Chrysalis Group

What Chrysalis Group does

Chrysalis Group Limited is a privately-held New Zealand early childhood education (ECE) company founded by Dr. Darius Singh and Nikeeta Singh. It operates a family of five physical childcare centres across Auckland and Tauranga — Chrysalis Early Learning Centre (Avondale), Magic Kingdom Childcare (Blockhouse Bay), Gaia (Earth) Forest Preschool (Hillpark/Manurewa), Fern Garden Preschool (Otumoetai, Tauranga), and Milky Way Childcare (Newmarket/Auckland CBD, opening soon) — serving families with children aged 0-5. The group reported a milestone of 1,000+ enrolled children in July 2018.

The company's differentiation rests on two proprietary assets: the trademarked Gaia (Earth) Education Philosophy® framework, which integrates Reggio Emilia, Montessori, Waldorf, Pikler, forest-school, and Friluftsliv pedagogies within an Earth-systems-inspired environment; and Learning Roots and Shoots®, a patented online parent-portal technology that visualises each child's learning progress on a live 'learning tree'. Centres are built to 150-200% of Ministry of Education space standards, staff-to-child ratios run 20% better than regulatory minimums, and an in-house chef provides cooked meals. The company holds 20+ awards, multiple ERO positive reviews, and has presented its philosophy at international forums including the largest Earth and Space Science conference in the USA (December 2019).

Revenue is generated primarily through recurring monthly ECE fees, with pricing positioned as competitive rather than top-of-market, government-subsidy compatible (20 Hours FREE ECE, WINZ-approved), and supplemented by the Gaia Hope scholarship programme covering up to 20% of licensed spaces for financial-hardship cases. Distribution is exclusively direct-to-consumer via physical centres, a central enquiry line (0508 PRESCHOOL), and online enquiry forms; the only B2B-style channel is an international study-tour partnership with Gaia Education and Development (GAIA ED) targeting educators globally. Marketing is driven by word-of-mouth from 60+ parent testimonials, media coverage (NZ Herald, Stuff, Radio NZ, TV3), and active Facebook pages per centre. The company has no external funding rounds, no M&A activity, and no AI/ML or software-as-a-service revenue stream.

Name

Chrysalis Group

Legal name

Chrysalis Group Limited

Website

https://chrysaliscare.co.nz

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Chrysalis Group is a New Zealand privately-held operator of five premium early childhood education centres across Auckland and Tauranga, serving ~1,000+ enrolled children (as of 2018) with its proprietary Gaia Education Philosophy and patented Learning Roots and Shoots parent-portal technology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early Childhood Education Services

NAICS

Child Care Services (62441), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Nature-Based / Forest School Early Learning Programs (EDACADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Full-Day Nursery Programs (EDACACAD), Family Engagement & Take-Home Learning Materials (Home Packs, Parent Guides) (EDACAJAL)

Keywords

• Early childhood education
• Childcare services
• Nature-based preschool
• Forest preschool
• Infant day care

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Early Childhood Education Fees: Fees for childcare and early learning centre services including premium ECE services, awe-inspiring environments, spacious play rooms and playgrounds (150%-200% more space than Ministry standards), qualified teachers, patented learning system access, cooked meals, and excellent teacher-to-child ratios.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Chrysalis Group operates a family of premium early childhood education and childcare centres across Auckland and Tauranga, New Zealand, serving children aged 0-5 with the proprietary Gaia (Earth) Education Philosophy® curriculum. Services include full-day and part-day care, school readiness programmes, nature-based forest education, in-house cooked meals, and access to the patented Learning Roots and Shoots® online platform that lets families visualise each child's learning journey on a live learning tree. The company also offers the Gaia Hope scholarship programme to support families facing financial hardship.

Product overview

Chrysalis Group is a multi-award winning family of Early Childhood Education (ECE) centres operating five distinct childcare centres across Auckland and Tauranga, New Zealand: Chrysalis Early Learning Centre (Avondale), Magic Kingdom Childcare (Blockhouse Bay), Fern Garden Preschool (Tauranga), Gaia (Earth) Forest Preschool (Hillpark/Manurewa), and Milky Way Childcare (Newmarket/Auckland CBD). The company operates on a proprietary 'Gaia (Earth) Education Philosophy' framework and provides childcare services from infancy through preschool. Core services include premium ECE with spacious environments (150-200% more space than Ministry standards), qualified teachers with 20% better ratios than required, fully cooked healthy meals, and the patented 'Learning Roots and Shoots' online parent portal for tracking children's learning progress. Additional offerings include the Gaia Hope scholarship program for financial assistance. The company does not offer a software/API product but rather operates as a service-based childcare provider.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Learning Roots and Shoots™: Patented online technology system that visualizes children's learning progress on branches of their live learning tree, giving parents exclusive access to their child's learning journey.
• Gaia (Earth) Education Philosophy®

Products and services

• Chrysalis Early Learning Centre

Quantifiable outcome

• High ERO (Education Review Office) ratings across all centres - 'high quality outcomes for children, innovative teaching, inspirational learning, imaginative play'
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Gaia Education and Development (GAIA ED)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLicensing and study tour partnership for Gaia (Earth) Education Philosophy. GAIA ED exclusively offers study tours of Chrysalis centres in NZ, Australia, USA, Canada, and Sweden. Tours target parents, ECE teachers, educational leaders, managers, academics, ECE students, and business owners. 1-day, 3-day, or 5-day immersive study tour/retreat experiences available.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• KinderCare Learning Companies: US-listed scaled ECE chain with proprietary learning curricula and parent engagement platforms; relevant comparable for evaluating scale-up of Chrysalis's patented Learning Roots and Shoots® platform.
• Busy Bees: UK-headquartered, international multi-brand ECE chain; comparable as a large-scale private centre operator pursuing premium quality positioning across multiple jurisdictions.
• Bright Horizons Family Solutions: Global premium-quality childcare and early learning operator with enterprise employer-childcare partnerships; comparable to Chrysalis's employer-testimonial positioning (e.g., Rheem NZ).

Regional players

• Affinity Education: Australian premium ECE operator (e.g., Papilio Early Learning, Only About Children) with comparable premium-spec and multi-brand approach, though geographically focused in Australia.
• G8 Education: ASX-listed, Australia-based ECE network with ~400+ centres; provides regional comparable on chain economics, subsidy exposure and capital structure, though operating across the Tasman rather than in NZ.
• Goodstart Early Learning: Australia's largest not-for-profit ECE provider; relevant scale, subsidy and quality-outcomes comparable to Chrysalis's premium quality-focused model, but Australia-only.

Direct peers

• Evolve Education Group: ASX-listed operator of multiple NZ early childhood education brands; closest publicly traded chain comparable to Chrysalis Group's multi-brand centre portfolio and premium tier mix.
• BestStart Educare: New Zealand's largest private ECE network; directly comparable as a multi-centre, full-service operator targeting similar families under MOE licensing and 20 Hours ECE subsidy frameworks.
• Kidicorp: Privately held NZ ECE operator with multiple centre brands across Auckland and other regions; comparable in multi-site footprint and private-chain governance structure to Chrysalis Group.
• Porse Education: NZ educator-led ECE model combining home-based and education-led delivery; comparable in pedagogical philosophy focus and NZ-wide family target market to Chrysalis Group.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/chrysalisearlylearningcentre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Chrysalis Group