Feature - Wooden Toys

One, two, tree

Wooden you know it, the staunchly traditional Wooden Toy category continues to be a winner among parents and grandparents alike, offering a raft of options for gifting, numerous play patterns and a good-news story to tell at retail. Toy World speaks to a number of leading suppliers to find out all about their latest launches and examines the undeniable link between wooden toys and sustainability.

A quick flick through the pages that follow this article will reveal the depth and breadth of the Wooden Toy category. From pocket money pick-ups, puzzles and role-play toys to musical instruments, character licensed figures and construction sets, this varied and everevolving category nonetheless remains firmly rooted in tradition. Yet the popularity of wooden toys remains consistent year after year, largely unaffected by external factors and therefore providing steady sales 52 weeks of the year.

Toy and game distributor A.B.Gee says it has seen sales of its wooden Tooky Toy range increase by more than +220% since it took over exclusive UK distribution of the line in 2018. The company says its passion for the brand has translated into a versatile toy range with designs suitable for kids of various ages, solo play, cooperative play and educational play. Additionally, new packaging for 2023 means it now benefits from an even stronger shelf presence and desirability.

The Tooky Toy portfolio contains a number of bighitters, but a particular favourite for this year is the My Little Garden set. Originally shown at London Toy Fair, where it went down a storm, stock arrived in mid-June - perfect timing for the gardening season. The adorable set includes five cute, chunky wooden vegetables (carrot, potato, mushroom, broccoli and turnip), a caterpillar, two gardening tools, a watering can, two seed packets, two vegetable labels and two rows of play soil in a wooden tray. The set encourages kids to plant their vegetables and harvest a crop while developing early learning skills including speech, sorting, and colour and shape recognition. A.B.Gee has high hopes for this product, having seen demand grow and grow since its arrival.

Toynamics UK & Ireland is also encouraging kids to get to grips with growing their own with Hape’s new Green Planet Explorers Organic Greenhouse. New for this year, the set is an addition to the existing Green Planet Explorers range, a line of very cute toys that promotes care for the natural world and an understanding of topics such as green energy, composting and the importance of bees. The Organic Greenhouse is made from bamboo, FSCcertified wood and green PE, and promotes social skills, storytelling, language development and imagination, as well as helping kids learn about sustainability –something close to Hape’s heart. The brand owns factories at which responsibly sourced wood is a key material, has its own bamboo forest and is working toward its whole product range being manufactured with FSC-certified wood, not just certain facets of it.

It's an inescapable fact that wooden toys attract ecoconscious shoppers, so what they’re made of matters. Happily, the vast majority of manufacturers understand this and have ensured their own wooden ranges align with sustainable, eco-friendly principles. David Lubliner, head of Customer Marketing at Melissa & Doug, says the company believes in responsible forest management. He explains: “That’s why we have committed to planting 10m trees by 2030 and are partnering with One Tree Planted to help us reach that goal. We also accelerated our commitments to using Forest Stewardship Council certified materials and were recently the only global toy manufacturer named a 2022 FSC Leadership Award Winner (FSC C156584).” He adds: “Whether it’s creating high-quality toys that are made to last or ensuring our products inspire open-ended play for all kinds of kids, we’re on a journey to make the world a better place.”

Looking at other themes within wooden toys, music remains a top choice. Creative Kids has launched its new Little Tikes Wood Music Table, a giraffe shaped table complete with mini xylophone and mallets, egg shakers and a mini drum, while Abrams & Chronicle’s Petit Collage brand has welcomed the Wooden 5-in-1 Elephant Music Toy. The colourful xylophone and cymbal are accompanied by a drum and clickety-clack elephant ears, giving kids plenty to discover as they play. Hunter Price’s new Little Timbers range, which comprises an impressive 40 SKUs, includes several musical and sound toys (sound arguably being a rather more accurate description of what kids produce using such products) such as shaped xylophones, a hammer bench and xylophone, and pound and tap benches.

Basic Fun! is bringing the 100-year-old Lincoln Logs brand to the UK this year, meaning kids can now discover the retro construction fun of building log cabins and other structures using the real wood interlocking pieces. The Fun on the Farm Building Set is joined by the Sawmill Express Train Building Set and the 100th Anniversary Tin, which contains 111 wooden pieces, and the On The Train Building Set, which contains 59 pieces. Vivid Goliath is also introducing a new wooden construction range, WoodworX. Among the launch offerings are licensed DIY projects based on the iconic X-Wing and Tie Fighter from Star Wars, which kids can build and paint themselves. These join other licensed wooden toys for this year, including Orange Tree Toys new range of D100 limited edition toys. Based on the beloved Mickey Mouse and friends including Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Pluto, the figures immortalise the characters in two core colourways - an aesthetically pleasing, muted colour palette developed by Disney specially for the D100 celebrations, while a small number of products use the classic, brighter colours. Consumers can choose from puzzles and games, as well as a lovely new Disney 100 Wooden Advent Calendar.

Juratoys meanwhile, has unveiled its new Janod Dino range, which includes more than 15 engaging and eyecatching toys, games and puzzles. In keeping with Janod’s other best-selling product lines, the range comprises lovingly crafted push-alongs, surprise reveal toys, an activity table and a play set, though Neil Montgomery, UK commercial director at Juratoys, says the team is particularly enamoured with the Dino Ride-On thanks to its cute face and soft, removable tail.

“Our quality, design, packaging and competitive price points are where we feel we stand out,” he says, when asked what sets Juratoys apart from its competitors. “We’re not only known for some truly iconic classics that are popular year on year, but we also design up to 200 new products every year and pride ourselves on always delivering innovative, high-quality designs, to keep our collections fresh yet still remaining within our core values.”

He adds: “Every year we launch our 'Mid-Year Offer' which is always hugely popular with our retailers. We also have many useful POS opportunities for retailers to take advantage of including window displays, wooden display stands and gorgeous bags featuring our wonderful brands, to hand out to consumers.”

Hape has a range of POS and marketing support in place to suit any retailer, from branded bags and shelf strips to scaled-up to Shop in Shop installs and window displays unique to each retailer. Hape also offers a host of online support services for customers with a web presence including web audits, promotional banners, social media support, and much more. Lisa Fuller says: “We can cater to any retailer’s request with our specialist design team on hand to help.”

As a distributor, promoting its brands through its website is a key focus for A.B.Gee, which also uses various social media platforms, email and Mailchimp campaigns to drive awareness of the lines it offers. This is bolstered with high visibility at the trade shows the company attends and regular online and print media advertising. A.B.Gee also ensures its sales team is well educated on its exclusive ranges in particular, allowing each member to provide a healthy level of insight when communicating with their customers. Anna Vaughan, marketing manager, says that whilst the company doesn’t have any more trade shows coming up this year, its showroom is open for customers all year round. She explains: “Most items are out of packaging, so visitors to the showroom can enjoy a really hands-on, tactile experience, and we also have regular offers on this range plus some great FSDU bundle deals. We advise everyone to come on down and take a look.

Melissa & Doug is pulling out all the stops this year to support both its products and its retail partners. David Lubliner says the company’s roll-out of new wood-based displays will help improve the company’s in-store branding and really create shout-out within busy retail environments. It is also providing better merchandising solutions for some of its most popular wooden products, including its 2023 new wooden puzzles, the Latches Board and pretend play wooden food.

“At the same time, the continued growth of our UK social media channels enables us to drive brand awareness and to talk directly to consumers about new product launches and retailer promotions, helping drive footfall and online sales,” he adds. “Our daily content also includes stop-motion videos to showcase product USPs, plus competitions, tips on play, polls and parenting hacks. We also generate a drumbeat of positive product reviews from organic influencers, parents who are strong advocates of Melissa & Doug’s mission to create toys that foster open-ended play. Our influencer partnerships will be ramped up during Q4 with more in-depth content to support parents as they consider toys to buy for Christmas.”

“Our hero toy for this year is the new Wooden Work & Play Desktop, an exciting addition to our infant range,” David finishes. “Aimed at toddlers who want to mimic their parent as they ‘work from home’, this fun look-alike laptop bears all the hallmarks of a typical Melissa & Doug pretend play set: wonderful ‘real life’ details plus originality and relatability. There’s nothing else quite like it currently on the market aimed at such young children.”