[News](/in/en/news/) / [Playpen balls](/in/en/news/?category=playpen-balls) 5 May 2026 # Why are indoor playgrounds moving toward pastel colors? **A new segment emerges** The indoor playground market has been pretty steady for decades. Bright, colorful places that cater to lots of different ages are still really popular – most families go for these first. But in the past 2–3 years, a new trend has started to show up. More and more places are opening around the world using soft pastel colours, natural materials, and focus on a smaller age group. You’ll see a lot of pink, turquoise, mint, lavender, and cream. These spaces aren’t just designed for kids anymore – they’re also made to feel nice and welcoming for parents too. **What inspires this new direction?** **Developmental psychology.** Researches of the recent years increasingly shows that the sensory systems of the youngest children are sensitive to environmental stimuli. A softer colour palette helps support calm play especially for children aged 0–3 and those who are more sensorly sensitive. This doesn't mean that more stimulating spaces are less valuable – it simply means that **different life situations call for different environments**, and the market is now expanding to offer both. **A new generation parents.** Younger parents are more intentional about design choices and have a stronger sence for aesthetics. They look for places where the visual experience itself adds value. **Social media experiences.** In the age of social media , photogenic, well-lit spaces with soft-tones naturally attract attention. This is also a significant business advantage for this new type of indoor playground. . **Narrower age group focus: ages 0–6** One of the main characteristics of this new segment is **focused age segmentation**. While classic indoor playgrounds successfully serve 3–12 age range, the new generation of places **specializes specifically for the youngest children**. This allows every element of the space – the size of the equipment, the safety solutions, the developmental philosophy – to be optimized for one special age group. The best-known example is **Cloudbound**, launched by the Sky Zone trampoline-park chain in New Rochelle, New York, in January 2026. In collaboration with early-childhood-development experts from Cal Poly, they designed an 1,800 m² pastel space exclusively for children aged 0–6. Slides, ball pits, treehouses, soft-wall zones – all sized to fit the little ones. In their own words, *"the wonder of a children's museum with the energy of a playground."* The next locations are opening in Washington, D.C. and Dallas, and a franchise model is on the way. A similar direction is represented in London by **Fe Fe** (Islington), which, with its carefully composed pastel decor – play kitchen, Scandi-chic climber, and oversized bean bags – deliberately targets design-conscious families. **A new direction: the Play Cafe** One characteristics of the new type of indoor playgrounds is that they are **not only indoor playgrounds**. They are cafés, community spaces, "third places" all at once – places where the parent is **just as comfortable** as the child. Coffee, pastries, lockable rooms for working, nursing zones, easy stroller parking. The "play cafe" genre has become widespread over the last two years. The idea is simple: parents themselves also spend 2–3 hours there with their children, and they want this time to be meaningful – a calm environment, good coffee, reliable Wi-Fi, and perhaps other parents to talk to. This also **opens new possibilities in the indoor playground business model**. They don't just sell tickets; they sell a multi-hour experience that includes coffee, snacks, memberships, parenting talks, and party rentals. Revenue is more diversified, guests stay longer, and they return regularly. **In summary** The direction is clear: physical spaces – gyms, indoor playgrounds, cafés – are serving **increasingly complex needs** for a new audience. A successful new-type venue today is a mini-ecosystem that captures an entire part of the day, with multiple revenue streams. **That is precisely why we have expanded our pastel ball range.** Alongside our existing, already highly popular pastel colors, this year we are introducing **three new shades** to the catalogue: dusty pink, turquoise, and lavender purple. These colors deliver exactly the mood that operators in the new segment are looking for – while combining beautifully with our existing classic palette. Like our full pastel range, the new colors are also available in [bio-plastic](https://euro-matic.eu/in/en/products/#bio-based-plastic-ball) and antibacterial versions, meeting both sustainability and hygiene requirements. You can download the Euro-Matic 2026 ball pit ball catalogue: [Download](https://euro-matic.eu/files/docs/Color%20Catalogue_%202026.pdf%20(1).pdf) ### Related Product [ Playpen balls The Euro-Matic playpen ball is the perfect choice for indoor play areas, for playhouse builders and event organizers. With our balls, anyone can create a fun atmosphere in their home, right in the middle of the living room. Learn more ](/in/en/products/playpen-balls/)### WIDE RANGE OF BALL SIZE - 50 mm - Therapy™ - 60 mm - for kindergartens - 75 mm - standard size - 80 mm - for bigger Ball Pools ### COLOR SELECTION - Standard colors - white, yellow, orange, red, green, blue - Other colours - 25 other available colors from our current color range - Mixed color bags - a mixture of 2-3-4-5-6 colors - Individual colors - any special colors can be produced based on RAL or Pantone scale - - - - - - [VIEW OUR PRODUCTS](https://euro-matic.eu/in/en/shop/?category=playpen-balls) ### MATERIAL Playpen Balls are made from **LDPE** (low-density polyethylene). When selecting the raw materials, we sought to maximize compliance with stress arising from use, safety and health requirements for toys (Directive **2009/48/EC**). Hence, according to the authorities of the European Union and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the raw materials we use are even suitable for food packaging. Playpen Balls are guaranteed to be BPA, phthalate and PVC free. - - - - - - ### ### QUALITY Thanks to our professional expertise and continuous development accumulated over the last decades, the quality of our playpen balls has become the standard all over the world. However, this will never be taken for granted, so we regularly check our balls using various measurements and testing procedures in-production. During the testing procedures, randomly selected samples are subjected to much greater stress than any playpen ball will ever experience in a playhouse by compression testing 20,000 times, cyclically to 50% of the original diameter. The balls pass this rigorous test if they do not burst after 20,000 compressions. Based on this, it is no exaggeration to say, that the strength and life expectancy of our Euro-Plus Playpen Balls are unsurpassed. Our balls are tested at the Budapest Central Laboratory of TÜV Rheinland, where it is checked if they are in compliance with the safety and health requirements for toys in accordance with 2009/48/EK directive of the European Union and on MSZ EN 71 standard. - - - - - - ### ### GUARANTEE and LIFETIME Due to strict quality control and rigorous testing procedures, we offer a **2-year** guarantee for every Playpen Ball in case of conventional use. It is important to note, that the service life is multiple times the guarantee, as our balls do not burst under extreme, playhouse conditions either. The replacement of our balls is generally due to aesthetics as their surface loses their shininess. - - - - - - ### ### PERSONALIZED PLAYPEN BALLS Our manufacturing technology makes it possible to make the balls unique according to your needs. Currently, there are two ways to do this. One is to print caption, logo, graphic or image on the surface of the balls. The other one is to embed the desired logo or caption (like company name, event name, slogan, advertisement text, phone number, website address, etc.) to the ball. - - - - - - ### ### RECYCLING LDPE can be recycled easily, therefore it is collected selectively at the end of the service life of the balls and – in compliance with the waste management rules of the given country – reused as a valuable raw material for the production of new products. 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