The Big Interview TnP learns more about Toikido

Smash hit of the summer

With a team that includes many staffers who cut their teeth with hit brand Moshi Monsters, Toikido is a multi-faceted company that is not only working with other brands, but developing its own. Founder Darran Garnham outlines his plans for the company…

“We’re still trying to work out a mission statement,” laughs Toikido founder and CEO Darran Garnham, some two or three years after the company formed.

But his light-hearted self-deprecating tone can’t disguise that he’s serious about the business of creating a wideranging business that has lofty ambitions and a series of aims working in and around IP and beyond, bringing fully formed characters and worlds to life.

Garnham certainly has the CV to deliver just that. His more than 20 years in the business include a lengthy stint at Mind Candy, the Moshi Monsters creators (his home office, from where he conducts the Zoom interview, includes gold discs for selling 100,000 copies of Moshi soundtracks); the ninth employee during the early Moshi days, he watched the company grow to more than 200 staffers. “We learnt a lot there,” he says, “we brought that into Toikido.” Chief among these learnings was the need to have more than one brand, as he explains: “We were a onebrand studio; once Moshi started to slide, it was difficult. Brands have their life cycle, but we didn’t have a raft of IP coming through – we at Toikido have seven of our own in development!”

As well as working with other key brands, including the likes of Pokèmon and Toy Story, he also spent time at NBC Universal, overseeing global brands such as Minions: “It was a great learning curve,” he notes, feeding into setting up Toikido. It is, he adds, “a lovely mash-up of all that knowledge”.

Within a matter of weeks, if not months, the company had inked its first major deal, to look at Among Us and take the game brand into the toy world. That first deal has already been extended through to 2025 and, despite the earlier light-hearted mission statement remark, Garnham says it sets out the company’s store for at least part of what it wants to do.

“I wanted to try and do things faster. In our industry, timelines are 12 to 15 or 18 months. I always thought there must be quicker ways of doing things. I didn’t want to lower the quality bar, but thought there must be a quicker route

“We have this ability in-house to create, design, produce and get to market really quickly. The aim was to be nimble, to spot things early, get in and help build them.”

But that’s only half, or, to be more precise, a third of the Toikido story.

Its first strand is working with the likes of Among Us, and other brands borne of games and from other areas such as Gang Beasts, and, as Garnham says, “representing other people’s brands, taking them to market”.

“We’ve just done two big campaigns for Gang Beasts,” he adds, ‘‘with YouTubers and TV advertising it’s raised awareness of the game as well.’’

Toikido has more though. “We want to work with influencers and social media talent, helping them bring product based around them to the market. And then we have our own in-house IP.”

The business model is based on the likes of Spin Master (“I’m a big fan of that company.”), which both owns its own IP such as Paw Patrol, as well as licensing brands such as Batman.

The first of its own IP, Pinata Smashlings, is now on the march to world domination. It’s launching on Roblox and a raft of deals are in place, with toys and collectables alongside stickers, publishing and more all in the works.

“It’s really taking off,” he says of Smashlings. Designed so the collectable capsule becomes part of the toy (“We wanted a rationale to collect the capsule as well as the collectable, we didn’t want a piece of packaging thrown away.”), the brand has also been designed to incorporate other brands and bring them into this world. “We’re talking to other brands about collaborations into 2024,” Garnham explains. “We designed these guys so we could take any IP and ‘smash’ them. We’re talking to other rights holders; they can come into the world and put their IP into our product, almost like a Funko.”

Bringing the experience from working with Moshi helps, while every morning sees the company gathering to meet to discuss priorities among the different brands. There’s more to come beyond Smashlings, with further announcements also due. The Roblox game of Smashlings is imminent, but as well as this, Toikido is already working on a bunch of other brands.

“We just keep going,” Garnham concludes. “We have momentum and I want to continue with that momentum. Externally we have four or five brands in discussion, internally we have three in development, which we will come to market with by the middle of the year.”

Smashing the rule book

Darran Garnham

We want to work with “ influencers and social media talent, helping them bring product based around them to the market ”

Toikido has officially confirmed its partnership with P.M.I. and Character Options to bring Piñata Smashlings to market.

In its statement unveiling the partnership, it noted: “The first IP created solely inhouse by Toikido, Piñata Smashlings will take the gaming and toy sector by storm, with a unique and exciting Roblox game in production, and a series of animated shorts, music, suite of toys, collectables, trading cards, books, plush and playsets all scheduled for release [this] summer.”

Darran Garnham, founder and CEO at Toikido, says: “Piñata Smashlings is the first toy IP launching on Roblox that is simultaneously supported by a physical toy offering. Both game and product are being developed together to enrich engagement. Piñata Smashlings will be one of the first brands to attach codes redeemable within Roblox to every physical product, truly connecting the offline physical with online digital.

“We believe Piñata Smashlings is a wonderful fresh IP with an opportunity to provide something unique. I am excited by the potential for our products and thrilled to be working with two of the industry’s best partners in P.M.I and Character Options.’’

Boaz Dekel, founder, CEO and Chairman of P.M.I, adds: ‘’Working with Darran and the Toikido team is a wonderful experience. After the successful partnership on Among Us and Gang Beasts, we are extremely excited to be a part of Piñata Smashlings and cannot wait to bring this fantastic IP to market. “We are investing in creating a colourful, fun, and fresh toy line suitable for Piñata Smashlings, while also ensuring all packaging is sustainable.’’