Industry News

(drum roll please) was actually a brand – LEGO. For those of you who carry LEGO, that’s probably no surprise. Popular themes include Super Mario Kits, City, Dots, and Friends, reports Cindy at LEX Alpharetta. The Outdoor Toys & Active Play category has remained strong throughout the pandemic. Parents and grandparents gladly present kids with challenging and fun toys that they can engage with independently, and that will keep them moving.

Crafts, as a category, have also remained strong. While more than 90 percent of it seems geared for girls, we are seeing more and more products in the marketplace that are either gender neutral or geared specifically toward boys.

Looking ahead, I predict that parents will be shopping for toy themes and categories that promote independent play. They’re saying, “I need something for my kids that will keep them engaged for two hours.” Good recommendations include products that don’t make a mess; take longer than 15 minutes to use; and are enriching either physically, academically, or socially.

Sandy Ruben is the owner of Sandy Ruben & Associates, a rep group in the Southeast. If you or someone you know would like to participate in his survey, please email sandyrubeninfo@gmail.com, or call 843-696-4464. In the meantime, he’d like to thank these retailers for their valuable feedback in the last survey: Melissa Skelton of Olde Tyme Commissary, Cindy O’Hara of Learning Express in Alpharetta, Georgia; Geri Gaynor of Toy Isle in South Carolina; Amy Saldanha of Kiddywampus Toys in Minnesota; Rick Derr of Learning Express in Lake Zurich, Illinois; Christine Osborne of Wonder Works in South Carolina; Brice Elvington of Toy Shop Florence in South Carolina; Gwen Ottenberg of Imagine That Toys in Kansas; Shanta Ray of Happy Up in Illinois; Amanda Stevens of Shenanigan’s in Virginia; Irene Kesselman of Ali Cat Toys in North Carolina; and Allison Habshush of Toy Mania in North Carolina.

The next Spielwarenmesse will

take place February 2 through 6 in 2022. A summer edition of the world-renowned toy fair in Germany was scheduled for this July, but because of the “unrelenting uncertainty” surrounding the pandemic, it has been cancelled.

Initially, the summer event seemed like a great idea, reports Ernst Kick, CEO of Spielwarenmesse eG, who said he had received excellent feedback from both exhibitors and buyers. But when improvement in the COVID situation proved “disappointingly slow,” it became difficult for the organizers to make definite plans, and for manufacturers and buyers to schedule and book their flights.

“From now on, all energy will be channeled into the regular Spielwarenmesse next year,” he says.

The 2022 event will take place in conjunction with Spielwarenmesse Digital. “For the first time ever, we will be linking the indispensable experience of the live exhibition in Nuremberg with the virtual world, enhancing the participation of both suppliers and buyers, and, at the same time, providing them with the best possible service,” Ernst concluded.

The latest research from The Toy

Association shows that families in the U.S. are seeking more eco-friendly toys and toy packaging to help teach kids about sustainability.

“Parents are making more environmentally mindful purchases, and they want to instill eco-friendly practices in their children beginning at a very young age,” says Adrienne Appel, the association’s senior vice president of marketing communications. “Toys with real and substantiated environmental benefits are buzzing right now, a trend that will continue to grow as today’s kids get older and make their own purchasing decisions.”

According to data from market intelligence firm The Insights Family, “the environment” ranks in the top 10 most-concerning issues with kids across all age groups in the U.S. Kids ages 3 to 9 who report concern about their impact on the environment has grown by 158 percent between the beginning of 2020 and the start of 2021. This highlights the importance of brands being transparent with sustainability strategies to address the concerns of kids.

Kids Insights data also suggests that the age at which kids begin to show concern for important global issues is getting younger. Data from November 2019 to January 2020 shows that 16- to 18-year-olds were the most likely age group to be concerned about the environment. But research collected one year later showed that the mostconcerned kids were between the ages of 6 and 9.

“Our research shows that brands need to anticipate that their target audience is becoming a group of younger conscious consumers, and must act accordingly to maintain their support and advocacy,” noted Jonathan Watson, chief product officer at The Insights Family.

CreateOn, the creation studio that that transforms Magna-Tiles into new applications using licenses and personalization, has partnered with Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the children’s entertainment company that represents the legacy of the iconic author. As a result, four new Magna-Tiles sets based on Dr. Seuss stories will be released this year. A “Green Eggs and Ham” set and “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” set will be released in the second quarter, and a “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” set will be available in time for the holiday season. For more information, visit createon.com.

MasterPieces Inc. has entered

into a licensing agreement with The Lumistella Company to deliver a line of puzzles and games featuring The Elf on the Shelf. The initial products in the line include a 60-piece puzzle, a 100-piece puzzle, and a matching game. For more information, visit masterpiecesinc.com. A new game, the SAWA African Trivia Card Game, celebrates and educates people about African culture in a fun way. Created by artistic innovators Thato and Kioko Mwosa, the game features a stack of 300 cards categorized into six major categories: History & Politics, Geography, Arts and Culture, Cinema, Sports, and Business & Technology.

According to the “People of Play” newsletter, Thato from Botswana and Kioko from Kenya enjoy hosting game nights at their home in Boston. When they noticed a scarcity of African-themed games, “it gave us a chance to further our mission to educate and celebrate African culture instead of complaining about what was missing,” says Thato.

SAWA Trivia stems from the Swahili word “sawa” meaning, “It’s all good.”

After its release in December, the game caught the attention of educators, including the African Studies Center K-16 Outreach Program of Boston University and graduate students in the African Studies program at Syracuse University. For more information, visit sawatrivia.com.

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Contact: Raveen James info@iamabeautifulblessing.com iamabeautifulblessing.com