Feature - Starting Out

Despite a declining birth rate as the long-term trend towards people having fewer children continues, the Pre-School toy category remains buoyant, as Sam Giltrow discovers.

Birth rates in Britain are on the decline. In 2020, the total fertility rate, or to put it more simply the number of children per woman, stood at just 1.58 in England – almost half that of the World War Two peak of 2.93. Already plummeting, it went into yet steeper decline during the pandemic, leaving many fearing an economic stagnation in the UK. However, toy manufacturers remain upbeat and while acknowledging that they are unable to change the situation, are continuing to develop new ranges of innovative toys that will entice children to play, learn and develop.

“There is nothing we can do to change birth rates, but we can control our own destiny, making the right decisions from a product development and licensing perspective and investing in the right marketing media,” says Mary Wood, general manager, UK & Ireland at Tomy.

While Joe Smith, senior director Global Marketing (Pre-School) at Moose Toys, adds: “ For us it’s about making sure we are continually engaging with our current consumers, tapping into what they love about our properties and giving them more of what they want. Brand loyalty and advocation from both kids and parents is crucial to sustaining success in Pre-School.”

Children learn a lot from playing, whether it’s developing fine motor skills, understanding the importance of sharing or increasing their IQ and problem-solving skills. Indeed Albert Einstein once said that ‘Play is the highest form of research’.

So it’s imperative that pre-school toys tap into the key areas for development while allowing kids to have fun and explore the world around them. There are myriad ways for little ones to boost their brain power or engage in activities that will help them progress on their development path, while topping many parents’ list of requirements is that the toy will hold their child’s attention.

“The pandemic and ensuing lockdowns saw a surge in sales of role play, arts and crafts and developmental toys, as parents kept their pre-schoolers busy and stimulated,” explains David Lubliner, head of Customer Marketing at Melissa & Doug. “This trend has continued, with increased demand for our products that inspire open-ended play and ignite children’s imaginations.”

He says that consumers are increasingly looking for toys that help children familiarise themselves with real world scenarios. Melissa & Dough continues to expand its range of pretend play products, which will include the launch in autumn winter 2022 of a Patisserie Bake Shop, which will inspire children to set up shop at home and role play being either the patisserie owner or customer, using the predominately wooden accessories. “This is a great example of Melissa & Doug’s pretend play sets which children can use to mirror and learn from their parent’s behaviour,” adds David.

David Allan, managing director, Toynamics, says the company’s Hape musical products have always been a popular choice among parents due to their combined learning and play experience. “However, the pandemic has certainly caused an increase in parental awareness of the educational value of toys,” he explains.

This has led to even more success for the Learn with Lights collection of musical instruments, which includes a ukulele, drum and harmonica. New for this year is the Learn with Lights Piano, a play-along 25-key electric piano with light up keys which kids can follow to learn how to play. David adds: “As always, parents are seeking toys with an extended play value that will keep their child’s attention.” With this is mind, another new launch for Toynamics this year is the Gearhead Stunt Garage, which looks like a traditional wooden garage with the added fun and extra play value of a loop the loop ramp.

With adults holding the purchase power, it is also hugely important to ensure that marketing recognises this in its targeting; something which Toynamics is acutely aware of. “Our entire marketing strategy is focused on targeting parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and all gift-buyers as well as educators in a variety of ways and places,” says David. “This means working with our partners to thoroughly research our audiences and develop strategies and activations tailored to the different touchpoints and media spaces. It is important to talk in different ways to the various types of adults we want our products to appeal to.”

Mary Wood says the majority of Tomy’s ranges are adult driven purchases, so the company has become well versed in this demographic and how best to market its product. She notes, however, that “nothing stands still, so we are always looking at how consumer buying habits are changing”. Mary adds: “The challenge is, with linear TV losing viewers and digital not being as impactful as TV for instant sales, we have to be very considered as to where and how we invest.”

One area of focus for Tomy is product reviews, but Mary concedes that these have to be authentic and relatable. Another focus is the actual copy within online listings, where the marketing team has to consider what is really relevant to a consumer looking for a toy for a baby or toddler. “At Tomy, we understand the importance of investing in our core brands over time, while ensuring the ways and mediums in which we invest adapt to meet changing needs,” she says.

Over the last few years, Tomy has been focusing on building core competencies in both Infant and Pre- School across its own Lamaze, Toomies, John Deere Kids and Fat Brain brands. For 2022, the company is bringing out eight new Lamaze products, all of which have been developed as a result of consumer insights. “We have looked at how children play, or solutions to help Mum and Dad, and developed products to meet those needs,” explains Mary. An example of this is the Lamaze Peek & Puff Elephant which, when squeezed, delivers a gentle puff into the face of a crying baby, changing the frown to a smile. “For such a simple idea, it really does work, as well as doubling up as a cute soft toy.”

The Toomies pre-school brand has enjoyed recent success thanks to licensing partnerships. The brand currently offers a Peppa Pig bath line which has been joined by Jurassic World and Batman, and later this year will be bringing out a Toomies ET feature plush to coincide with NBC Universal’s 40th anniversary of the launch of the iconic movie. Tomy is also expanding its John Deere Kids licensed range, which has been growing across the UK and Europe and has been in great demand from retailers for the past four years.

Licensed products continue to represent a sizeable portion of sales for pre-school children. Modern classic characters such as Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol remain extremely popular, while amongst new properties, Bluey has emerged as a strong contender in the category. Indeed, Bluey ended 2021 as the No.1 new toy property, according to NPD figures. BBC Studios recently announced an array of new partners for the award-winning animated series. Global master toy licensee Moose Toys debuted its first Bluey range last autumn and says it is seeing the success of the property continue for 2022, with strong sales on its new spring range and lots of new range extensions planned for autumn/winter.

“We’ve seen that products which offer open-ended, imaginative play to pre-schoolers are increasingly popular with both kids and parents alike,” says Moose’s Joe Smith. “Bluey is a great example of this, where our figures and play sets enable fans of the show to recreate their favourite episodes at home and really live and breathe the essence of Bluey, which is all about finding joy in the everyday and encouraging the value of play,”

Sam Walker, of Wally’s Toy Shop in Thame, Oxfordshire says Bluey is currently the top property within his pre-school section, with the Moose Toys range going from strength to strength. “We went from having the odd person asking about it every now and then to it selling incredibly well last year, and I’m sure this will carry on throughout this year, especially as there are new additions to the line,” he tells Toy World.

Also new from Moose Toys for 2022, the Octonauts: Above and Beyond master toy range has been produced as a result of significant search trends from consumers looking for Octonauts toys. Offering a range of figures, vehicles, play sets and plush, there will be a robust marketing plan to support it.

“Pre-School is a diverse and competitive category and staying fresh means staying true to the DNA of the property/brand and tapping into what makes consumers connect with it – whether that’s the modern-day family dynamic and imaginative play of Bluey, or adventure, exploration and protecting our wildlife, like Octonauts,” says Joe.

Melissa & Doug is also expanding its licensed offering and, after partnering with Paramount (previously Viacom) in 2021 to produce successful ranges for Paw Patrol and Blue’s Clues, will be extending the ranges this autumn/winter with new products including the Paw Patrol 4 in 1 Magnetic Mazes and See & Spell Pup Pad. David Lubliner says understanding what consumers want is vital for any product development, adding that Melissa & Doug talks constantly with parents to convey the benefits of open-ended play and how its toys are specifically designed to inspire children’s imaginations in different ways.

Another key focus for parents is sustainability and the requirement for more eco-friendly toys is growing. In August 2021, Melissa & Doug launched a major new sustainability initiative, Project Restore, to formalise the company’s commitment to ‘make timeless, sustainable toys’ for an inclusive world. There are three pillars to this including Thriving Forests in which Melissa & Doug has partnered with One Tree Planted, a global reforestation programme that will plant a tree for every tree used by the company each year. It will also ensure that 100% of paper products and more than half of its wood products will come from sustainable, responsibly managed forests and be FSC certified by 2025.

“At the start of 2022, we accelerated our commitment to sustainability by pledging that all new launches of paper and top-selling wood products will be FSC certified from this year onwards,” says David. “Within Europe, we’re certain this eco-conscious message will have a positive effect on our bottom line going forwards.”