With rapid urbanisation and a dearth of play areas for children, it has become imperative to provide other forms of educative entertainment, which provides both the mind and the body with exercise. This is a reason people are drawn to malls – to engage in activities and experiences that may not be otherwise easily accessible, and this is also the reason why Family Entertainment Centers (FECs) are being touted as the next big thing in the field of entertainment in shopping centres in India.
Seeing this ever-expanding opportunity of FECs in malls, Happy Planet – an indoor play and gaming area for young adults up to the age of 16 years – was launched in 2010. Built on the philosophy of designing the best experiences for patrons, its mission is to spread smiles among families. Today, the brand is in its tenth year of operations and has centres in Phoenix Market City Mumbai and Pune.
“Happy Planet is not only meant for children but also for young adults, hence it is a perfect place for a family outing. It offers physical activities and activities focused on playzones,” states Nimish Kenia, Co-Founder, Happy Planet.
Unique Experiences
Talking about the USP of Happy Planet, Mumbai, Kenia shares, “Happy Planet is full of classic fun features to entertain and exhaust kids from ball pits and slides to tunnels and cargo nets, with a dedicated toddler section offering smaller versions of fun without big feet charging by. Children can indulge in activities like climbing, running, balancing, jumping and sliding.”
Happy Planet Active Play Park in Pune is a one of a kind physical play focused centre wherein kids can really be kids and grownups can be kids again.
“The 10-zoneplay park – Trampoline, Aerial Adventure, Skate Carting, Thrill Slides, Football in the Air, Indoor Zipline, Net Maze, Ninja Challenge, Crazy Crossover – engages kids and adults alike and offers an absolutely unique and unparalleled experience,” explains Kenia.
USP & Safety
The safety standards follow a global benchmark. Each gaming zone has an SOP and is tested before commissioning. Security and mock tests of games are performed every morning.
“We revamp the gaming zones and update it with the latest offerings in every three years. We do regular follow up checks to ensure the safety of consumers. We have deployed 20-25 staff members in each game zone to take care of kids and guide them wherever necessary. We constantly maintain the machines and we have an internal team for the same,” he explains.
It is not only safety that is of paramount importance, it is also hygiene and cleanliness, which is thorough, in that every single element of every machine is cleaned daily.
Expansion Plans
Kenia has robust expansion plans in store for Happy Planet. He intends to grow progressively, spreading its reach to most markets but in a staged manner. For now, Happy Planet will be opening two more outlets in the next quarter. Apart from this, the brand is exploring more avenues to open more outlets soon.
“We have no plans to develop synergies between online and offline gaming as we want kids and teens to explore the world outside of mobile gaming and experience outdoor games,” concludes Kenia.
