Suntoy

What Suntoy does

Suntoy is a South African manufacturer founded in 2011 by Harald Schulz (Technical and Managing Director), specializing in solar-powered LED lighting products integrated into consumer-friendly form factors. The flagship product is the Consol Solar Jar, which combines a photovoltaic solar panel, rechargeable battery, SMD LEDs, and a watertight magnetic switch sealed via a rubber ring into the lid of an iconic Consol Classic one-litre glass preserve jar; the design is proven watertight to 19.8m depth and delivers 6-10 hours of light per night from a full day of sunshine. Additional products include Solar Top (a separate brand at solartop.co.za), the WADI solar water disinfection device manufactured under contract for Helioz, Rhino Solar Collars (GPS anti-poaching hardware in development), and educational kits SunCar and SunFan. Manufacturing uses a MyData TP9 SMT pick-and-place machine alongside manual assembly, with a reported return rate of approximately 0.2%.

Suntoy operates a hybrid go-to-market model: direct e-commerce via suntoyshop.co.za, over-the-counter retail at Consol Shop Woodmead and Consol Shop Stellenbosch in South Africa, and a worldwide reseller network anchored by Sonnenglas as exclusive European distributor (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, plus Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk, and Amazon.fr). Regional resellers cover USA, Canada, South Korea, Mauritius, Madagascar, Senegal, DRC, UAE, the Caribbean, and Australia/New Zealand. Pricing is unit-based with minimum carton orders of 12 and corporate branding customization via sandblasting. Customer segments span off-grid and underserved communities (humanitarian focus), eco-conscious retail consumers, corporate gifting buyers, and events/hospitality venues.

The company is privately held, founder-controlled, bootstrapped with no recorded funding rounds or institutional investors, and operates as a joint venture with Consol Glass (which provides the iconic jars and Consol Shop distribution). It employs approximately 44 previously unemployed adults from Alexandra and Soweto townships with photovoltaic training, positioning itself as a fair-trade BEE-compliant manufacturer. Cumulative production exceeds 750,000 Consol Solar Jars; revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Suntoy

Legal name

Suntoy

Website

https://suntoy.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Suntoy is a South African manufacturer founded in 2011 that produces solar-powered LED lighting products, most notably the Consol Solar Jar. The company serves eco-conscious consumers, off-grid communities, corporate gifting clients, and global resellers from its Johannesburg factory.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Solar-Powered Consumer Lighting

NAICS

Residential Electric Lighting Fixture Manufacturing (335131)

SIC

Electric Lighting & Wiring Equipment (3640)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty & Task/Workstation Lighting (Inspection/task lights, cleanroom/food-grade, portable work lights) (IMAGAIAK)

Keywords

• Solar lighting products
• Portable solar lanterns
• Photovoltaic lighting devices
• Off-grid lighting
• Glass jar lighting

Headquarters

HQ city

Gauteng

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Consol Solar Jar Sales: One-time hardware sales of the Consol Solar Jar product. Sold in cartons of 12 units for bulk orders, individually at retail Consol Shops, and via e-commerce. Corporate branding customization available as upsell.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Suntoy manufactures and sells solar-powered LED lighting products, with the Consol Solar Jar as its flagship—a solar-charged LED lid that fits onto a Consol Classic one-litre glass preserve jar, providing 6-10 hours of light per night after a full day of sunshine. The company also manufactures the WADI solar water disinfection device for Helioz, Solar Top products, Rhino Solar Collars for anti-poaching tracking, and educational solar kits (SunCar, SunFan). All products are designed and assembled at Suntoy's Johannesburg factory.

Product overview

Suntoy is a South African manufacturer specializing in solar-powered lighting products. The core product is the Consol Solar Jar, a solar light housed in the lid of a one-litre classic glass preserve jar that stores solar energy during the day and emits light at night. Additional products include the Solar Top, the WADI solar device (manufactured for Helioz), and educational kits (SunCar and SunFan). The company also developed Rhino Solar Collars for anti-poaching applications. Products are manufactured in Johannesburg with a focus on job creation and fair trade practices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Consol Solar Jar Eco-friendly solar light housed in the lid of a one-litre classic Consol Glass preserve jar. The solar-powered lid collects sunshine during the day and powers four built-in LEDs inside the glass jar at night, providing 6-10 hours of light per charge. Watertight, rechargeable, and available with custom sandblasted corporate branding. Sold individually at retail, in cartons of 12 wholesale, and through Amazon DE/UK/FR.
• Solar Top Solar lighting product line under the Solar Top™ brand, with a dedicated consumer website at solartop.co.za.
• WADI Solar Device Solar water disinfection device manufactured by Suntoy for Helioz. Used to indicate solar UV intensity and confirm safe drinking water conditions.
• Rhino Solar Collars GPS tracking collars for rhinos with integrated malleable solar panels sewn into leather collars, designed to prevent battery power depletion on anti-poaching tracking devices.
• SunCar Solar-powered car assembly kit designed as a practical learning resource for teaching photovoltaic module usage to power vehicles, used at schools.
• SunFan Solar-powered fan assembly kit for teaching concepts of renewable energy to elementary and high school students, made with recycled tin sourced from supermarkets.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6-10 hours of light at night from full day of sunshine charging
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park (UK)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 October 2016Suntoy provided 1000 Consol Solar Jars for IN LIGHT exhibition - interactive light show using wireless DMX technology to illuminate Capability Brown landscape. Collaboration with visual artist Laurent from Creatmosphere studio and University of Johannesburg research facility RC.
• SonnenglascoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary European distributor for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Operates sonnenglas.net and sonnenglas.ch websites, sells on Amazon.de, and manages European distribution including France and Benelux markets. Stefan Neubig and Heiner Klaus are key contacts. Supportive of jobs created in South Africa.
• Consol GlasscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partner providing iconic Consol Classic glass preserve jars and distribution through Consol Shops. Consol Glass is a South African manufacturer and brand owner. Dale Carolin, Marketing Director, featured in interviews. Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) partner.
• RethakaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompany producing Repurpose Schoolbags made from upcycled plastic shopping bags. Collaborates with Giving Partners including Consol to integrate Solar Jar lids into schoolbags for children living off-grid. Thato Kgatlhanya represents Rethaka. Bill Gates mentioned the solar pocketed schoolbags on Twitter.
• HeliozminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSuntoy selected as manufacturing partner for WADI solar device - new generation of WADI. Suntoy's experience in developing and producing high quality solar powered products for European end-consumer market led to this partnership.
• CreatmosphereminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross-genre studio specializing in interplay of light as art between architecture and space. Visual artist Laurent created interactive light commission using 1000 Consol Solar Jars at Compton Verney.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Solight Design: Designer of solar-powered pop-up lanterns (SolarPuff) targeting outdoor, emergency, and off-grid consumers. Comparable portable solar lighting form factor and direct-to-consumer retail channels.
• LuminAID: Inflatable solar lantern designed for disaster relief, outdoor recreation, and off-grid use. Directly comparable portable solar lighting product with humanitarian distribution paralleling Suntoy's NGO customer base.
• d.light: Designer and distributor of solar lanterns and solar home systems for off-grid households in Africa and Asia. Directly comparable as a mission-driven solar lighting company serving similar emerging-market customers with portable lanterns.
• Sun King (Greenlight Planet): Pay-as-you-go solar home systems and lanterns distributed across Africa and Asia. Comparable in off-grid solar lighting category and emerging-market distribution, though typically at a larger operational scale than Suntoy.
• WakaWaka: Solar lamps and chargers with a social mission to provide light to off-grid households, founded in the Netherlands. Directly comparable in product, mission-driven positioning, and global humanitarian/retail distribution.
• Little Sun: Solar-powered portable lamp founded by artist Olafur Eliasson with a social mission to provide clean light to off-grid communities. Directly comparable to Consol Solar Jar in product category, off-grid target market, and fair-trade brand positioning.
• MPOWERD (Luci): Solar inflatable lantern brand (Luci Lights) sold globally through retail and humanitarian channels. Directly comparable consumer solar lantern with multi-country distribution and design-led branding similar to Consol Solar Jar.

Broad incumbents

• Philips (Signify) Lighting: Global incumbent in residential and commercial LED lighting including solar-integrated solutions. Overlaps with Suntoy in residential lighting category but operates at vastly larger scale with broader product breadth.
• Goal Zero (a NRG Energy company): Portable solar power and lighting brand under NRG Energy serving outdoor and emergency-use markets. Comparable solar lighting overlap but offers a much broader portable power product line and global retail footprint.
• BioLite: US-based designer of off-grid energy products including solar lanterns, headlamps, and wood-burning stoves for emerging markets and outdoor consumers. Comparable solar lighting product, but operates a broader portfolio and larger scale than Suntoy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/suntoy
• Pinterestza.pinterest.com/suntoy
• Xx.com/suntoyza
• Facebookfacebook.com/Suntoy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/suntoy

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Suntoy