Company Profile - Golden Bear

Play today, protect tomorrow

The last time Toy World and Golden Bear met up, so to speak, it was to take a virtual stroll around the company’s digital garden showroom for its Q1 preview. A few months later, Rachael Simpson-Jones spoke to MD Barry Hughes and commercial manager Gareth Lloyd about the company’s upcoming product launches, and why sustainability and employee well-being are currently taking centre stage.

Barry Hughes

“I’ve never known a time filled with so many challenges outside our control,” says Barry at the start of our meeting, when asked how the company is faring. “We’ve seen Covid breaking out in Guangdong, shortages of computer chips and rocketing container prices, but we’re in a really good position from which to navigate those choppy waters. We have great brands that are performing very well, and our efforts in recent years stand us in good stead for what we believe will be a very strong year.”

With no shows on, Golden Bear supported its retail partners in the first quarter by extending its 2021 show offers until stores reopened and ran a Toymaster window campaign in July highlighting Bing, Hey Duggee and In the Night Garden, some of its most popular pre-school properties. Golden Bear’s portfolio of toys mainly comprises licensed brands, but the company is investing heavily in own-IP offerings too. Zipstas, a range of reversible animal-themed backpacks, and Windy Bums, cuddly plush characters that wiggle across the floor while giggling and making fun farting sounds, are both due to launch this year, joining existing brands such as Funlockets, Smart Ball and Trapped, the company’s at-home escape room games range.

The Hey Duggee line-up, meanwhile, will welcome Hey Duggee Spin and Groove, a hugely on-brand mixing desk that allows kids to create their own music, while Toothbrush & Handwashing Time with Duggee taps into burgeoning consumer demand for products that encourage kids to practise good oral and hand hygiene in a fun way. As one of the most searched-for Hey Duggee videos is the Toothbrushing Song, in which Duggee and co learn how to brush their teeth correctly, this product is poised to fill a definite gap in the market. Bing, Golden Bear’s top performing pre-school property globally, welcomes the Dancing Bing feature plush, which gets kids up and moving, as well as Bing’s House Playset, a hero line for autumn/winter.

Golden Bear’s Something Special range is also helping to cater to a gap in the toy marketplace – Special Educational Needs (SEN) and sensory toys. Crazes like fidget toys, originally developed to aid SEN or neurodivergent kids, have accelerated interest in (and demand for) products that provide additional benefits above and beyond play value, and Golden Bear is this year introducing several

Gareth Lloyd

new items based on the popular kids’ TV character Mr Tumble and his show, Something Special. Barry notes that it’s been an interesting and fun challenge to produce toys under this licence that are equally as appealing to neurodivergent children as they are to neurotypical ones. The company is passionate about the property and has explored numerous avenues in the creation of the new line. Golden Bear has particularly high hopes for the Something Special Calming Companion, a charming, lightly weighted blanket/soft toy in the character of Mr Tumble that can help to relieve anxiety and stress.

“Our bread and butter are our pre-school licences and that won’t change; our knowledge and experience lies in getting under the skin of such properties and knowing them inside and out,” explains Barry. “However, we’re somewhat limited internationally with them, being at the mercy of whether licensors can get content onto the right platforms in each of the international markets. I am delighted to say that Bing is the No. 1 pre-school licence in Italy, because Acamar has done a great job on getting on the right platforms and we made a success of the toy range in that region via our distributor network, but sometimes it is out of our control. Own-IP brands mean we can leverage our years of experience - too many years to mention, - in a way that isn’t subjected to international programming restraints in 60+ markets worldwide. We’re having some great discussions with American partners on own-IP lines we believe are very exciting for the back end of this year and 2022.”

New launches will be supported by an always-on digital strategy across most Golden Bear’s brands, courtesy of the company’s in-house team. Its own photographic studio allows Golden Bear to create assets quickly in response to emerging trends, while Bing, Hey Duggee, In the Night Garden, Smart Ball and Funlockets will benefit from strong TV advertising support. Barry is confident that Christmas 2021 will be a good one, both for Golden Bear itself (he predicts the company will finish up on last year) and the wider toy trade – though he does note the need to shop early, something he believes consumers will be all too aware of following Christmas 2020. Ongoing coverage regarding container and shipping issues will further amplify this message, bringing the start of the festive season even further forward.

Behind the scenes and away from product development and marketing plans, Golden Bear continues to invest heavily in reducing its environmental footprint and improving the sustainability of both its products and the business as a whole. The company started focusing on this in earnest two or three years ago, explains Gareth, who also heads up the sustainability side of things at Golden Bear. The approach has been split into four bitesize categories – Product, Packaging, Recycling and Carbon Footprint – to make it easier to see and understand how each step adds up to the bigger picture. Recycled PET bottles have been used as soft toy stuffing for a few years, but Golden Bear has now expanded its use to the outer fabric of its Hey Duggee range, with these sustainable products rolling out from autumn/winter. A staged approach will see the use of recycled PET roll out to the company’s other brands two at a time for spring/summer and autumn/winter 2022; within two years, all Golden Bear’s plush ranges should be made of this material. The company has identified ‘low hanging fruit’ within its Packaging category, such as removing unnecessary plastic and using recyclable plastic where the material is needed. OnPack Recycling Labels (OPRLs) will be introduced to packaging from autumn/winter to help consumers understand how best to recycle their packaging, while a phased approach will see Golden Bear shift to FSC Mixed Content packaging across all ranges.

“We operate as a Zero to Landfill site, and we’re currently in discussions with a number of parties about the best routes for end-of-life products as part of our recycling focus,” adds Gareth. “We’re looking at whether we can reduce the mix of plastics in a product, even narrowing it down to just one, so when it’s sent for recycling the plant knows exactly what it’s made of and can deal with it in the best way by returning it to the circular economy.”

Golden Bear’s efforts to improve the sustainability of its products have resulted in something of a culture shift for the company. Sustainability tops the list of important considerations when product ideas are being fleshed out, and this has spread throughout the business. As part of its carbon footprint reduction plans, a solar array has been installed at Golden Bear’s offices and warehouse space in Telford. These generate so much electricity, the surplus is sold back to the grid. LED lighting keeps energy consumption down, while electric charging points allow employees to easily charge hybrid or electric vehicles instead of conventional petrol or diesel cars. And it doesn’t stop there; Golden Bear is well on its way to becoming a certified Carbon Neutral company for its UK operation.

For Barry, protecting the planet for future generations is at the heart of all Golden Bear’s efforts in this regard. Consumer demand for eco-friendly and sustainable toys has increased exponentially in recent years, and those within the toy industry itself are also finding that it’s becoming a far more important consideration for them personally. Within Golden Bear, Barry tells me, new hires consider the company’s sustainability efforts to be a major benefit of their new role. Retail partners and licensors, too, are enthusiastic about what they are seeing.

“There are cost implications to all of this,” admits Gareth, “but you have to be bold, stick your neck out and create the change you want to see, even if it’s uncomfortable to start with. On our recycled plush, for example, I feel we’re really pushing for change and yes, there is an on-cost. As demand rises over the next few years, however, the anticipation is that those costs will come down. We have built in allowances for these changes, which we view as an investment in the future; our ethos is ‘Play Today, Protect Tomorrow’, which sums up beautifully what we aim to achieve. Covid has demonstrated how fast change can happen, and while our journey is still in its infancy, we’re challenging all the norms in our efforts to continually take steps towards a more sustainable future.”

The coming months should prove to be very positive for Golden Bear. The company expects growth in all its major brands within the UK and is forecasting 25% growth internationally in 2022 too, while its enhanced digital capabilities stand it in good stead to react quickly and decisively to opportunities as and when they arise. To bolster all this, Golden Bear is also investing heavily in its team of 52 employees. The care and attention going on looking after the planet is being mirrored in the company’s attentiveness to its staff. PayCare, an initiative that allows staff to reclaim medical bills such as dentist and ophthalmologist fees, has been introduced, as have well-being days off intended for employees to spend doing something good for their mental health. Golden Bear’s HR manager, Emma Graham, who is also a mental health first-aider, introduced a programme of well-being activities for Mental Health Awareness Week such as yoga, Pilates and fun quizzes. Employees are also given reusable metal water bottles adorned with Golden Bear’s mascot in a further nod to its sustainability credentials.

“We’ve always been a caring company, not only to the planet but also to our staff, and this has been reflected back at us by our people,” says Barry. “We couldn’t have a Christmas party last year so our staff decided that we should hold a charity quiz instead and donated the money raised to the Little Rascals Foundation, The Harry Johnson Trust, and Action for Children. So many new starters have told us how proud they are to be joining a company that gives so much back, which is heartening to hear. Working in toys is always fun, but having such pride in what you’re doing puts an extra spring in your step.”