Company History
Plush Packet Inc. (PPI) was formed in 1993 when CEO and founder, Grant Strickler, had a vision of promoting pre-school and elementary-level technology learning by using fun cartoon characters. Grant had been a career educator in early childhood education with a passion for technology in the classroom. He retired from his teaching position after thirty years of service to start PPI.
In the first year, PPI released two hardcover titles for pre-school reading. The content within those titles was infused with multimedia and technology education. More importantly, the titles introduced the lead talking animal character, Packet the Porcupine, and his friends Byte the Bear, Wire the Weasel, and Router the Raccoon. Teachers were given exercises for students which corresponded to the books. In the classroom, teachers were supplied with plush toys of some of the characters in the stories to help captivate students.
Over the next 10 years, PPI expanded to offer other titles for elementary school children, based on the same characters. Sales grew as more units were sold and the company grew to more than 25 employees. Grant decided at this time to expand into new markets. PPI developed a series of highly successful educational DVDs, CD-ROMs, and web-based multimedia that would be sold directly to parents. They also expanded their line of plush toys, and began to sell them at retail stores.
Since 2003, PPI has continued to grow. Most of its success can be attributed to a partnership between PPI and a major reseller of toys and educational media, EduCorp. A contract with EduCorp led to an episodic “Packet the Porcupine” children’s television program that was syndicated in major markets. Packet’s soaring popularity has also led to some less successful ventures, such as the Packet the Porcupine comic book, board game and the spin-off of some new characters and toys, which have yet to turn a profit.
PPI is currently still expanding, approaching $100 million in sales annually, with a staff of 350. In addition to the Los Angeles, CA headquarters, PPI has opened satellite offices in both Chicago, IL and Washington, DC and has outsourced toy production to a contract company in China.