Publishing platform for personalised children’s books Wonderbly has been bought by private equity firm Graphite Capital.
Wonderbly sells its books direct to consumers in more than 150 countries, with international sales accounting for over 85 per cent of its revenues.
The company sold more than one million books in 2020 and, in May this year, won Children’s Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards.
Wonderbly has a fully integrated approach to creating, selling, marketing and manufacturing its books.
The business has developed proprietary software that enables it to render personalised images and manage orders from customers across the world with short delivery times.
This is complemented by a worldwide network of on-demand printers, creating a scaleable global model with no inventory.
The company is also in the early stages of using its technology to develop and market personalised products for third-party clients, including Warner Bros. and Universal. Wonderbly’s technology integrates with its clients’ systems, allowing them to market products through their own websites without inventory risk.
Wonderbly was founded by Asi Sharabi, David Cadji-Newby, Tal Oron and Pedro Serapicos in 2012. Following the success of its first children’s picture book, Lost My Name, it received funding on the television programme Dragon’s Den. They later received funding from venture capital investors including Google Ventures, Project A Ventures and Greycroft.
The company produces a range of 44 personalised children’s books. Revenue has grown by more than 20 per cent annually over the past three years to over £30 million. Wonderbly operates in a large and fast-growing sector. The global personalised gifting market is worth £19 billion and is growing at 9 per cent annually. The market for personalised children’s books is also growing rapidly, with consumers increasingly seeking unique educational gifts for children.
Wonderbly chief executive Asi Sharabi says: ‘We have been talking to Graphite for several years and, when it came to finding our next partners, they were top of our list. We were impressed by the experience of their team, their expertise in brand development and their shared vision for our future. We look forward to working with them on the next stage of our journey.’
Omar Kayat, Graphite senior partner, says: ‘Wonderbly has a talented management team which, in a short space of time, has built a high-quality business with a worldwide footprint and market-leading technology. We will work with Asi and his team to develop further corporate partnerships and expand Wonderbly into a broader digital media and technology company.’
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