Feature: Arts & Crafts

Crafty ideas

With families spending more time at home than ever before during the past year, there has been a boom in arts & crafts as children and adults alike find their inner creativity. But can this be sustained now we are easing out of lockdown restrictions? Sam Giltrow speaks to some of the leading manufacturers in the sector.

Whether it’s painting, sticking, colouring, or constructing, the arts & crafts category has seen a huge surge in popularity in the past year as we seek to while away the hours stuck at home during lockdown restrictions. With many parents working from home and kids off school, there has been a turn towards activities which keep youngsters off their screens and busy with minimal supervision, while recognising the importance of quiet time and encouraging learning through play.

Sales of such products have skyrocketed, and toy companies and retailers alike are now hoping the momentum can be maintained as we head towards the summer holidays with the likelihood that many families will opt for a staycation.

Damien Collett, head of sales UK & Ireland at SES Creative, which offers a range of over 350 arts & crafts products, believes that with the high uptake in crafting amongst families, especially in the pre-school age group, a mixture of good communication across the various social media channels combined with new and exciting products is the best way to sustain the current crave for crafting.

“By using social media, we are able engage directly with our end users, allowing them to share their creations, and it allows us to demonstrate the benefits, different activities and introduce our new products,” he explains. “New products are vital for this age range as it is important that there is always something new and interesting for children to do and discover. That is why we have introduced over 70 new arts & crafts products this year to ensure there is variety in choice and interests, to offer children fun-filled activities that are not only a good group activity, but also teach them key skills along the way.”

SES Creative’s most popular products during the pandemic have represented a varied selection of categories, but activities such as casting and painting with themes of dinosaurs, unicorns and animals have been especially popular. Woodwork sets have also proved a big hit, along with paint, particularly fingerpaint, textile and poster paint, and pre-school products that have educational and sensory benefits or assist with key skills.

Jade Childs, Crayola brand manager at Vivid Toy Group, agrees that maintaining a strong relationship with consumers is absolutely critical, even more so at this time: “As people seek more and more creative inspiration, we continue to post relevant content to all of our digital platforms and are making sure our consumer careline remains open to assist consumers directly, on everything from hints and tips to where to buy Crayola at this crucial time,” she says.

In addition, Crayola has worked with healthcare professionals and education and community groups to deliver supplies to those who can benefit from being able to express themselves creatively but without the means to access them.

During the lockdowns, Crayola also produced a series of videos with fun and easy craft ideas for families, which gained great traction on social media and YouTube. The biggest volume demand was for Crayola’s core stationery range across coloured pencils, Twistables and Markers, as well as paint.

Jade believes the growth will continue in the core, travel-friendly Crayola range as families take road trips this summer: “Almost as soon as children break for the summer holidays, retailers reset for Back to School, so the awareness of the range is always front of mind as well as front of store in many retailers over the summer. We will be continuing to create summer themed arts and crafts videos to help inspire parents and entertain budding artists over the summer months.”

She also expects the new Crayola products to become popular, including the recently launched new Colour‘n’Style Dolls range and the Colour‘n’Style catwalk wardrobe play set. Paint-sation is another brand launching for autumn/winter and, with the increase in popularity and demand for paint during the pandemic, Jade believes this will be a huge success.

Lockdown restrictions created a unique situation where parents were struggling to find ways to educate and entertain their children at home, says Mary Wood, general manager UK & Ireland, Tomy. Although it remains to be seen whether the recent momentum for arts & crafts is sustainable post-lockdown, Mary is hopeful for more returning customers once they have discovered new products: “Both games and arts & crafts products were in high demand because they provided stimulation, distraction and were an outlet for creativity. As we come out of lockdown, I don’t think any single toy company can claim they have a way to continue this unprecedented demand brought about by exceptional circumstances,” she explains. “That said, once consumers have tried a product and liked it, positive word of mouth can only help a brand or product to remain popular.”

Tomy’s Megasketcher brand was the company’s only brand not to grow in 2020, and Mary puts this down to store closures. “This product sells best when it can be seen in the flesh and demonstrated via the permanent FSDUs we offer year-round,” she explains. “As stores reopen and as space can be allowed for FSDUs (assuming social distancing eventually becomes a thing of the past), we expect to see a return to growth for this quality product.”

Mary found that 2020 was not a year where consumers or retailers wanted to take risks, so they turned to brands they trusted. Tomy’s Aquadoodle brand saw double digit growth with the core products of Super Deluxe Aquadoodle, Classic Aquadoodle and Peppa Pig Aquadoodle accounting for some 200,000 units sold in the UK last year. The brand will be launching a mat with the much-loved In the Night Garden licence later this year. “If that can build over time to be as strong as the Peppa Pig licence, we will be very happy,” says Mary.

Sustained growth has also been seen by Canal Toys, with Anthony Grimaud, CEO of Canal Toys UK, saying the company has seen an increase in average spend on its arts & crafts products, especially with £20 line items. Performing particularly well have been its Anti-bacterial Slime and Craze Sensations, and the company expects to see continued growth this year.

“I believe the key to our success has been our drive for constant innovation in our core brands, So Slime DIY, So Sand DIY and So Bomb DIY,” says Anthony, “added to launching brands that bring new themes and play patterns, such as Airbrush Plush with its washable chalk gun, and stencils for decorating your own soft toy unicorn.”

Phil Hooper, commercial director UK at Spin Master, says during the past year, parents have been particularly attracted to products that allow children to be creative and get away from digital screens. There has been huge demand for the Kinetic Sand and Cool Maker lines, with new launches keeping the brand fresh and bringing a more sensory aspect to play, and Phil believes the demand for such products can be sustained as they have such a “fiercely loyal following”. New Kinetic Sand launches have included scented ice cream options, and another new launch was the Sandisfactory play set, part of Spin Master’s hugely successful ASMR inspired Sandisfying range, and its first ever play set to feature black sand for more exciting and contrasted reveals.

Spin Master Toys is also excited to be re-launching Orbeez – gel beads that expand in water – this autumn, following its acquisition of the brand in 2019. It is an established brand with a huge following on Tik Tok and Instagram and over 22b views across social media, and its new soothing Spa will be launched later this year, as well as the Orbeez #Challenge: the first ever play set for kids who want to recreate all the Orbeez challenges they see online.

“The relaunch of the rebranded Orbeez has allowed the product to be more gender-neutral and therefore more appealing to a wider market, for both group and individual play,” says Phil. “We’re confident in the strength of our activity brands and will back the new launches with full integrated marketing campaigns including TV, digital, social, influencer, in-store and eCom support.”

PlayMonster UK also continues to invest heavily in research and development in the arts & crafts category, and marketing manager Meriç PekcanButcher says the company, which boasts such brands as My Fairy Garden, FabLab, Fuzzikins and Face Paintoos, continuously innovates to produce products which are not only fun but also give children the opportunity to express themselves through creativity. “With safe and high-quality components, our creative kits include everything required to achieve great end results that the children can be proud of,” says Meriç. “Plus, our innovative new packaging for the kits we are launching this year is environmentally friendly and user-friendly with extended lifespan, which gives consumers another reason to choose our products.”

With sustainability now a real buzzword in the toy industry and a huge focus for SES Creative too, does Damien Collett think toy manufacturers are doing enough in general, and how can sustainability be brought more into the arts & crafts space?

“Sustainability is more important now than ever,” he says, “and I believe while there are moves towards more social responsibility within the industry, there is still more we can do. Arts & crafts has the perfect opportunity to lead the way with regards to sustainability, by reducing waste in our products and eliminating plastic. SES Creative wants to keep building upon our CO2 neutral achievement; we have continued to build and grow our Eco range of products that uses recycled plastic, and use cardboard with a high percentage of natural materials. Our focus is to continue producing as much as we can ourselves, which allows us to review products and remove unnecessary plastic, lessening our impact on the environment and meeting the evolving needs of the current consumer.”

Retailers will be hoping the arts & crafts popularity continues, having enjoyed a surge in sales during the pandemic. Ian Melville, of Bright Star Toys in Linlithgow, Scotland says there has been a recent resurgence in popularity for Hama Beads while Brendan Will, of Will’s Toy Shop in Aberdeen says chalk was one of his biggest sellers, especially during the first lockdown when kids were using it on pavements during the sunny weather.

As well as providing a worthwhile activity, with a tangible and hopefully satisfying result, many retailers rely on arts & crafts products as steady sellers as they offer ideal price points for treats and gifting. A well-stocked selection can bring in repeat customers, evening out summer sales when the weather is unsuitable for outdoor toys. Some inventive retailers even encourage kids to share their creations, bringing them into store or posting them on social media, fostering a relationship with their customer base and encouraging repeat purchases. The pride achieved by creating something new is a feeling crafters are often keen to experience again and again.