How Centre for Sustainable Innovation programmes helped grow edutainment brand Green Bean Studios®
In celebration of International Women’s Day, we sit down with multi-award-winning author and entrepreneur Anita Frost, founder of Green Bean Studios®, who developed the children’s edutainment brand on a foundation of sustainability. The brand’s core mission is to boost early years and child development through play, fun learning, and outdoor activities.
We asked her about her journey, purpose, and explore the impact that taking part in CSI’s programmes has made on her business.
Q: Anita, your career spans authorship, entrepreneurship and child development. What first inspired you to begin creating stories and experiences for young children?
A: As a child, I’ve always been drawn to little people and play. My world of play as a child was always amplified. I was very creative. For example, growing up, my mum would be tidying the kitchen and take all the furniture out. I would then turn this into another world, and we would be transported into different scenarios like driving in a bus.
I have always been filled with creativity and imagination, and as time has gone on, I started to realise that due to the nature of life how it is now, and technology, that we’ve lost this skill. But this creativity is really important, because it lends itself to how we see ourselves, and how we work out the world around us. My intrigue-ment of imagination, storytelling and play drew me into child development and helping children to be in that space.
Q: Green Bean Studios has grown into a global children’s intellectual property (IP) brand. What gap did you see in children’s media that motivated you to build this platform?
A: I recognised growing challenges among children—reduced outdoor play, increased screen time and the resulting impact on mental and physical development. Year-on-year, toys have increasingly been global character brands attached to fast plastic commercial revenue. While these toys had lovability, motor skills were being lost, and technology caused a further decrease in these skills. There was no more nurturing and development or learning to create a world of play through them. I wanted to address these issues directly by creating books, eco-toys and content that fosters imagination, outdoor exploration and play.
The gap I saw was that children are getting education in schools, but the resources available in those schools were really boring compared to the latest branded toy, or technology device. I saw this and thought we need to create seriously attractive books, toys and media that are built on a solid foundation of getting our kids to play, learn and develop.
Q: Your work centres on eco-friendly design, outdoor adventure and community connection. Why are these themes so important to you?
A: Our core values are Earth, Kids, and Community. These values are personified by our mascot, Green Bean, a fun and engaging character. A green bean symbolises growth, goodness, and nutritional value, reflecting our interconnected focus on Sustainability, early years education, and wellbeing. I believe children thrive when they explore nature, connect to others, and to their own creativity. The Green Bean is not just about eating your vegetables, but the wider message about being something of the earth doing good.
We keep that mission at the heart of how we source our fabrics, develop and in the core function of our products. We weave this throughout our storytelling, that nature is beneficial for many people. It gives space for creativity, and the more families and children that are outside, the better their mental health and outlook.
Q: What drew you to the Centre for Sustainable Innovation (CSI) and to take part in our programmes?
A: I first got connected to CSI through a regional leader who signposted the Creative Tech Labs programme to me. It was the first time I found out that something like this existed. After taking part in the programme, it led on to a great professional relationship with the Centre and I then took part in the Help to Grow: Management course and am now a part of the Shaping Greater Manchester Innovation Future forum. I was so engaged – the Centre for Sustainable Innovation is a place where businesses come to get heard. The leadership here make you feel seen and thought about in a way that you know they are thinking about what’s the best position, what’s the best thing for your business to access next.
This has allowed us to grow, learn and cultivate opportunities for future growth, both locally and regionally through consultations, advisories and accessing programmes.
Q: What impact did the workshops have on your work or creative practice?
A: Green Bean Studios is celebrating its fifth birthday this year. We’d been doing well but I felt like we needed something to get us to the next level. We got to a point where we were challenged with accessing the right investment, and this in turn caused our growth to start to lag. Accessing the programmes and opportunities through CSI allowed us to unlock our thinking, and to see our vantage points to continue to move forward. We’re now looking at exciting future developments that just wouldn’t have been possible without the support provided.
Q: You’ve spoken openly about resilience, purpose and navigating challenges like dyslexia. How has this shaped the way you connect with young learners?
A: Traditional education didn’t always work for me. I’m definitely a visionary because I think differently and I see differently. I see a problem, and then I see a solution. Children are the same, they aren’t locked in set ways of thinking yet. I see fun pathways to understand the world through the lens of adventure, and this helps me connect with young learners.
Q: What’s next for you and Green Bean Studios?
A: We’ve got some exciting times ahead, and I’m really looking forward to seeing these to development. The most exciting bit is seeing Green Bean go further in the UK, and I want to see Green Bean reach more and more children. One in three children entering school are not ready for it. Mental health is on the rise, and there’s been a 40% increase in children under five years old.
Q: As a founder and changemaker, what does International Women’s Day mean to you?
A: I love International Women’s Day! I love a day in the calendar where we take a moment to celebrate one another – whether you’re thinking of innovating, a corporate leader, or whether you’ve tried something in the past. Look at Emily Pankhurst and her fight to lead change, and now we’re really in a space to help women celebrate. It’s a day of inspiration and celebration.
Q: What message would you share with women who hope to make a difference in their fields?
A: You’ve all got your own super power. The best thing to do is to find what that is, and be bold and courageous with it and you will make a difference.
You can find out more about Anita Frost and Green Bean Studios at Anita Frost Official Site – Welcome
