Children’s audio platform Yoto has made its largest Canadian retail expansion to date through a new partnership with Indigo, bringing its screen-free audio players, cards and accessories to 90 stores across the country.
The products launched August 5 in Indigo’s Kids departments and on Indigo.ca. Dedicated branded displays have been introduced in stores to help families explore Yoto’s card-based audio system, which gives children control over the stories, music and other content they hear.
The rollout marks Yoto’s first major national retail partnership in Canada after approximately four and a half years of building its direct-to-consumer business in the market.
Karen Zakeri, Country Manager for Yoto Canada, said the company waited until its Canadian operations, content library and fulfilment capabilities were ready to support expansion on a national scale.
“Canada has always been a key market for us. Yoto fans here have been some of our most loyal from day one,” she said. “But we wanted to earn this moment rather than rush it.”
Canadian Growth Drives National Retail Expansion
The Indigo partnership follows a period of considerable Canadian growth for Yoto. According to the company, Canada was its largest growth market globally last year, recording a 50 per cent year-over-year increase.
Much of that growth occurred without a major national bricks-and-mortar presence. Yoto had concentrated on its direct-to-consumer channel, supported by Amazon, paid media, word of mouth and a smaller network of independent retailers.
Zakeri said the strength of demand, despite limited physical availability, showed that the Canadian market was ready for a broader rollout.
“When organic demand outpaces your physical availability at that rate, it’s a clear signal the market is ready for you to show up in a bigger way,” she said. “Indigo allows us to meet that demand where families already are.”
Founded by Ben Drury and Filip Denker in 2017, Yoto offers two principal devices: the Yoto Player and the portable Yoto Mini. Children choose what to hear by inserting physical audio cards into the players, without navigating a conventional phone or tablet interface.
Yoto’s catalogue includes more than 1,200 stories, songs, activities and other audio experiences. The platform carries original programming and licensed or co-created content from publishers, music companies and entertainment brands. Its players have no cameras, microphones or advertising.
Building the Canadian Business Before Scaling
Yoto developed its Canadian business gradually, focusing first on the operational foundation needed to serve customers reliably.
Before entering a national retail partnership, the company wanted to ensure its distribution, fulfilment and content offering were properly established for Canada. Zakeri said Yoto did not want to copy the approach used in its more mature markets without considering the needs of Canadian families.
“This launch with Indigo represents the moment all of that came together,” she said. “It’s not the start of our Canadian strategy, but it’s proof that now, the foundation is right, and we can build on it with confidence.”
Physical retail adds another route to market for a company that will continue to place considerable importance on direct sales.
Yoto’s own platform allows the company to maintain relationships with customers, observe purchasing patterns and respond quickly to feedback. Indigo gives the brand exposure to families who may be unfamiliar with the system or who want to handle a player and understand how its cards work before purchasing.
“DTC and retail aren’t competing channels for us. They’re complementary,” Zakeri said. “DTC lets us build direct relationships and respond quickly to what families want; retail like Indigo lets us put the product in front of new families who may not have discovered us yet, in a setting where they can see, touch and experience it in person.”
That physical interaction is particularly relevant for a product built around an ecosystem of players, audio cards and accessories. The Indigo partnership puts Yoto in front of parents who are already browsing children’s books, educational products and gifts.
Why Indigo Was Selected
Yoto selected Indigo because of the retailer’s national reach and longstanding association with books, storytelling and discovery.
“Indigo isn’t just a retailer to Canadian families; it’s a cultural institution,” Zakeri said. “It’s where parents already go to build a love of reading and discovery in their kids, from picture books to gifts to experiences.”
Yoto extends that connection with storytelling into audio. Its card-based format allows children to select and control their own stories, music and learning content independently.
Nicole Savo, Kids Senior Category Manager at Indigo, said the product aligned with the retailer’s focus on encouraging a lasting interest in reading and learning.
“At Indigo, everything we do is rooted in inspiring a lifelong love of reading and learning,” she said. “We’re thrilled to bring Yoto to our customers because they share that same belief—that stories have the power to spark imagination, creativity and connection.”
Savo said Yoto also gives families a way to keep children engaged with stories without relying on a conventional screen, whether they are at home, travelling or spending time outdoors.
The products are available through Indigo’s Kids departments in 90 stores nationwide and through the retailer’s website.
Dedicated Displays and a Larger Holiday Presence
Yoto has been introduced through dedicated branded displays within Indigo’s existing Kids sections.
The approach places the products alongside categories associated with children’s reading, learning and imaginative play, while giving Yoto a clear visual identity within the department. The displays are intended to help shoppers understand the players and browse the card library.
Zakeri said Yoto would appear more prominently within the Indigo ecosystem during the holiday season, although the companies have not yet disclosed details of the planned activity.
The holiday period is likely to be an important test of how the brand performs in a national retail setting, particularly among shoppers encountering Yoto for the first time while looking for children’s gifts.
The Yoto Mini and travel-oriented content have already generated strong interest among Canadian customers, according to Zakeri. She said families are using the portable player during cottage weekends, road trips and flights.
Yoto is also seeing demand for recognizable entertainment properties and music tied to current cultural interests, including Disney and K-pop. Other areas of interest include original stories, music discovery and audio developed for bedtime or focus routines.
Make Your Own cards have consistently ranked among the company’s bestselling products, Zakeri added. Families can use the cards to add their own recordings or audio, including stories, music and personal messages.
Demand for Tactile, Screen-Free Experiences
Yoto’s retail expansion comes as some parents reconsider the role of phones and tablets in children’s entertainment.
Zakeri said the company is seeing several consumer trends converge, including concern about unstructured screen time, interest in child-led play and renewed enthusiasm for tactile products that children can hold and collect.
Yoto’s physical cards allow children to browse and choose content without opening an app or navigating an illuminated screen. Once audio has been downloaded, Wi-Fi is not required for regular listening, according to the company.
Zakeri compared the interest in tangible children’s products with the resurgence of vinyl records and board games. In each case, the physical format becomes part of how consumers discover, organize and interact with the content.
For Yoto, the combination of physical cards and digital audio also creates opportunities for repeat purchases. Families can expand their libraries over time through individual titles, collections and user-created cards.
The system therefore sits across several retail categories, including children’s books, toys, consumer electronics, licensed entertainment and gifts. Indigo’s Kids departments give the company a setting where those categories already overlap.
Canadian Authors and French-Language Content
As its distribution expands, Yoto is also working to make its content and marketing more specific to the Canadian market.
The company ran a dedicated Canada Day campaign for the first time in 2026, highlighting Canadian content and interests. It has partnered with Canadian parent communities and is exploring collaborations with domestic brands.
Content localization will be another priority. Yoto is pursuing work involving Canadian authors and examining opportunities to expand its Quebec French-language library.
“We want Yoto to feel like it was made for Canadian families,” Zakeri said.
The company is also preparing to launch a partnership with a major Canadian author during the holiday season. Yoto has not yet identified the author or disclosed details of the project.
The French-language opportunity could help the brand reach more families in Quebec and other bilingual markets. It also supports Yoto’s goal of building a Canadian offering informed by local customer demand.
Further Retail Partnerships Planned
Indigo is Yoto’s first major Canadian retail partner, though the company plans to continue broadening its physical distribution.
Zakeri said Yoto would pursue retailers whose values and customer base align with the brand. She did not identify prospective partners or provide a timeline for additional announcements.
Over the next 12 to 24 months, Yoto’s Canadian strategy will centre on expanding its business-to-business retail network, developing partnerships with Canadian brands and communities, and using customer feedback to guide product and content decisions.
Those priorities could lead to a deeper French-language catalogue, further Canadian author collaborations and content connected to emerging cultural interests.
“Canadian families grew this business on trust,” Zakeri said. “Our responsibility now is to honour that as we scale into what comes next.”
The Indigo rollout gives Yoto a national physical platform after Canadian consumers had already demonstrated demand through online purchases and recommendations within parent communities. It also provides a foundation for the company’s next stage of growth, connecting wider retail availability with a more localized Canadian content strategy.
