Special Feature - Nuremberg Review

What’s hot in Nuremberg?

Following hot on the heels of London Toy Fair, Spielwarenmesse drew the global Toy industry together in Nuremberg for five days of networking, inspiration, Bratwurst and Weissbier at the end of January. Toy World was there to soak it all up and reports back on the show, with insight and feedback from a selection of leading exhibitors.

Marking the 74th iteration of the world’s biggest trade fair for the Toy & Games industry, 28th January to 1st February saw NürnbergMesse welcome nearly 2,400 exhibitors from 71 countries and 57,500 visitors from across the globe (126 nations, to be exact) for Spielwarenmesse, an unmissable part of the annual global trade fair calendar. There was one major absence, which became the talk of the halls throughout the show this year (we’re talking about the cold, of course; it was unseasonably warm and made lugging our big coats/hats/scarves everywhere rather pointless), but other than that, all the usual elements of the show were present and correct: toys, games and kids products from almost every sector imaginable, pretzels, confusedlooking visitors poring over maps of the showground and excitement galore.

I was lucky enough to attend the press tour which took place on the opening day of the show. Commencing just after the inaugural ToyPitch (which gave 12 speakers from companies including Spin Master, Ty, Bruder and more an opportunity to showcase their newest launches to an engaged international crowd), the tour included a presentation from Toynamics Europe on board a bus, cake and macarons with Mattel in celebration of its milestone 80th anniversary, and pictures with a life-size Hot Wheels F1 car as well as an assortment of costume characters that gathered to officially open the show.

After that, it was time to get down to business. And by that, I mean walking. Lots and lots of walking. Anyone who’s ever attended Spielwarenmesse will know that the NürnbergMesse is huge and this year it was even bigger, with the award-winning Hall 3C added to the layout for the first time as the home of Baby & Infant Articles and Lifestyle Products. It’s certainly a beautiful hall, being light, airy and somewhat Scandinavian in design. Kudos to organiser Spielwarenmesse eG for delivering on its promise to ensure good footfall by laying on additional signage; it certainly seemed like 3C was attracting its fair share of visitors.

Judging by the conversations team Toy World had throughout the show, a number of exhibitors felt the aisles were on the quiet side. As we tend to roam all the halls, versus manning a stand all day long, we often get asked for our take on things. It’s always a difficult one to call, truth be told; yes, some halls seemed quiet, but in others, you’d certainly have struggled to rush to your next meeting, owing to the throngs of people obstructing your path –there are so many variables to take into account that one person’s perception is often polar opposite to another’s. Hall 12.2, for example, was always heaving. Michael Hick, vice president UK & Ireland, Benelux & Nordics at Mattel, told us he’d never seen the show so busy: “On the Wednesday afternoon, you could barely move on our stand. Our galleries were packed and there was almost no room to sit down. You could really feel the excitement in the air.”

Like Mattel, Zuru is one of only a handful of manufacturers with a permanent showroom on the top floor of NürnbergMesse, which Lucy Figg, Marketing manager, UK & Ireland, says reflects how far the company has come in the past 23 years. “It’s incredible to think that not long ago, Nick and the team were working from a 5x5m booth,” she enthused. “Nowadays we have three permanent spaces, complete with a state-of-the-art showroom, which this year welcomed over 3,000 visitors. After kicking things off with our International Team Summit, we unveiled our exciting 2025 line-up and even gave a sneak peek into what’s coming in 2026. Standout highlights included the sheer level of innovation coming through for 2025 across our key brands XShot, Mini Brands, Pets Alive, Robo Alive, Hug-A-Lumps and Max. Plus, we were thrilled to introduce exciting new licences across our portfolio, within core categories such as plush (Snackles and Fuggler) and collectibles (Mini Brands and 5 Surprise).”

Tomy, meanwhile, attracted visitors to its stand by promising them the chance to temporarily gain control of a friend or colleague by playing new launch The Human Controller, an opportunity Toy World couldn’t pass up –even if we weren’t very in control. Mary Wood, managing director (UK & Germany), enthused: “We had a blast at Spielwarenmesse. The highlight had to be the unilaterally enthusiastic reaction to our new game The Human Controller, which we featured at the front of our stand. Lots of positive comments came in via Linked In as well, as we demoed the game throughout the show. We came to Spielwarenmesse thinking that 100,000 units might be bold for the UK market, but the feedback from all key retailers supported that view. We now need to fight over production - but that’s a good problem to have.”

As is traditional, the opening day of the show ended with the magnificent ToyNight party, an excuse for visitors to let their hair down, enjoy German fine dining,and dance the night away. The theme this year was the wet and wonderful Waterworld, a truly blue affair that even included water-jetpack performers.

Day 2 of Spielwarenmesse kicked off with the unveiling of the highly coveted ToyAwards on-stage at the Toy Business forum in Hall 3A, the first in a raft of activities scheduled throughout the day. In honour of its 20th anniversary, the Toy Business Forum offered new ways for exhibitors and visitors to make the most of their time at the show, laying on informative and educational presentations, live podcast recordings and fireside chats with some of the industry’s most knowledgeable and engaging speakers. Topics included the ongoing focus on toy sustainability from Sharon Keilthy, associate director of SustainabilityWorks Ireland, the impact of Gen Alpha on the toy market, with Denis Crushell, chief commercial officer at Precise TV and Lisa Morgan, MD of Generation Media, and Spin Master CEO Max Rangel in conversation about how he became the head of the Canadian company (and whether he has time for hobbies). In between talks, live music acts entertained the audience while the numerous food trucks provided additional dining options for those who wanted to linger and perhaps do a spot of networking. This new format seemed a huge hit with everyone who’d dropped by, offering an additional space for rest and relaxation as well as the opportunity to learn something new from industry experts.

Back out in the thick of it, exhibitors continued to enjoy the show. Andrea John, managing director of the nearly 100-year-old German exhibitor John Toys, called Spielwarenmesse 2025 a spectacular event, telling us: “It was great seeing the domestic and international commercial teams come together to show our customers from all around the world our fantastic line-up for 2025 and beyond. Although we are well known as one of Europe’s leading ball manufacturers, the company is evolving. We are now becoming known for so much more than balls: our range of licensed bubbles gained so much attention at the show, especially our Disney licensed character bubble solution. The reaction from buyers blew us away, so we have high expectations for the range as we move forward.”

Bruder, another German company, also felt the show was a positive one. Area Sales manager Florian Loh noted that while macroeconomic conditions will no doubt present continued challenges throughout 2025, the overall mood amongst Bruder’s trading partners was more optimistic than it was a year ago, a sentiment many would share. Bruder certainly had plenty to celebrate at the show, with 2025 marking the company’s landmark 50th Spielwarenmesse, and was showcasing a raft of exciting new model vehicles which seemed a hit with buyers.

“Bruder’s new introductions for the new year more than adequately represent each and every key section from our assortment (agriculture, construction, emergency, leisure time, Roadmax etc.) and they garnered a very positive reaction on the part of our customers – the Super Heavy Tow Truck, available in either Scania or Mack licences, really stood out,” said Florian. “On top of that, we highlighted the 50th Bruder brand anniversary with an exclusively designed timeline wall, in combination with a pair of cabinets displaying historic toys and real-life developments from the past 50 years. On top of our booth design, the official party on Thursday’s RedNight was proudly dedicated to this significant Bruder milestone.”

Wow! Stuff, which headed to Nuremberg with a Toy of the Year award added to its trophy cabinet, was inundated throughout the show with visitors keen to check out the latest additions to the emerging Puppetronics category. Head of Marketing and Brands, Kerry Tarrant, described the energy on the company’s stand as ‘incredible’, with non-stop conversations taking place and an overwhelming response to Wow Stuff!’s latest ranges.

“The enthusiasm from our global partners for our Puppetronics portfolio was nothing short of phenomenal,” she added. “If anything, the show reaffirmed the strength of the brand and the impact we’re making in the industry. It was a truly inspiring experience and an amazing opportunity to reinforce our commitment to innovation and developing category-defining products. As for standout moments, I'd say the reactions to the products in our secret room were pretty memorable… but they are all, of course, secret!”

As always, special thanks must also go to Stuart Whitehill, who organises the British Pavilion at Spielwarenmesse in Hall 11. He and his team work tirelessly on the pavilion floorplan and to keep everyone who visits the lounge fed and watered with endless tea, coffee and biscuits, which are always hugely appreciated, as well as something a little stronger at the end of each day for those who wish to partake as the on-stand parties got underway. Due to a few companies pulling out of the British Pavilion for a variety of reasons beyond its control, the Overseas Fairs team faced some last-minute changes to the layout, but pivoted quickly to ensure exhibitors who had been seeking additional space could have it; the British lounge was also slightly bigger this year, meaning there was more space for keeping meetings within the hall, rather than having to try and find a quiet table elsewhere. It’s a huge plus for the likes of Toy World, giving us the perfect base from which to operate and distribute the magazines – which flew off the shelves this year in record time - and somewhere to refuel on much-needed caffeine before once more hitting the aisles.

If our 10.30pm flight back to Stansted on Thursday night was anything to go by, we all felt the same once our time at the show was over: exhausted but inspired, optimistic for the year ahead and keen to get cracking on the follow-up. We’re already looking forward to doing it all again from 27th-31st January 2026, when Spielwarenmesse celebrates its 75th anniversary. It’s sure to be another unmissable event – see you there.