to give back to their communities, whether that was through donations, helping a neighbor, or volunteering at an animal shelter. Whatever that looked like for our family, that’s what we focused on.
That approach was really successful with my kids, and I decided to create something that could reach more families. Even today, teachers are using these systems in their classrooms, but I wanted to provide another tool for parents to use with their kids.
Our first product was called the Bene Bear, which helps teach kids what benevolence means through a token reward system.
Connor: Totally. Let’s see it.
Karalyne: This is the Bene Bear. He has on a little kind-hearted shirt, and he comes with a storybook that we had printed with PrintingCenterUSA. The book is called Bene Bear Benefits the World.
It has simple illustrations, but it teaches kids all of those great things we talked about, like respect, empathy, giving, and why those traits are important.
The idea is that when a child shows one of those character traits, they earn a token. The token actually goes into the top of the bear’s head, almost like a piggy bank for good behaviors and positive actions. Once they reach 15 tokens, there’s a zippered pouch in the back. You unzip it, take out all the tokens, and turn them in for a reward. Then you can reuse the tokens and start again.
Connor: That’s awesome. Where did the name Bene come from?
Karalyne: Bene stands for benevolence, which was my major focus at the beginning. The book is written to describe what benevolence means and to teach kids about it.
We also received a lot of feedback from parents early on. They told us they loved that we were addressing kindness, empathy, and respect as well. Bene Bear became an all-encompassing character that represents positive traits in general.
“Bene stands for benevolence, which was my major focus at the beginning. The book is written to describe what benevolence means and to teach kids about it.”
Connor: You touched on this a bit already, but what can you tell me about your typical clients?
Karalyne: We serve a lot of families. Moms, dads, grandparents, and even teachers are using them in classrooms. We also have childhood therapists using them because the reward system works for almost anything.
Some families use it for potty training. Others use it for cleaning up their room. It doesn’t have to be just about character traits. It can be anything a child needs to work on.
Kids love plushies. They take ownership of them. It’s so much more exciting than a sticker chart or marbles in a jar. It becomes their little piggy bank, and that makes the process more fun and meaningful.
Connor: Bene World Toys is already unique, but how do you stand out from other businesses in your field?
Karalyne: One big thing is quality. We work really hard to keep everything top-notch. We ship everything ourselves, and before anything leaves our warehouse, we inspect it to make sure it’s good to go.
The token reward system is really what sets us apart. There isn’t anything else like it on the market.
Another big differentiator is our books. A lot of plush sets with books are licensed characters, but ours are unique. We work with a local artist who’s well known in the Southeast. She’s done all of our illustrations, and they’re beautiful. We get comments on them all the time. They don’t look mass-produced, and that’s very intentional.
Connor: How do you come up with all these characters?
Karalyne: After I started the company, my mother joined me. She’s also a former teacher, so we come up with ideas together.
We start by deciding what lesson we want to teach. For example, our horse character teaches kids about managing their emotions, which is such a big focus right now. Kids first need to learn what emotions are and then how to deal with them.
Once we have the concept, we figure out which animal best represents that lesson.
“We start by deciding what lesson we want to teach. For example, our horse character teaches kids about managing their emotions, which is such a big focus right now. Kids first need to learn what emotions are and then how to deal with them.”
Connor: Do you have plans for more characters?
Karalyne: We do. We have a few more in the works. We’re also exploring opportunities with a couple of colleges and potentially working with mascots. We’re actively developing those ideas.
Connor: Can you tell me about any major milestones or accomplishments that have defined Bene World Toys?
Karalyne: We’ve won about 18 or 19 awards, which has been incredibly validating. These awards come from moms, educators, and childhood therapists. They’re not pay-to-play awards. They involve real evaluations, and that means a lot to us.
One of the awards we’re most proud of is the Mesh Award, which stands for mental, emotional, and social health. That award recognizes products that address all three areas for kids.
This past year, our horse character, Halo the Horse, along with its storybook, was named one of the Forbes Top 100 Gifts for the holidays. That was really exciting for us.
“We’ve won about 18 or 19 awards, which has been incredibly validating. These awards come from moms, educators, and childhood therapists. They’re not pay-to-play awards. They involve real evaluations, and that means a lot to us.”
Connor: Congratulations. That’s huge.
Karalyne: Thank you. It was definitely a proud moment.
Connor: What about challenges or obstacles? Is there anything holding your business back right now?
Karalyne: Brand awareness is our biggest challenge. It’s just the two of us, and getting the word out is hard.
We’ve been able to get into some gift shops and sell on Amazon, and we do local fairs and markets. But when you’re competing against much larger toy companies, it’s always harder for a small business. Getting people to understand who we are and what our mission is takes time.
Connor: Switching gears a bit, if you had a completely free day to spend however you wanted, how would you spend it?
Karalyne: Personally, I’d go to the beach with my family and just relax. I’m a beach girl.
Connor: Where are you located?
Karalyne: We’re in Knoxville, Tennessee. I love the mountains too, but if I had to choose, I’d be headed to the coast.
Connor: One last question. How can listeners get in touch with you or purchase one of your kits?
Karalyne: Our website is www.benebeargiving.com. We’re also on Amazon with some of our products and on TikTok Shop as well.
Connor: Did you have any questions for me?
Karalyne: No, just thank you for printing our beautiful books and helping us with all of our printing needs. It’s been great working with you.
Connor: Absolutely. We appreciate it. That’s a wrap on another episode of Behind the Print. Thank you to our listeners for joining us as we explored the artistry and innovation of the printing world.
Remember, having a strong vision, building the right strategy, and using tools like print to amplify your message will make your brand stand out from the crowd. If you enjoyed today’s episode, be sure to get your sample pack from printingcenterusa.com and share it with your fellow business enthusiasts. Until next time, keep those creative sparks flying, and remember there’s always more to discover Behind the Print.
