Circana Insight

Variations on a theme

This month, Melissa looks at which areas of the UK toy market are showing growth, and which themes are currently catching the attention of consumers.

The UK Toys value performance for the first quarter of 2023 is flat compared to Q1 2022, while volume is up +1%. That represents a performance which is probably better than many expected at the start of the year. There are five supercategories showing growth, with Building Sets, now the largest supercategory accounting for 17.7% of all value spent on toys, the fastest growing so far this year. Games and Puzzles is the second fastest growing area, up +10% driven by Strategic Trading Card Games, Children’s games and Family Strategy Games growth. Plush is the third fastest gaining, with Squishmallows and licences driving growth. Other growth areas are Explorative and Other Toys and Vehicles.

Looking across the total toy market, there are some themes that both kids and adults have been drawn to, which are changing the most popular types of products and properties within the UK Toy market. The British have always been keen animal fans, and the biggest theme is Other Animals, which accounts for 10.5% of total toys sales, up from a 9% share in the same period last year. Within Other Animals, Peppa Pig is the largest property, but there has been strong growth from Little Live Pets and Sonic the Hedgehog, which are up +75% and +68% respectively. Outside of Other Animals there is also growth from both Dogs and Cats themes, up +23% and +114% respectively. Dogs’ growth is driven by the continued success of Bluey as well as growth from generic toy items, while Cats’ growth is driven by Gabby’s Dollhouse.

Interestingly Manga/Anime has overtaken both Space and Superheroes to be the number three most

popular theme in UK toys this year. Manga/Anime has grown from just 1.2% value share of UK Toys in Q1 2019 to 5.3% for Q1 2023, with year-on-year growth versus 2022 up +54%. Pokémon is the largest property in the theme and grew +49%, but it is far from the only growth property. Bakugan, Dragon Ball Z and Yu-GiOh are all up double-digits this year, while smaller, more specialist properties such as My Hero Academia, Naruto and Anime Heroes have also increased distribution and sales. Most of these properties have a mixed appeal to both kids and kidults. Sales of Manga

and Anime toys are mostly through Strategic Trading Cards, Plush and Action Figures & Accessories, but also growing through other categories such as Building Sets, Games and Puzzles.

Space remains a popular theme for UK toy buyers and is the fourth largest, accounting for 4.8% of total toy sales, doubling share since Q1 2019 and growing +15% this year. Key categories in the Space theme are Building Sets and Action Figures & Accessories, but there has also been a strong performance from Pre-school Toys and Learning Toys in Q1. Star Wars accounts for three quarters of all Space sales, while Lightyear is also contributing to growth in the first

quarter, along with the Among Us and NASA licences. Superheroes has fallen behind both Manga and Space in size this year, although it has the same share of the market as it did in 2019, accounting for 4.5% of total toys. Within the theme, Marvel Universe continues to grow, with Spidey and His Amazing Friends, Guardians of the Galaxy and Other Marvel growing. However, with several Superhero movies scheduled for release later this year, including a new Spider-man animated film and The Flash, there is plenty of time for superhero toys to rescue themselves.

Dinosaur theme momentum continues and is up +9% for Q1, following the third Jurassic World film release in 2022. In addition, dinosaur themed items within Robo Alive and Smashers ranges grew in Q1. Outside of the top themes and relatively small at the moment, Dragons has nevertheless seen early growth this year, up +21% in value. The Dungeons and Dragons property grew after the film release in March 2023, and this could be a theme to watch for this year.

Every year there are trends and favourite themes with the UK toy market. Some themes can be driven by film or TV programme’s popularity, but there is often a constant generic toy range behind the themes that is always on offer to consumers. Based on Q1 performance, it looks like 2023 might be the year of Manga for the UK market, but there are plenty of different themes to appeal across all age groups and genders, and there is always a new theme which can appear suddenly and drive new properties and items.

Property Progression:

Ahead of Fast X movie release in May, The Fast and the Furious toy property jumped up 22 places between February and March, more than doubling sales in March. This was driven by Lego Speed Champion items such as the Fast and Furious Nissan Skyline GT R R34 and 1970 Dodge Charge R/T, which were the No.9 and No.22 best-selling items in Standard Building Sets for March. In addition, there was also growth for the property from Simba Metal Vehicle and Die Cast items.

Fastest Growing Subclasses:

The fastest growing subclass YTD March 2023 is Standard Building Sets, which gained £5.9m sales compared to Q1 2022. This growth was driven by Lego Icons Botanical items, which performed very well around Mothers’ Day, Lego Speed Champions and continued growth from Star Wars. Strategic Trading Card Games also had a strong Q1, with the release of the new Pokémon Scarlet and Violet card range in March propelling sales.

Traditional Plush growth came from an ongoing strong performance by Squishmallows, now the No.1 property in the subclass. There was also growth from Pokémon, Bluey and Care Bears. Non-strategic Trading Cards and Collectibles growth is coming from the Adrenalyn XL Premier League items from Panini. Miscellaneous Toys growth continues to be driven by Zuru’s 5 Surprise range, with the new Foodie capsule adding to sales. There is also some growth from newly launched LankyBox items.

Mini Vehicles growth is coming from Hot Wheels, Matchbox and Monster Jam all growing double-digits this year. Pre-school Talking & Sound growth is driven by a continued increase in Toniebox sales and distribution in the UK. Reusable Compounds has seen growth this year with Play-Doh, Kinetic and Oosh all growing compared to last year. Infant Plush has grown through licences, with Beatrix Potter and Paddington two of the top items in the category.

Melissa Symonds - Director UK Toys, EuroToys Circana