Elephant Parade

What Elephant Parade does

Elephant Parade is a Netherlands-domiciled (Elephant Parade International B.V., Aalsmeer) social enterprise and distribution company that designs, produces, and sells hand-painted elephant statues and figurines created by artists and celebrities. Founded in 2006, the company operates a 13-language direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform, a permanent flagship showroom and experience center called Elephant Parade Land in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and recurring open-air public art exhibitions (parades) in cities across Europe and Asia, including Amsterdam, Bangkok, Pattaya, Mons, and Gaasterland. Its product portfolio spans core collectible statues and figurines, seasonal items such as Christmas ornaments, gift cards, and a Digital Artbox customization tool, supplemented by an Artbox Contest for emerging artists.

The company's go-to-market is multi-channel: consumer sales are driven through the e-commerce site, newsletter marketing (offering a 10% first-order incentive), organic social media, and physical exhibitions that double as experiential retail; corporate revenue comes from B2B custom-designed branded statues and a reseller program enabling third-party retailers to stock its products. Revenue mechanics are predominantly one-time purchase of hand-painted art pieces, with pricing varying by artist, size, and complexity and no publicly disclosed price list. The company commits 20% of net profits to elephant welfare and conservation, with a contractual minimum of €25,000 per year to each of two named NGO partners (Elephant Family and Friends of the Asian Elephant). Leadership comprises Founder Mike Spits and Managing Director René de Wit, with no external funding rounds or parent company identified.

Name

Elephant Parade

Legal name

Elephant Parade International B.V.

Website

https://elephantparade.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Elephant Parade is a Netherlands-based social enterprise that designs, produces, and sells hand-painted elephant statues and figurines by artists and celebrities via a 13-language e-commerce platform, flagship showroom in Chiang Mai, and global public art exhibitions, donating 20% of net profits to elephant conservation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Decorative Collectible Art

NAICS

Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912), Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries (713)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Collectibles & Hobby Shows (MPAGAFAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Entertainment Memorabilia Retail (Film/TV/Music) (CRALAGAJ)

Keywords

• Hand-painted elephant statues
• Collectible decorative figurines
• Social enterprise art
• Celebrity designed sculptures
• Conservation themed merchandise

Headquarters

HQ city

Mueang Chiang Mai

HQ country

Thailand

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Art Statue and Figurine Sales: Direct sales of hand-painted elephant statues and figurines through their e-commerce platform and physical retail locations. Items range from collectible figurines to large-scale decorative pieces.
2. Corporate/B2B Custom Designs: Custom-designed elephant statues for corporate partners who wish to create branded pieces for exhibitions, corporate events, or as decorative elements. Includes design collaboration with artists.
3. Charitable Donations (20% of Net Profits): The company donates 20% of net profits to elephant welfare and conservation projects. This is a commitment built into their business model rather than a revenue stream.
4. Gift Cards: Gift card sales for their elephant art and decor products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Elephant Parade designs, commissions, and sells hand-painted elephant statues, collectible figurines, and decorative ornaments created by artists and celebrities. Products are sold directly to consumers through a multilingual e-commerce site, a flagship showroom in Chiang Mai, and global open-air art exhibitions, while custom B2B designs are commissioned by corporate partners. Twenty percent of net profits are donated to elephant welfare and conservation projects.

Product overview

Elephant Parade operates as a social enterprise combining art, business, and elephant conservation. The core offering consists of hand-painted elephant statues and figurines created by artists and celebrities, sold directly to consumers through the online shop and at physical locations. The product portfolio includes the main Elephant Statues and Figurines collection, the permanent Elephant Parade Land attraction in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the Digital Artbox design tool, and the Artbox Contest for emerging artists. The business offers B2B customized design services for corporate clients and manages a global parade exhibition program with partnerships across multiple cities. Additionally, the company maintains an Elephant Archive documenting all past parade statues and operates a reseller distribution program. A portion of profits (20%) is donated to elephant welfare and conservation projects, primarily to Elephant Family and Friends of the Asian Elephant.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Elephant Statues

Quantifiable outcome

• Minimum €25,000 per year donated to Elephant Family (conservation partner)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Elephant FamilycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerElephant Family is the official conservation partner of Elephant Parade - a registered NGO. Elephant Parade pledges to donate a minimum of €25,000 per year to Elephant Family for elephant welfare and conservation projects.
• Friends of the Asian ElephantcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFriends of the Asian Elephant is the home of Mosha, the famous elephant who received the world's first prosthetic leg. Elephant Parade pledges to donate a minimum of €25,000 per year to support their elephant welfare programs.
• Ricky GervaisflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCelebrity artist who creates hand-painted elephant statues for Elephant Parade exhibitions. Celebrity collaborators contribute unique designs that generate media attention and drive auction values for conservation.
• Richard BransonflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCelebrity artist who creates hand-painted elephant statues for Elephant Parade exhibitions. Celebrity collaborators contribute unique designs that generate media attention and drive auction values for conservation.
• Katy PerryflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCelebrity artist who creates hand-painted elephant statues for Elephant Parade exhibitions. Celebrity collaborators contribute unique designs that generate media attention and drive auction values for conservation.
• Tommy HilfigerflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCelebrity artist who creates hand-painted elephant statues for Elephant Parade exhibitions. Celebrity collaborators contribute unique designs that generate media attention and drive auction values for conservation.
• Khloe KardashianflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCelebrity artist who creates hand-painted elephant statues for Elephant Parade exhibitions. Celebrity collaborators contribute unique designs that generate media attention and drive auction values for conservation.
• Bryan AdamsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCelebrity artist who creates hand-painted elephant statues for Elephant Parade exhibitions. Celebrity collaborators contribute unique designs that generate media attention and drive auction values for conservation.
• Various Corporate Brand Partners (16 brands)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple corporate brands featured in Elephant Parade brand collaborations section. Specific brands not named in available sources.
• Seacon Square (Bangkok)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorShopping mall venue partner for Elephant Parade Bangkok 2025 exhibition at Seacon Square shopping center.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• CowParade: CowParade invented the same public-art exhibition format — painted life-size cow sculptures displayed in major cities worldwide and later auctioned for charity — making it the closest direct comparator to Elephant Parade's elephant parade model.
• Wild in Art: Wild in Art produces public sculpture trails (often animal-themed, e.g. Superlambanana) with corporate sponsorship and artist collaboration in the UK; same mechanism of decorated public sculptures combined with charity fundraising that drives Elephant Parade.
• Lladró: Lladró manufactures hand-painted collectible figurines sold through premium retail and gift channels worldwide, mirroring Elephant Parade's hand-painted collectible figurines and gift-driven retail positioning across both physical and e-commerce stores.
• Meissen: Meissen is a heritage manufacturer of hand-painted collectible porcelain figurines with global premium retail distribution, directly comparable to Elephant Parade's hand-painted, artist-signed collectibles sold as premium gifts and decor.
• Royal Copenhagen: Royal Copenhagen produces hand-painted collectible figurines sold through its own boutiques and wholesale, comparable to Elephant Parade's mix of artist-designed collectibles, branded sub-collections (e.g. Ellybank), and direct retail experience stores.
• Baccarat: Baccarat sells premium collectible decorative objects and figurines through flagship boutiques, gift collections, and limited editions — a brand-led collectible lifestyle comparable to Elephant Parade's premium positioning and gift-card-driven model.

Broad incumbents

• Swarovski: Swarovski operates at far larger scale as a mass-premium collectible figurine and decor brand with global boutiques; it overlaps with Elephant Parade in collectible animal/figurine product, premium positioning, and flagship-store retail, but is a much broader incumbent.
• Christie's: Christie's regularly auctions celebrity-linked charity art collectibles similar to those produced by Elephant Parade, providing the comparable secondary-market mechanism and pricing benchmarks that frame Elephant Parade's auction leg of the business.
• Sotheby's: Sotheby's handles charity art auctions including its 'Hearts of London' and similar sculpture-trail initiatives, providing the auction-house comparator for the auction portion of Elephant Parade's sales and pricing.

Others

• Etsy: Etsy is the marketplace analogue for handcrafted artisan goods sold by independent makers; comparable to Elephant Parade's Digital Artbox / Artbox Contest artist ecosystem in enabling small artists to monetise original designs to a global buyer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/elephant_parade
• Facebookfacebook.com/elephantparadefan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Elephant Parade