5 minute read
Company Profile - Casdon
Grab a slice of the role-play action with Ooni
Just in time for summer, Casdon has launched its licensed Ooni pizza-making range. Made from recycled plastics, the range introduces a sustainability story to the role-play specialist’s portfolio and will be supported by a raft of marketing activities throughout the coming months. Casdon’s marketing manager, Simone Inskip, and Ooni Pizza Oven’s senior project manager, Claire Grant, tell Toy World how the partnership came about and why retailers should be fired up about this tasty new toy.
“I know that so many people feel they have to say this, but our partnership with Ooni has honestly been brilliant,” Simone tells us. “The whole process was the brainchild of Phil (Cassidy, managing director at Casdon) of course, but since then we’ve been immersed in Research & Development to bring the range to life alongside Ooni, and the journey could not have been better.”
The Ooni range marks the pizza oven manufacturer’s first foray into the world of toys, explains the company’s Claire Grant. She says: “We were approached by Casdon with the idea for the toy back in 2021 and instantly knew this was a product that would resonate with many of our customers. The team worked closely with Casdon throughout the design process to ensure the toy is a complete replica of the oven, and, importantly, is made using durable recycled plastics.”
Indeed, the materials used posed the greatest challenge when cooking up Casdon’s Ooni Koda Pizza Oven and Topping Station. As Casdon’s first ever toy to be made from recycled plastics, it was vital the Ooni range maintained the quality the company is known for with plastics that tick the sustainability box – no mean feat for any toy company.
So does this mean Casdon will be producing more toys made from recycled plastics in the future? It certainly could, though inherent complexities make this food for thought. As it is, most of Casdon’s packaging is recyclable, something the company arguably doesn’t shout about enough, and rising consumer demand for more sustainable toys makes this is an area worth exploring further.
Much like the De’Longhi barista coffee machine Casdon launched in 2023, the Ooni Koda Pizza Oven brings traditional role-play fun to kids in a new and modern way. Home pizza-making soared during Covid and has remained a popular (and delicious) family activity ever since, and children are therefore keen to emulate what they see their parents doing at the life-size version. Simone says her own kids cite their recent experience of playing with the new toy as ‘one of the best days ever’. “We all wore aprons and the kids made pretend pizzas while my husband and I made real ones: it made for a lovely afternoon for all involved,” she enthuses.
The Ooni range took pride of place on Casdon’s stand at London Toy Fair (some of you may recall the contentious vote the company was running over whether or not pineapple belonged on pizza – the debate apparently rages on). The reaction was overwhelmingly positive, with Simone saying the use of recycled plastics made it a great conversation starter. She also tells us that seeing the behind-the-scenes excitement of the Casdon team for new launches matched by that of the company’s retail partners is a special moment for all. Consumers, too, are showing their appreciation: early sales from Casdon’s own D2C site indicate the Ooni range is going to be popular.
One of the biggest joys of the process, according to Simone, has been the marketing autonomy she’s enjoyed. Casdon is trying to reach its own customers as well as Ooni’s, meaning the collaboration could explore some imaginative, creative new areas: as Simone puts it, simply to ‘have a lot of fun’.
The Ooni range is Casdon’s biggest launch of the year and accordingly, activity is planned right the way through to Christmas. Influencer activations are already underway, with carefully selected influencers creating posts in which they have fun with their kids in their own at-home Ooni ‘cooking schools’. Celebrities, to be announced ASAP, are also being brought on board for Facebook, Instagram and TikTok campaigns, the latter being a platform on which Casdon enjoys particularly high parental engagement. Ooni also works with a number of its own brand ambassadors: parents of children within the target age range will receive the roleplay range as part of a gifting campaign.
October marks National Pizza Month. Casdon will be supporting the Ooni range with a full month of activity including influencer marketing, digital advertising, competitions and giveaways – including for a prize package comprising Casdon’s entire Ooni role-play range and the real Ooni Koda pizza oven. Similar competitions from years gone by have yielded great engagement across all channels, and Simone is confident that its Ooni giveaway will see families clamouring for a slice of the action.
“It’s been brilliant working with Casdon on this special collaboration,” finishes Claire at Ooni. “Our driving force at Ooni is to bring pizza-making into people’s homes, so it’s really exciting that little ones can get in on the action too with our very first role-play Ooni Koda Pizza Oven and Pizza Topping Station.”
