GREENVILLE, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Turn off the lights and turn on the fun! Innovation First Labs Inc., creator of the popular HEXBUG® Micro Robotic Creatures, today shed light on its rapidly-expanding expanding innovative product line including the TIA Specialty Toy of the Year Award Winning HEXBUG Nano Habitat Set, the new Glow in the Dark HEXBUG Nano Habitat Set, Glow in the Dark HEXBUG Nano Starter Set, and the first HEXBUG Nano Spiral Starter Set, to the 25,000 New York International Toy Fair attendees. The highly-coveted HEXBUG brand achieved record sales in 2010, and was featured as a must-have product on national broadcast shows including Live! With Regis & Kelly, The Rachel Maddow Show and The Today Show.
Unlike any other toy on the market, HEXBUG combines science and technology with kids’ innate love for bugs. Designed to foster children’s creativity, develop their fine-motor skills, and fuel hours of imaginative playtime, the Glow in the Dark HEXBUG Nano bugs and Habitat Sets will soon be found on the shelves of specialty retailers and toy shops nationwide. There is more to the HEXBUG Nano than meets the eye. Pop the top of a Nano test tube to gain access to the unique code that enables kids and families to register and keep track of their collection at www.handandstars.com online. The website is designed to engage kids with fun facts about real scientists and their discoveries, and to stimulate minds in increasingly difficult levels of game play.
“Innovation First is a company whose core foundation is centered on engineering, robotics and technology, and by applying our expertise to the toy division of our business we have successfully created a unique and world-recognized brand,” said Tony Norman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Innovation First International, Inc. “We spent extensive time and resources to engineer, develop, and perfect the HEXBUG brand, and we will continue to expand and evolve the innovative product line for decades,” continued Norman.
New HEXBUG products for Spring 2011 include:
- HEXBUG Nano Spiral Starter Set – HEXBUG Nano beginners and collectors can unleash their creativity as they build and construct the first HEXBUG Nano Spiral Starter Set. This Starter Set features one multi-level spiral, 16 standoff pieces, two hexagon pieces, and one extremely rare HEXBUG Nano mutation that can stretch its rubber legs as it traverses up and down the spiral. CPSIA approved for children 3 years and up; MSRP: $24.99; Available at retailers nationwide or online at www.hexbug.com.
- Glow in the Dark HEXBUG Nano Starter Set – The Glow in the Dark HEXBUG Nano Starter Set is perfect for any first time HEXBUG Nano owner. Each Glow in the Dark HEXBUG Nano Starter Set is expandable. Kids can build onto their habitat sets using additional track pieces until they’ve constructed their own little micro robotic community. CPSIA approved for children 3 years and up; MSRP: $19.99; Available at specialty retailers nationwide or online at www.hexbug.com.
- Glow in the Dark HEXBUG Nano Habitat Set – HEXBUG Nano owners can now create a customizable playground for the industrious critters to explore day or night using the expandable Glow in the Dark HEXBUG Nano Habitat Set. Using additional track pieces, kids can add to their habitat sets until they’ve constructed their own micro robotic communities. CPSIA approved for children 3 years and up; MSRP: $39.99; Available at specialty retailers nationwide or online at www.hexbug.com.
2010 exclusive product now open to retailers nationwide include:
- Glow in the Dark HEXBUG Nano – The Glow in the Dark HEXBUG Nano is a micro robotic bug that when switched on, skitters around to work its way through any maze, including compatible Habitat Sets! It can even flip to its feet when turned on its back. CPSIA approved for children 3 years and up; MSRP: $11.99; Available at specialty retailers nationwide or online at www.hexbug.com.
- Elevation Habitat Set – HEXBUG Nano collectors can unleash their creativity as they build and construct the expansive Elevation Habitat Set. Elevation features a multi-level spiral and bridges that can accommodate an entire HEXBUG Nano collection, and enable each Nano bug to stretch its rubber legs as it traverses through the sizable mini-community. The customized track includes one spiral ramp that rises two levels up, offering explorative HEXBUG Nano bugs the best view in town. CPSIA approved for children 3 years and up; MSRP: $59.99; Available at retailers nationwide or online at www.hexbug.com.
- Raceway Habitat Set – Ready, Set, Nano! Kids can race their HEXBUG Nano bugs by constructing their very own customizable Raceway Habitat Set. HEXBUG Nanos test their speed and take off out of the starting gates at a lightning pace in attempt to out-scurry their competition to the finish line, zooming through dangerous divides and tricky turns. CPSIA approved for children 3 years and up; MSRP: $59.99; Available at retailers nationwide or online at www.hexbug.com.
- HEXBUG Spider – This not-so-creepy crawler features 360 degree steering, an LED forward eye, and two-channel, user selectable infrared remote control. The two-channel remote control enables users to operate multiple bugs independently or at the same time. As the largest member of the HEXBUG family, the complexity of its internal mechanisms and six-legged crawling motion is truly hypnotizing! CPSIA approved for children 8 years and up; MSRP: $29.99; Available now at retailers nationwide or online at www.hexbug.com.
About HEXBUG and Innovation First:
HEXBUG® is a product line developed by Innovation First Inc., and distributed and marketed by Innovation First Labs, Inc., both wholly owned subsidiaries of privately held Innovation First International, Inc. The company was founded on the belief that innovation very early in the design process is necessary to produce simple and elegant product designs. Innovation First began developing electronics for unmanned mobile ground robots and is now an industry leader in research and development for the hobby, competition, education and toy markets.
Innovation First International’s three main subsidiaries, VEX Robotics, Inc., Innovation First Labs, Inc. (makers of HEXBUG® Micro Robotic Creatures), and RackSolutions, Inc. span the education, consumer and business-to-business markets. The VEX® Robotics Design System is the leading platform for middle school and high school education and competitive robotics. Leveraging the company’s core competency in electrical and mechanical engineering, the RackSolutions® division works closely with all major computer OEMs to provide custom mounting solutions and industry-wide rack compatibility for data installations of all sizes.
In the 2009 the company added offices in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Dongguan, China and the United Kingdom to better serve the global marketplace. The network was expanded to Canada in 2010 with the addition of an office, warehouse and distribution center located in Toronto. With an advanced in-house metal fabrication plant, distribution center and corporate office located together in a 13-acre complex in Greenville, Texas, the company is poised to continue on a rapid growth path. Please visit www.innovationfirst.com for additional information.