Toy Fair 2025

The toys are back in town

Toy Fair is officially just a few weeks away and excitement for the threeday extravaganza continues to build. Here, Majen Immink, director of Fairs & Special Events at organiser the British Toy & Hobby Association (BTHA), shares everything there is to know about this year’s event.

Toy Fair, the UK’s biggest trade fair solely focused on the Toys & Games industry, opens its doors from Tuesday 21st to Thursday 23rd January at Olympia Events in Kensington. Now in its 71st year, the show has been sold out since September 2024 and is preparing to welcome more than 250 exhibitors across both levels of the Grand and National Halls, as well as a section of the Upper West Hall. These will comprise both big-name returnees – and frankly, there are too many to list here (not to mention the politics involved in accidentally forgetting someone!) - to new exhibitors including Fratelli Games, Small World Toys, 3Doodler, Target Darts and many more.

2024 marked the milestone 70th anniversary of Toy Fair, which enjoyed a particularly celebratory atmosphere. The lovely thing about Toy Fair, though, is that there is always something to celebrate – another Christmas put to bed, the start of a new year, the impending launch of thousands of new products and 12 months of new opportunities to go after.

“I feel that Toy Fair always has this positive buzz and sense of excitement and anticipation, no matter the year or the current climate,” enthuses Majen, who is very hard at work, along with her team, putting the finishes touches to this year’s event. “Of course, we always set out to plan the very best Toy Fair we can, and by listening to feedback and talking to all our stakeholders we ensure we’re keeping the show both on track and evolving. However, it’s our exhibitors, their stands and their products that create the visual impact and the sense of excitement at Toy Fair. We’re bringing all corners of the industry together under one roof, and the vibrancy and buzz will be tangible as you step into the halls, especially on the first morning.”

Day 1, as is tradition, is Press Day, which Majen calls a ‘golden opportunity’ for exhibitors to capture the attention of top tier media outlets (including yours truly, naturally) which will be on hand first thing, complete with photographers and camera crews, to cover the event and seek out reportable topics. Majen explains: “We encourage exhibitors to make the most of Press Day by reaching out to media in advance and being active on social media. At the show, it’s always worth creating interactive demonstrations and challenges on your stand for journalists to get involved with, or arrange giveaways, and welcome all visitors to your stand so media will be keen to approach you. Press Day is a prime opportunity for exhibitors to secure exposure for their new products, making it well worth making an effort to stand out and make your presence there an unforgettable experience. We also strongly encourage all exhibitors to inform the Toy Fair’s PR agency, Retail PR (toyfair@retailpr.co), about any fun events, celebrity appearances or challenges that will be taking place so they can be added to the event timetable. This will be shared with all registered media and will help drive representatives to your stand.”

Exhibitors are also encouraged to leave media packs - whether a physical paper copy, USB or QR code - in the on-site press office located upstairs on the National Gallery. The advice is to bring these to the Press Office during setup day (Monday 20th January) so the Retail PR Press Team can lay them out. Just outside the Press Office is also where the Toy Fair Hero Toys for 2025 will be on display, having been revealed at a special press breakfast on Day 1. Do be sure to make your way up there at some point to check out this year’s worthy winners. Day 1 will also host the beloved character parade, during the day, and see the winners of the Toy Retailer of the Year Awards 2024 announced at a special evening event.

Back downstairs, this year’s show has seen the Greenhouse rebranded as the Gold Zone to mark the area’s 20th anniversary. Toy Fair has long supported emerging talent at Toy Fair by giving it a dedicated space in which to shine.  By rebranding to the Gold Zone, the BTHA is helping highlight and promote the companies exhibiting – as well as the many hidden treasures in this area – even more. If you’re looking for enthusiastic, innovative and talented exhibitors with a huge passion for toys and games and some truly fresh, unique ideas, then you absolutely must visit the Gold Zone.

“The Gold Zone’s (previously the Greenhouse) significance is underscored by its history of nurturing brands that have achieved substantial success over the years, such as Micro Scooters and Bananagrams. Exhibitors in the Gold Zone this year include Kefii, Buddy and Barney, Strong Point Games, Max & Ivy, plus many more. Please do pay them a visit.”

Change is also afoot elsewhere, with redevelopments ongoing at Olympia Events. Majen say these have led to enforced changes to the show’s footprint, which have ‘thrown up some challenges’ this year (mitigated by the understanding and patience of exhibitors, for which she is grateful).

“The Olympia redevelopments, whilst still ongoing for Toy Fair 2025, should largely be finished for Toy Fair 2026 and we can’t wait to see the final site. Toy Fair is such a bright and vibrant show, and the transformation of Olympia will only enhance this experience and offer extra opportunities on site to network and entertain customers. With so many new restaurants, bars and hotels being added to the site, the offering around the show for visitors and exhibitors will be greatly improved. Olympia will become a destination in itself and, looking ahead, we’re really looking forward to hosting Toy Fair 2026 there.”

Majen is keen to reiterate to retailers the importance of visiting Toy Fair with as big a team as possible (and if you want our advice, for as long as possible) in order to cover everything there is to see. But however long buyers plan to attend for, the main thing they should be doing is ensuring their time will be well spent by planning ahead and taking advantage of every available opportunity to network and do meaningful business. After all, Toy Fair is a key meeting place at which to make important purchasing decisions, spot the latest trends and catch up with colleagues, presenting valuable opportunities to forge new connections whilst building on existing relationships.

Majen says: “We appreciate that some retailers will send smaller teams these days, but with the presence of more than 250 exhibiting companies at the show, it’s almost impossible to spend time at every stand. This is why we recommend setting meetings up well in advance - but also leaving a little time for perusing the stands you haven’t got meetings with, and potentially uncovering a gamechanger.”

To help with the planning process, the Toy Fair website has an interactive floor plan and a detailed online exhibitor list. Exhibitor listings and floorplans and can also be found in this issue, on pages 160-162 and 164-166 respectively. These are followed by an exhaustive preview of the new launches which will be unveiled by the leading toy companies at the show – the perfect place to spot some of the hottest new lines coming to your shelves in 2025.

A hugely popular event, last year’s level of demand saw the organisers expand the floorplan into part of the Upper West Hall and as mentioned earlier, exhibitor space at Toy Fair 2025 (unsurprisingly) sold out months ago. However, the unfortunate demise of a few toy companies, and the acquisition/mergers of several more, have created a level of dynamism that may ultimately create potential last-minute opportunities to secure a stand. Majen advises: “Historically, these changes are dealt with at an earlier stage in the year. We maintain a small waiting list and recommend that interested companies stay in close contact for updates on available spaces. Of course, if any cancellations arise, we move quickly to fill the space where possible. Any companies still wanting to join the waiting list can do so by applying on our website: www.toyfair.co.uk.”   

While the show kicks off with Press Day, it ends with Influencer Day on Thursday 23rd. Taking place on what tends to be the quieter of the three days, Influencer Day sees the doors of Olympia Events opened to a select group of Toy & Game influencers with relevant, engaged followings. Although it was greeted with some scepticism when it was first introduced, Influencer Day has now been fine-tuned and proved its worth as an opportunity for the BTHA to connect high-quality influencers with exhibitors in a way that fosters authentic, impactful collaborations.

In order to do this, the BTHA implements a vetting process, prioritising not just follower count (which this year has increased to a minimum of 20k) but also audience relevance and content quality, an approach Majen says is designed to create “genuine experiences and networking between toy companies and quality influencers. Influencer Day is all about forging meaningful relationships that support brand and product exposure throughout the year. We encourage exhibitors wanting to connect with influencers to think about unique ways to engage with them on the Thursday. The influencers will be looking to create standout content at the show, so they’ll likely jump at the chance to get involved in exciting demonstrations or funny challenges.”

Elsewhere at the show, the event’s live, in-house TV channel, Toy Fair TV, will also have a crew roving the show floor, adding to the feeling of positivity and excitement created by the vast array of toys and games being showcased by this year’s exhibitors. Look out for enthusiastic hosts Gavin Inskip and Anna Williamson if you’d like to be featured.

“Seeing faces we haven’t seen for a year is great, but just watching the industry come together in one space creates such a fun and lively atmosphere,” finishes Majen, when asked what she’s looking forward to most about Toy Fair 2025 opening its doors. “From an operations perspective, watching the build-up and then opening smoothly on day one is one thing, but seeing the show through and receiving feedback, both positive and constructive too, is hugely helpful. If I get a free five minutes at some point, I’ll definitely set out around the show to see what new products our exhibitors will be launching for 2025. I wish our visitors and exhibitors all the best for a successful year.”

In the following comprehensive feature, we bring readers a raft of information from this year’s Toy Fair exhibitors, including the ranges they’ll be showcasing and unmissable events taking place across the show. As always, Toy World will be located right at the heart of the event, between the National and Grand Halls (B23). We’ll be out in force for the whole three days; if you want to book an appointment with one of the team, please get in touch ASAP as our diaries are already filling up. See you there!