Feature - Outdoor toys

On active duty

The demand for toys that get kids outdoors and active remains high, with parents and caregivers more aware than ever of the benefits of play outside of the home. Rachael Simpson-Jones discusses the breadth of product currently available and the increasing role social media plays in securing sales.

The Outdoor Toys category is astonishingly varied, encompassing everything from trampolines and go-karts to water tables and bubble machines, scaled-down versions of essential gardening get-up, kidand battery-powered scooters, giant garden games and much more.

Wheeled toys of all descriptions remain best-sellers, with many families having experienced the joys of family days out on two/three/four wheels during the pandemic. Bikes such as United Wheel’s Huffy range - now available in the UK following much success stateside - offer one option for getting out and about, but with each passing year the category welcomes a slew of innovative and increasingly high-tech ride-ons. For DGL, bringing cutting-edge technology to market has long been the bedrock of the company’s success in the marketplace, particularly with its Hover-1 hoverboards. Always looking to push things further and explore new areas, DGL continuously freshens up its existing products while also developing fun new lines that take it into new categories.

“By far and away the product I am most excited about at the moment is the Hover-1 Trak, an electric motorbike for kids aged 8+,” enthuses Pritesh Dave, EMEA sales manager at DGL. “This is something brand new not only to our range but this product area as a whole. Our US soft launch garnered some phenomenal feedback – people, as expected, love the product, and we cannot wait to launch it in 2022 across UK & Europe.”

E-scooters also remain a popular choice (and, among adult riders, may be even more attractive now following Fuelgate 2021). Within its own brand portfolio, MV Sports’ new range of Li-Fe and wired e-scooters will ‘take the category to the next level’, according to joint MD Phil Ratcliffe. At the time of writing, the use of e-scooters on anything bar private land is still illegal, unless part of a certified hire-scheme being trialled in some major cities, but demand is high regardless. When legislation allows their use on the roads, as is expected following pressure from organisations including climate action groups, sales will likely soar further still.

The big wide world also offers plenty of opportunities for outdoor role-play. Wilton Bradley has bolstered its Playhouse brand and built on the strength of its awardwinning range of outdoor Mud Kitchens with the new Make ‘n’ Mend Workbench, which is made from wood and designed to blend perfectly into any garden – ideal if kids want to make and fix along with a DIY/upcyclingobsessed parent during the summer months. Scott Eden, design director at Wilton Bradley, explains: “It’s no secret that when it comes to outdoor play, kids need no help in creating their own imaginary worlds. Our Playhouse brand of garden play furniture complements the desire to imagine and dream, and, as they are made from wood, the products also blend perfectly into any outdoor setting. Our Playhouse products provide kids with all the tools necessary, literally and metaphorically, to develop exceptional cognitive skills, co-ordination and more, seamlessly blending learning and play to create a range of stimulating experiences kids will love whilst playing and exploring textures, shapes and colours.”

Little Tikes, a leader in outdoor role-play, launched its Growing Garden range in March. Aimed at aspiring mini gardeners, the true-to-life range is designed for little ones with a love of the outdoors and is an ideal range of toys to enjoy alongside green fingered family members. Featuring a Watering Can & Gloves for tending to newly planted seeds, the collection also includes a Garden Hand Tools Bag for storing all the smaller gardening essentials. A Large Tool Set contains all the bigger tools every budding gardener needs, including a shovel, rake and garden hoe, and there's also a Wheelbarrow and Shovel; the wheelbarrow is designed with an easy-rolling front wheel which allows for endless hours of gardening fun. All sets include a Gardening Tips Booklet to help kids learn as they go, and the Growing Garden product boxes are dual-use and can be turned inside out and transformed into planters.

Following the success of Growing Garden, and the continued strength of the Fountain Factory Water Table, Michelle Lilley, head of marketing – UK Little Tikes, is looking forward to launching a completely new theme. Foamo, she explains, takes the outdoor play table concept in a ‘whole new direction’ by providing new play opportunities for children aged two and up. “It’s disruptive; we’re expecting it to really drive excitement with media, just like when we launched inflatables,” she says. “The range includes a Foamo machine - who wouldn’t want their very own foam machine? - and the Foamo 3-in-1 Water Table. The latter is my personal favourite. It combines the wonder of water, foam and bubbles – every kid’s favourite things. It will be supported by an exciting heavyweight marketing campaign including PR, social media and advertising support and has all the makings of a huge success. I can’t wait to see it launch.”

While foam play might be a relatively new entrant to the outdoor play category, bubbles have been a mainstay for generations. Whether they’re attempting to blow the largest bubble possible, racing to pop them before they touch the floor, or trying to land them delicately on an outstretched palm, kids are captivated by bubbles in all their shapes and sizes. Funrise’s Gazillion Bubbles brand has been a staple within the outdoor category since its initial launch almost 20 years ago. Demonstrating the company’s approach to the best in bubble tech, Q1 2022 welcomes the Gazillion Bubbles Twirlin’ Bubble Wand and the Giant Gazillion Bubbles Big Bubble Loop, among other new offerings. According to Craig Mair, national account manager, UK & Ireland, Funrise International, parents turned in even greater numbers to Gazillion Bubbles in 2020, for screen free play and time well spent with their kids during the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to impressive 37% growth. He adds: “2021 has been even more impressive, despite the end of lockdown and a particularly inclement summer, delivering another 35% growth in the first half alone. Even in these unprecedented times Gazillion Bubbles has proven to still be parents’ go-to for bubbles, definitely meeting and exceeding our expectations for the year.”

“We always strive to provide nothing short of the best products to our consumers and retailers,” continues Craig. “We make sure we are constantly progressing with innovative brands and products and are always trying to stay ahead of the game. We work very closely with our retailers to make sure they have everything they need, from new and ground-breaking toys that will deliver strong sales and profits on shelf, to tailored solutions and making sure they have product inventory even during these unprecedented times.”

These are unprecedented times indeed. Unless living under a rock, everyone reading this will be aware of the disruption suffered by the supply chain in recent months – container prices and shortages of HGV drivers among the leading culprits - and these troubles look like they won’t be going away any time soon: by some expert’s estimates, KPMG’s Don Williams among them, until at least mid-2022. Anecdotally, we’ve been hearing from retailers that the shipping crisis has galvanised them to bring in their outdoor stock earlier than ever before, something Pritesh at DGL and Phil at MV Sports have both seen for themselves.

“I think the major issue right now is getting full containers out of factories,” says Phil. “We have a healthy forward order book, not only because customers are ordering earlier but because retailers are in need of stock as soon as possible.”

Pritesh, meanwhile, says DGL has, as a supplier, also been bringing orders forward, as have its retailers, ruefully noting that this year’s ‘plans of its own’ have resulted in new challenges. These challenges have extended product lead-times to beyond that which Pritesh would ever have imagined. He adds: “I’ve actually kept up to speed thanks to the regular updates from our friends at Toy World magazine.”

Irrespective of logistics issues, all our contributors tell us they’re placing strong marketing behind all their latest outdoor launches. Funrise supports Gazillion Bubbles, like all its brands, with robust marketing campaigns that drive sell-through and repeat purchase, working with its Global Brand Marketing team and externally with PR agencies. New brand commercials are created each season to promote the newest Gazillion products, and are placed on both linear and digital platforms. Social media forms a significant part of the company’s marketing efforts: this includes working with social media influencers with high engagement and followings to secure space in the everevolving world of social media.

Social media marketing is also a major focus for Little Tikes. The company will be increasing its marketing spend for the remainder of 2021 as well as for spring 2022, and a large portion of that spend will go towards social campaigns.

“It’s important to us as a brand,” explains Michelle Lilley, when asked why social plays such a big role for Little Tikes. “Communicating daily with our customer base in real time is priceless, and a key part of our marketing strategy. We have nearly 600,000 followers on Facebook alone (over 803,000 across all UK social channels), and the UK’s largest preschool Facebook following too. Social media also provides a great opportunity to create exciting content and innovative campaigns. We partnered with LadBaby this year to pull a hilarious prank on LadBabyMum – both influencers known for their sense of humour, with a hugely engaged audience of parents. By surprising her with a special edition of ‘the UK’s bestselling car’ – an oversized Cozy Coupe – we reached 13.8m people, including 6.3m video views.”

MV Sports, meanwhile, is driving new marketing content across all key items, with Dream Dens as well as its Spider-Man and Disney Princess wheeled toys appearing on TV until the end of this month, and Wilton Bradley says it has ‘big plans’ in the pipeline for the official launch of its new outdoor product, Water Wall. First announced at the start of September, Water Wall teaches kids about gravity, angles and water flow, offering limitless combinations so they can enjoy a different creation every time they play, simply by moving the components. Julian Marsh, marketing coordinator at Wilton Bradley, comments: "The Water Wall is a must have for households with imaginative toddlers. With a multitude of modular accessories included, kids can have fun creating their own water flows and seeing their problem-solving skills come to life as they pour water from the top."

Over the following pages, Toy World readers can discover the other new products getting kids outside and active across the nation.