Rachele Harmuth is the chief product officer at CrunchLabs, where she leads product strategy and innovation as the company expands beyond its successful subscription business into new toy and education verticals. With more than 30 years of toy industry leadership across Scholastic, Ravensburger, Fat Brain Toys, and K’NEX, Harmuth is a fearless change-maker harnessing the power of play to drive meaningful innovation and address the youth mental health crisis. She founded MESH Helps, a nonprofit dedicated to building resilience in kids through play, and serves as its board president, having mobilized the industry with research-driven solutions including the groundbreaking MESH Accreditation Program that evaluates toys for their ability to develop resilience-building skills. Harmuth’s dedication to innovation and educational play aligns with CrunchLabs’ unique position at the intersection of education and entertainment, where she is creating STEM experiences that inspire kids to see themselves as builders, problem-solvers, and future innovators.
After three decades in the toy industry, I’ve watched the retail landscape transform from a straightforward product-placement game to something far more complex and, frankly, far more exciting. The shift isn’t limited to toys — it’s happening across every category. The brands winning shelf space today aren’t the ones with the biggest marketing budgets or...