Name

Play Bac

Legal name

Groupe Playbac

Website

https://playbac.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Educational Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s Subscription & Book Club Publishing (MPAJAFAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Children’s Activity & Practice Books (Workbooks, Puzzles, Handwriting) (EDAGAIAE), Children’s Reference & Informational Series Publishing (MPAJAFAN)

Keywords

• Children's educational publishing
• Youth daily newspapers
• Educational books and games
• School curriculum content
• Multilingual educational media

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Press and Publications: Sale of daily newspapers (Le Petit Quotidien, Mon Quotidien, L'ACTU, L'ÉCO) and weekly magazines in French, English, Spanish, and German for children aged 7-20. Revenue from both print subscriptions and digital 'tout numérique' packages including archives, videos, and audio.
2. Books and Educational Games: Sale of educational products including Les Incollables© (question-answer game books), Minimiki, Kinra Girls, Frigobloc© calendars, creative notebooks, and licensed content (Marmiton). One-time purchase products sold through e-commerce.
3. Special Editions (B2B): Customized versions of flagship products (Incollables, newspapers) created for corporate clients, institutions, and communication agencies targeting children, families, and teachers. Started with Air France custom edition in 1992.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Play Bac is a French educational publishing company that develops and sells age-appropriate educational content for children and youth aged 7-20. Its core offerings are daily children's newspapers (Le Petit Quotidien, Mon Quotidien, L'ACTU), weekly multilingual supplements and the economic newspaper L'ÉCO, the flagship Les Incollables© question-and-answer educational game series, calendar products (FrigoBloc©), and children's book collections (Minimiki, Kinra Girls, Lili Chantilly, Marmiton). Through its Éditions Spéciales division, it also produces customized branded editorial products for corporate and institutional clients targeting young audiences.

Product overview

PlayBac is a French educational publishing company organized into three divisions: PlayBac Éditions (books, games, and collections), PlayBac Presse (newspapers and magazines for children), and PlayBac Éditions Spéciales (customized branded editions). The portfolio includes the flagship Les Incollables© question-and-answer game (over 60 million copies sold globally as Brain Quest in the US), three daily children's newspapers—Le Petit Quotidien (ages 7-10), Mon Quotidien (ages 10-14), and L'ACTU (ages 13-17)—plus L'ÉCO for economic news. PlayBac also publishes multilingual weekly publications (English, Spanish, German), FrigoBloc calendar books, various collections (Minimiki, Kinra Girls, Lili Chantilly, Marmiton), video applications (Mon Quotidien Vidéo, Clarify), and offers custom branded editions through its agency division. The company serves approximately 100,000 subscribing families and classes across its newspaper products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Les Incollables: Question-answer game about school curriculum, sold to more than 60 million copies worldwide. Also known as Brain Quest in the United States.
• Le Petit Quotidien
• Mon Quotidien
• L'ACTU
• L'ÉCO
• Frigobloc
• Brain Quest
• My Little Weekly / My Weekly
• Clarify
• Mon Quotidien Vidéo

Products and services

• Les Incollables© Educational question-and-answer game based on the school curriculum; sold to over 60 million copies worldwide, including 30+ million in the United States under the licensed Brain Quest brand.
• Le Petit Quotidien Daily newspaper for children ages 7-10, part of the only three daily children's newspapers in Europe.
• Mon Quotidien Daily newspaper for children ages 10-14; the first daily news publication for children in France, promoting 'read 10 minutes per day'.
• L'ACTU

Quantifiable outcome

• 60+ million Les Incollables© sold worldwide
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• LCIminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015LCI partnered with PlayBac to launch 'Le Petit JT', a daily TV news program for children ages 10-14. The show won the CB News Grand Prix des Médias award for Best TV News/Documentary Program in 2015. The show was discontinued in 2016 when LCI became a free channel.
• Workman PublishingcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2010Licensed PlayBac's Incollables© concept to Workman Publishing for the US market under the Brain Quest© brand. Over 30 million copies sold in the United States.
• Géo MagazineminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 200450/50 partnership with Géo magazine to create 'book-calendars' with 365 photos, launched for Christmas 2004. Immediate bestsellers.
• RavensburgercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 1998Ravensburger distributes the Incollables© board game, the first question-answer game adapted for all levels within a family, from young children to parents.
• FnaccoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 1994Created first Fnac junior store at Les Halles, Paris in December 1994 as a 50/50 partnership with Fnac. Also launched the mail-order catalog 'Bien joué' which was later sold back to Fnac junior.
• Air FrancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1992First custom edition of Les Incollables© for Air France, printed in 300,000 copies. This marked the launch of the Éditions Spéciales division, creating customized educational products for corporate clients.
• HatiercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 1987Hatier partnered with PlayBac for the initial launch of Les Incollables© in bookstores in 1987. By 1990, six titles were available from CP to 6e (elementary through middle school levels).

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Brain Quest (Workman Publishing): Brain Quest is the US-licensed version of Les Incollables marketed by Workman Publishing with over 30 million copies sold; it is the same product under a different brand and represents PlayBac's most successful international direct comparable for the educational Q&A book category.
• Usborne Publishing: Usborne is a UK-based publisher of children's activity, puzzle, and educational books, with internationally distributed titles; it competes with PlayBac Éditions in the children's activity book and educational game category globally.
• Éditions Hatier: Hatier is a French educational publisher of school-support and activity books for children, and was PlayBac's original partner for the launch of Les Incollables in 1987; comparable in product format, curriculum-aligned content, and French retail channels.
• Milan Presse: Milan Presse publishes a portfolio of children's magazines and books (e.g., Toboggan, Images Doc, Wapiti) targeting the same 7–14 age segment as PlayBac; both operate French subscription-based children's press businesses with school distribution channels.
• Bayard Presse: Bayard Presse is the largest French children's magazine publisher (e.g., Astrapi, Okapi, Phosphore) with age-tiered titles and subscription models directly comparable to PlayBac Presse; both serve the same French families, schools, and teacher networks, making them the closest direct competitor.
• Fleurus Éditions: Fleurus Éditions is a French publisher of children's books, activity books, and educational games (including Question/Réponse and similar titles); it competes directly with PlayBac Éditions in the educational book and game category.
• Highlights for Children: Highlights is a US children's magazine and book publisher serving the same 7+ age segment via subscription and classroom distribution, with similar mission-led editorial positioning and a comparable product mix of magazines, activity books, and educational games.

Broad incumbents

• Scholastic: Scholastic is a large, broad children's publisher (books, magazines, school distribution) competing across the same age tiers and educational content categories, but at much greater scale and with a portfolio spanning far more product lines than PlayBac's focused three-division offering.
• Hachette Livre (jeunesse): Hachette Livre operates a substantial children's publishing division (Gründ, Père Castor, Hachette Jeunesse) covering activity books and educational formats comparable to PlayBac Éditions; it is a major incumbent with broader scale rather than a niche specialist.

Emerging players

• Actu.fr / 1jour1actu: 1jour1actu is a French digital-first news-for-kids publisher associated with the Bayard/Milan ecosystem; it is an emerging player competing for the same teacher-endorsed children's news mindshare that PlayBac Presse's Le Petit Quotidien and Mon Quotidien dominate in print.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries3 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 Play Bac