FAMILY TIES

“The start to the year has been very positive,” begins Matt Shaw, marketing manager at Epoch Making Toys. “We had an excellent end to 2022 with core Sylvanian Families and saw much valued Christmas money and vouchers spent in Q1. Re-stocking in retail channels and new SS23 product launches have all helped brand growth YOY. Also, the Super Mario Movie launch, delayed from 2021 has given the games division an early boost across our games portfolio.”

It’s encouraging news from the Epoch camp, and it also seems like there’s a lot more to come for the rest of 2023, too. Sylvanian Families’ focus for this year is the expansion of the already successful Amusement Park theme, which sees the extensive range of Babies, Twins and Triplets collectable figures taking ‘days out’ to the park and enjoying rides.

“Many of our new and updated ‘out of the box’ play patterns include the Babies characters to add more relevancy for children at the lower end of our key age range and allow them to be more involved with the brand,” explains Matt. “We will also have an extended range of Triplets care and Bedroom sets along with strollers to make this babies extension cross all core categories in the Sylvanian village life.”

With Sylvanian Families approaching a milestone 40 years, the continued innovation and growth for the brand is even more impressive. “The secret is fairly simple: the brand offers and is focused on a nurturing and loving environment that allows the child to expand their imagination to create their own role play scenarios,” says Matt when asked what the brand’s secret to success is. “With focus on a wide array of different characters, building and themes to collect, Sylvanian Families gives the child freedom to explore and create their own space in Sylvanian Village in a simple, yet endearing way.”

The 40th anniversary will allow Epoch to create new special items and limited editions to further drive collectability, although Matt is keeping any specifics under his hat for now.

The Sustainability Question

“This continues to be hugely important across all of our products from the manufacturing, shipping and packing of them,” confirms Matt. “Changes have been happening for a number of years now, with efficiencies in production, removal of excessive additions such as plastic ties, polystyrene, PVC and black plastics.

“Changes to external packaging including laminate removal from cardboard sleeves for example is also something we have implemented. We will continue to focus on changes that have continued environmental improvements as we move forward.”

Meanwhile, Epoch also has choices at the higher end of the preschool demographic, with new lines with more portability allowing Aquabeads to be taken to sleepovers and playdates with friends with adult supervision, while the current Super Mario Games and new launches for 2023 offer gameplay that focuses on motor skills, balancing and maze solution expertise.

While Epoch’s portfolio has appeal for a wide range of retailers, the company is continuing to work hard to meet the challenges of the current cost-of-living crisis. Matt continues: “Disposable income has reduced and impulse purchases as such have also declined. Birthdays and Christmas still exist but we have had to change our thought process on how we can maintain, increase and bring on board new consumers to this collectable evergreen brand.

“Ensuring our range offers more ‘out of box play’ and offering more products at the lower RRP level allows us to keep [Sylvanian Families] in front of consumer eyes. Changing the way we market the brand to expand the visibility is also key, with more marketing across a varied digital platform base maximising the opportunity to be seen. Ensuring retailers are supported at key periods keeps the brand in focus and promotional ‘big box’ events in Q4 allow that considered purchase to be front of mind as parents decide how to spend that precious disposable income.”

Ranges with extended play value are also “hugely important” for the company, Matt offers. “Playing is not just a fun time for children; it’s how they learn about their environment, how to communicate with adults and their peers and understand how things work. With play, children learn problem-solving skills and develop motor skills. Every day making new, meaningful and engaging play time/experiences requires thought and planning. Whether a child likes playing with the latest doll, action figure, vehicle or art set, extending playtime is one of the best strategies to keep kids entertained for longer.”

With the aim of continually expanding its retail base, Epoch looks at all opportunities that it believes are relevant to its brands, and a key aim for 2023 is continued growth in the specialist and multi specialist retail channels. Matt concludes: “This is where our brands are most supported and visible to the consumer. Our own e-commerce channel is also a major focus, which particularly offers dedicated collectors a chance to enjoy products that are not available to the retail channel. This is our site that keeps the collector collecting.”

“CONSUMERS LOOK OUT FOR NEWNESS ANNUALLY”

“It’s simple, new innovation sells,” explains Matt when asked how important it is to innovate in the current climate. “We work in a relatively limited marketplace with a huge amount of change annually, driven in part by playground trends, movies, short-term crazes and high volume collectability. If you have no new innovation, then you’re at risk of becoming lost by others driven to adapt to hit the activity with the toy market.

“There are risks in forward planning on something that may not be as successful as you might at first have thought, but the risk of doing nothing is far greater. Consumers look out for newness annually, especially those committed to a collectable brand like Sylvanian Families, so we work approximately two years ahead to ensure we are constantly delivering newness to the brand/s.”

The Progressive Preschool Awards take place on Tuesday 14 November 2023 at The Royal Lancaster, London

Now in its 11th year, the PPS Awards is a hugely popular ceremony that sees all sectors within the preschool product and retail sector come together to network and celebrate the past year’s achievements. It is attended by over 450 guests each year and last years move to The Royal Lancaster allowed for further attendance following many consecutive years of event sell-out.

The PPS Awards recognise retail and product excellence in addition to marketing prowess and people power. The nomination and voting process is done online and utilises the experience and knowledge of experts in the sector. This ensures that the upmost integrity is maintained.

Categories now open for entry

Product Awards – judged by major, online & independent retail buyers

Marketing Awards – judged by PR / marketing gurus

Retail Awards – judged by suppliers Please contact