Her love for indoor playgrounds inspired this mum of two to build Kiztopia, a play empire in Singapore

If you are a parent of young children, it would be hard to miss Kiztopia. This brand of mega indoor playgrounds has been rapidly sprouting across Singapore and beyond our little island.

In 2023 alone, five new Kiztopia playgrounds opened in Orchard Cineleisure, Jewel Changi Airport, Vivocity, SAFRA Choa Chu Kang and Woodleigh Mall, and two outlets opened in Thailand and Hong Kong. Kiztopia also launched several offsite pop-ups, such as Jumptopia Playful Wonders at Sands Expo and Convention Centre, and X’mas with a Splash at Vivocity during the year-end school holidays last year.

It might be misleading to call these spaces “playgrounds”. “Mega” is the operative word here – Kiztopia features huge slides, ball pits, bouncy castles and role-play zones larger than what you would typically associate with a conventional playground.

If you are curious as to what would inspire someone to build these giant wonderlands, you may be surprised to know that it started with a mum’s weekend dates with her kids.

Kiztopia’s story began when Heidi Tian relocated to Singapore from Hong Kong in 2012 with her two toddlers, who were then aged between one and two. As a banker and working mum, weekends were precious, and Tian took bonding time with her kids seriously.

“When the kids were young, we went out every weekend. We always had a full agenda each day, exploring the outdoors, museums and restaurants. We would go out in the morning, the kids would nap in the car, and we would continue in the afternoon,” the 48-year-old reminisced fondly.

One thing the mother-of-two loved was indoor playgrounds because it shielded her then young children from the scorching sun and heat.

However, she felt that options for indoor playgrounds were limited at that time, and those available were not as big as some of the places the China-born American had seen during her time in the United States and China.

Tian started to dream about the perfect indoor playground and three years later, in mid-2019, she launched a sprawling 18,000 sq ft playground at Marina Square. She called it Kiztopia.

A UTOPIA FOR KIDS

Inspired by the Disney animated film Zootopia, Kiztopia features its own animal characters, including a bear, rabbit and tiger. A play on the words “kids” and “utopia”, the playzone has whimsical themes such as space travel, aviation and underwater exploration, providing ample space for little ones to bounce off their energy.

Tian consciously designed the playground to be a “more protective environment”. Besides protecting kids from the sun and rain, she also trained Kiztopia staff to be more attentive to kids, and look out for their physical and mental well-being, ensuring that there was no fighting and bullying, she said.

The playground is also designed to encourage children to practise not just their motor skills, but also social and emotional skills through play. For example, at the role-play room, kids can pretend to be chefs, storekeepers, firemen and policemen.

“Kids don’t feel any pressure, but at the same time, they learn something so parents don’t feel like they are wasting their time,” Tian, who is also Kiztopia’s chief executive officer, explained.

Underscoring all of this is a conducive environment for parents to spend quality time with their kids.

“The world is very connected right now, but sometimes, it’s simply too much. I personally feel that my kids are on phones and screens a lot. Parents are also very busy with work, chores and social activities nowadays, so naturally, they may not engage with kids too much in the house,” she said.

“Going to the playground is good motivation for kids to be away from their screens, and for parents to be more involved in the play experience. It is also a good social gathering platform where parents can gather with other parents and their kids,” said Tian, who is now a Singapore permanent resident.

FROM INSPIRATION TO EXECUTION

Building an indoor playground was a huge leap for Tian, who had been in banking most of her working life. But the mumpreneur found great fulfilment when she overcame challenges to open her first outlet at Marina Square in mid-2019.

Business was brisk for the first few months – until COVID-19 hit in 2020. Like most business operators, Tian struggled to manage cash flow for manpower, rental and operating costs during the pandemic. When operations resumed after the circuit breaker, she had to navigate social distancing and group size restrictions challenges.

Finally, in 2021, business picked up and Tian expanded to two new outlets at Punggol Town Square and Jurong Point. Kiztopia also won the Best Attraction Experience award at the Singapore Tourism Awards that year. 

In 2022, she launched Kiztopia’s first outlet in Hong Kong. And in 2023, she launched five more outlets locally under Kiztopia and its sub-brands Kiztopia Club and Bouncetopia, and another outlet in Hong Kong and Thailand, bringing the total tally to 11 outlets.

Before each launch, the team brainstorms and discusses fun concepts for different age groups, as well as features such as wall games, music and interactive visuals to curate a multi-sensory experience, said Tian.

“The idea I am proudest of is the Mojo Zone at Kiztopia Marina Square. It features a giant ball pit with a spiral twin slide which is visible from the second floor of the mall where shoppers who walk by have a great bird’s-eye view,” she said.

TAKEAWAYS OF A MUMPRENEUR

From seeking new weekend experiences for her kids to running her own playground empire, Tian has come very far. Looking back, she reflected that one of the unexpected rewards of her entrepreneurship journey is the impact it has had on her own children.

“The kids are very proud of what I do. They observe the hard work I put [into the business] and can see the results. [Through this], they have learnt that putting in effort works and delivers results. And they have picked up [this attitude] and put it into their day-to-day life,” she said.

Tian’s two children also love helping out, conceptualising pop-up events, modelling for Kiztopia’s marketing materials, and working as mascots for the meet-and-greet sessions when Kiztopia launched its first outlet in Hong Kong in 2022.

A proud mother, Tian said that her children, now 12 and 13, are very independent. However, because of these experiences and the bonding time they had throughout their childhood, they are also close to the family.

Tian hopes Kiztopia can provide a platform for other parents to build strong bonds with their kids too.

“To me, the ages between two and 10 in a child’s life are very precious. This is when children are very attached to parents. Whenever you go out, they are very excited about it,” she mused.

“Kids grow up so fast. The next thing you know, they are already eight or nine years old. From my own observation, that is when they start to become a bit more detached because they have their own world. They also tend to stay in their room a bit more.”

“So day-to-day bonding is important, especially when children are young. Bonding comes from various different things – sometimes you cook for the kids, sometimes you read books to them, sometimes you teach them or give them money.

“But of these, playing is the most fun way to bond and the thing that kids usually remember the most. It builds a lot of good memories for kids and parents,” she said.