Feature - Dolls & Collectibles

Hello Dolly!

As dolls and collectibles suppliers work hard to keep the category fresh, Marianna Casal examines how this traditional sector has evolved and how companies make their products shine in a crowded market.

Despite the Barbie movie driving sales last year, the Fashion Dolls category still fell in value, as did the Dolls supercategory by -13% (Circana 2023). Dolls was one of two supercategories to contribute to more than 40% of overall toy buying decline before Christmas.

However, the collectibles market grew +6% in value in 2023 and accounted for 22% of all volume purchased, so some companies have elected to pivot and encourage children and parents to embrace collectability in order to supplement larger one-off purchases.

Zapf Creation introduced Baby born minis last year with 24 miniature dolls to collect, complemented by miniature playsets and accessories. This flexibility helps consumers who are looking to make smaller purchases while continuing to add to one set, in effect ending up with a substantial plaything built up over time.

At Magicbox, collectability is being driven by introducing regular themes to its Kookyloos dolls. Not only do they have a USP of three facial expressions per

doll by the swipe of a finger, but new launches are driven by consumer trends. Suzie Howes, head of Marketing at Magicbox, tells us: “Having introduced the Pet Party series this season, we’re already gearing up for the next big wave launching this summer: Kookyloos Golden Gala. This theme is inspired by styles seen on the catwalk this year, including florals, butterflies and diamonds.

“With the ongoing cost of living challenges, consumers are tending to favour the lower price points of collectibles, rather than the higher priced larger playsets. I believe it would be a missed opportunity not to assign more shelf space to these collectible, pocket-money ranges.”

The power of the dolls category is that it teaches children about nurture and care in a role-play scenario. Dolls can be a powerful tool to develop social and emotional skills in kids as they invent scenarios and have pretend conversations either to a baby doll or between fashion dolls, while allowing their imaginations to flourish.

“It isn’t just about winning girls back,” says IMC’s UK

and Germany Marketing manager, Kerry Tarrant, “it’s also about educating parents about the play benefits of dolls and encouraging spend back into that category.” IMC is doing this by creating a miniature world for its Cry Babies dolls: Cry Babies Playtime, which will be supported by online content.

“This new range is not only a natural evolution of a much-loved brand, but the Playtime content and toys –which go hand in hand – feel fresh and exciting without feeling unfamiliar to fans,” explains Kerry. “The ability to connect the toys together so that children can build their own Cry Babies Playtime world represents a real shift in the nurturing doll space and encourages more engagement and interactivity.”

Licensing has also been a growth factor for the Cry Babies Range with the success of the Disney Cry Babies Tiny Cuddles. IMC took the plunge knowing the power of Disney among all generations. “In terms of looking ahead,” Kerry adds, “we are always looking for gaps or opportunities in the category and our marketing plans in

order to appeal to our target audience and set ourselves apart from the competition. Opportunities to innovate are becoming more and more relevant within marketing plans.”

Epoch is best-known for Sylvanian Families within the collectible space. Sylvanian Families sets are in the mid to higher price range but even so, the range has remained a best-seller. This is a brand which has enjoyed longevity, proving popular from generation to generation through a combination of nostalgia, imagination and play value.

Phil Hooper, managing director at Epoch, explains some of the factors behind the brand’s enduring success: “Sylvanian Families stays relevant because the combination of open-ended play and its focus on a nurturing and loving environment allows children to expand their imagination to create their own role-play scenarios. Sylvanian Families’ wide array of different characters, buildings and timeless themes such as forest and nursery, gives children the freedom to explore and create their own space in the Sylvanian Village in an immersive and endearing way. In addition, not only did many of today’s parents grow up with Sylvanian Families, and so have a fondness towards the brand, but we are seeing them pass down sets which they’ve kept from their own childhood to their children, making it a tradition.”

The company is continuously introducing new themes for the sets, driven in part by playground trends, movies, and high-volume collectability. In other words, Epoch is seeking new ways to bring newness while “retaining the heritage that Sylvanian Families is known and loved for”.

To support Sylvanian Families fans on lower budgets, Epoch has embraced the impulse purchase trend. Its Baby Collectibles Series blind bags feature characters which can easily be integrated into many of the existing playsets. In addition, new seasonal releases serve to drive the demand for collectibles, particularly among hardcore fans, enabling them to build their collections through new themes and expand their own Sylvanian Families villages.

At the start of 2024, following its big movie year, Barbie unveiled yet another miniature world to appeal to fans new and old alike: Mini BarbieLand. The range, which was released last month, taps into the mini trend by introducing the brand’s most iconic dolls, vehicles and playsets in a smaller scale. Mini BarbieLand includes fan-favourite Barbie lines including Barbie Fashionistas, Barbie Colour Reveal, Barbie Cutie Reveal and Barbie Pop Reveal, integrating the unboxing surprise. The collection also includes Barbie’s iconic Dreamhouse, Dreamcamper, Dreamplane, Dreamboat, Convertible Car and Jeep – it’s Barbie’s entire system of play in small-scale form.

Kim Culmone, SVP and global head of Design Barbie & Dolls, describes why she’s so proud of this innovation: “Our design team works closely with our Global Consumer Insights team to monitor what’s going on in the industry and the world around kids today. They identified collectibles, miniature and cuteness as things kids and fans are really responding to right now, so my team set out to find a way to bring that trend to life for Barbie in a new way. They studied the most iconic dolls and playsets from Barbie’s universe and set about shrinking everything down to miniature. Playability was a key focus. It was a unique experience working in a different scale to build in features like working elevators in the Dreamhouse and the Colour Reveal surprises.”

This new Barbie world was a great way for the brand to use the momentum created by the blockbuster Barbie movie to continue to provide excitement for lovers of the brand, and even intrigue new consumers. Krista Berger, SVP Barbie and head of Dolls, says: “The world of Barbie has never been more iconic and recognisable and is the perfect time to introduce Mini BarbieLand to evolve and affirm what fans love about Barbie. We want our consumers to be able to play with Barbie anywhere and at any time, which this new mini scale allows for.

“Strategically, the scale and price point also mean we can expand our relationships with nontraditional toy store retail partners. Barbie can be in petrol stations and supermarkets like never before. This is the perfect opportunity for the Barbie brand to reach an entirely new audience, beyond doll collectors and into fans of smaller collectibles. We are so excited to see how fans respond to this new mini scale.”

When it comes to marketing, trend worthy, collectible products harmonise well with online content. At Magicbox, the marketing team is working hard to build its own channels for each brand. Kookyloos is benefiting greatly from the channel growth, but also a dedicated Meta advertising schedule, reaching new and existing Kooklyloos fans.

“Kookyloos dolls lend themselves really well to usergenerated content,” remarks Suzie. “Not only do they look great, but they encourage children to be creative, making them brilliant for inspiring imaginative play. It’s a range that lends itself brilliantly to influencer campaigns on social media, with posts that inspire parents to buy the brand and bring the magic of Kookyloos to their kids’ playtime.”

At IMC, Kerry agrees: “It’s all about creating memorable moments for kids to re-enact with the toys”. The company has a full stack approach to target each area of digital a child might be seeing, and as TV advertising plays a much smaller part of the mix, so other channels will increase.

User-generated content is the focus for Epoch’s Baby Collectibles range mainly on Instagram and TikTok, which has been driving organic reach and awareness successfully. For the original Sylvanian dolls and dollhouses, traditional TV campaigns remain a key driver, especially during strong selling periods such as Easter, back-to-school and the lead-up to Christmas.

Barbie will be hopping on the TikTok mini trends bandwagon with a UK Barbie TikTok campaign. The robust strategy for Mini BarbieLand will be appearing all over the media including TV, YouTube and gaming platforms.

While doll-focused companies expand their brands by enhancing collectability and providing lower price points, MGA Entertainment has long been known for the L.O.L. Surprise! brand which was one of the top lines to boost the strong performance in the collectibles space last year. L.O.L. Surprise! offers a huge range of blind packaged collectibles priced under £9.99 which provide creative play and allow users to put together miniature models using UV light, across a wide range of themes. The new L.O.L. Surprise! Mix & Make Birthday Cake has welcomed even more creative possibilities for consumers. Each doll comes with three sachet mixes, glitter and a cup mould to craft a birthday cake dress. Children combine the mix with water to help create their own designs to style their new character.

In addition, Rainbow High, MGA’s fashion doll franchise, presents a higher but competitively priced range which complements the company’s Netflix series, now going into its fifth season. Series enthusiasts can take their love of the characters from the TV to their hands for physical play, to recreate favourite moments from the show or imagine their own stories. The new Rainbow High Classic Fashion doll range brings back original and fan-favourite characters from season one and also introduces a new play pattern – sparkle slime – designed to appeal to the brand’s younger fan base and add more play value to the box. Pamela Justice, head of Marketing UK & Ireland, explains: “MGA Entertainment recognises that it’s a tough market currently, and brands need to adapt to be accessible to all, which is why the business is on an ongoing mission to provide more affordable toys and added value amidst inflation. With the continued impact of the cost of living crisis, it is essential that we offer varying price points and giftable options.

“Customers are choosing to purchase dolls that offer an extended play pattern so it’s crucial that our retail partners are communicating this messaging to consumers both in-store and online. Brands with strong entertainment content such as L.O.L. Surprise! and Rainbow High offer added value when it comes to choosing a doll, as children tend to be invested in the brand and characters and in turn, the product.”

Talking to John Adam’s Lynette Leet at Toy Fair, she was particularly excited about the introduction of the Decora Girlz range to the John Adams dolls and collectibles portfolio this year, joining classic brand Tiny Tears and its Dollsworld range of baby dolls. Decora Girlz are a bright, colourful and quirky group of tween friends who love to decorate themselves in the bright and expressive Decora Kei style from Japan. According to Lynette: “This new doll brand is unlike anything else on the toy shelf and it allows children to customise their dolls and make them just as unique as themselves.” The collection launches with the 5-inch Sticker ‘N Style Dolls, with a second burst coming later this year. Within the DollsWorld collection, which has been captivating children for more than three decades, 2024 sees the introduction of the all-new DollsWorld Atlantic series, featuring eye-catching boutique packaging and updated doll designs with fresh patterns and prints.

Canadian-based doll specialist Battat Toys is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its Our Generation doll line in 2024, with a raft of marketing and in-store activity which sees the company renewing its focus on the UK market. According to owner Dany Battat, business development manager Allysyn Gordon came onboard last year to be “the face of Battat in the UK and Ireland market, and to work closely with our retail partners to develop the brand”. In addition to a longstanding partnership with Smyths, Battat is working hard to expand its distribution network and grow its presence within other specialist toy and department stores.

Allysyn tells Toy World: “Our Generation is sold in 60 countries across the globe. It’s an enormous line, with more designs and accessories than any other doll range. To celebrate the brand’s 30th anniversary, we have organised a wealth of impactful marketing activity across social media channels such as YouTube. In addition, there will be a host of different retail collaborations: Hamleys will be relaunching a brand new Our Generation Store in Regent Street and its other stores this summer, as well as showcasing new sister doll brands. Fenwick has already kicked off Our Generation celebrations with a successful in-store event, with more planned for both Our Generation and sister brand LullaBaby in both summer and autumn winter. Harrods Our Generation pop-up Boutique launches at the beginning of May, with the new department store aesthetic and a brand-new line of products for the third quarter, while other retail partners will launch brand new dolls and accessories throughout the year, supported with a variety of marketing activations."

In addition to the Our Generation range, Battat has returned to traditional nurturing doll play, launching a new baby doll brand in the UK called LullaBaby, which Allysyn describes as “a contemporary baby doll line, designed with the highest quality standards, at a very competitive price”. LullaBaby dolls have realistic faces with soft eyelashes, huggable soft bodies, easily removable clothing and a removable pacifier. The dolls are fragrance-free and filled with recycled fibres, while the packaging is made from recycled materials, printed with soy-based inks and is 100% recyclable.

Over the following pages, readers can find detailed product information from these suppliers and plenty more which have much to offer in the Dolls and Collectibles categories.