Get Ready for More Silly Bandz Products and the Back to School Craze!

If you thought Silly Bandz were huge now, just wait! The silicone, stretchy bracelets are looking to be just the beginning according to a USA Today article. What’s up next for the brand? Big stuff I tell ya!

Silly Bandz and its gaggle of copycat rivals aren’t taking a summer vacation.

Instead, they’re spending the summer rolling out related products — such as Silly Necklaces that can hold gobs of the bands and Silly Bandz that change colors in the sun. That’s even as Silly Bandz and competitors Logo Bandz, Crazy Bands and Zanybandz prepare for a back-to-school onslaught.

I love telling our readers about hot items like Silly Bandz, but more than that, I love a good toy inventor story and the Silly Bandz mania is one of the best stories. In his first substantive interview, Silly Bandz creator Robert Croak talks about what his dreams were and what his childhood looked like.

“My dream was to be a pro baseball player — or an inventor,” says the quasi-punk-haired, bespectacled Croak, who thrives on acting zany — much like a Curious George with business savvy.

He says his clearest memory of his childhood here is taking apart toasters to see how they work. Now, he’s taking apart Toyland with a $4.95-a-24-pack fad some retail experts say will leave Beanie Babies and Webkinz in the kid-trend dust. Bandz and imitators are estimated to now be a $200 million-a-year business — with $1 billion a future possibility.

“All of this came from one guy, not some major corporation with huge teams of designers,” says Croak, who has three designers on staff. “It’s me — and my toys.”

Amazing isn’t it? Be sure and read the rest of the article here. You can also check out the line of Silly Bandz here.