Children’s screen-free audiobook pioneer Voxblock prepares for Black Friday and Christmas boom

An Edinburgh-based venture that offers a screen-free audiobook for young readers is confident that it can quadruple sales this Christmas on the back of record growth throughout 2024.

Voxblock, which has also hired a new commercial director and a head of operations, made the prediction following a period that has seen sales triple as the business expands into new sectors and channels.

The lead up to Christmas is traditionally the busiest time of year for the children’s audiobook business, with last year seeing sales more than double during the festive countdown. This year, the brand, which was founded by parents Rebecca Lundgren and Tom Williams, is targetting the key present-buying period with the launch of Black Friday discounts on Voxblock players and audiobooks.

The Voxblock player, which was developed in Scotland, offers an expanding library of more than 250 stories.

The past year has seen the capital business triple sales having expanded its offering with the launch of Voxblock Schools, added new distribution channels and entered the Australian market. The firm now has more than 100 schools using its players to help build literacy in the classroom, and earlier this year it announced partnerships with schools retailers Browns Books and Scotia and Chameleon.

Meanwhile, Wisarut Jantarasorn has joined the company as commercial director having previously led growth at Intelligentpos, Zettle and Paypal. Another key hire has seen Rachel Bishop join as head of operations, harnessing her previous experience from working with start-ups Mr Bamboo Cup, Kalinko and Playable Technology.

Co-founder Lundgren said: “This year has been a bumper year for Voxblock as more and more children have discovered the joy of listening to our screen-free audiobooks and allowing their imaginations to take flight. Our entry into the schools market has really augmented our understanding around the power of audiobooks as a literacy aid especially for young or reluctant readers. Black Friday and then Christmas is undoubtedly our busiest time of year and it has been great to welcome Wis and Rachel to the team to help deliver on this.”

Designed for children from toddlers to teens, the Voxblock player, which was developed in Scotland, offers an expanding library of more than 250 stories. The venture said it was committed to sustainability and has created a “life-long product that can be repaired, recycled and redeployed”.

As well as team growth, the firm has continued to expand its audiobook catalogue, adding an additional 60 titles this year to date. The latest additions range from beloved characters Peppa Pig and Bing, to renowned authors such as Terry Pratchett and Helena Duggan. Other family favourites include Even More Paddington, The Worst Witch and The Jolley Rogers Series.

The venture has also added Klarna payments “to make it as easy as possible for parents to purchase”.

Voxblock was founded in 2022 by Lundgren and Williams who were inspired by their own young daughters’ needs for a distraction-free audiobook player. With a focus on sustainability, the players and books have a minimum number of component parts to ensure a repairable product with a long lifespan. Voxblock is fully designed and assembled in Scotland.