IMAGINE Fashion Week without the clothes but toys. Think Oscars but not of actors but of manufacturers.
Held in Nuremberg, Germany, famous for gingerbread, sausages and handmade toys, Spielwarenmesse is biggest annual toy fair in the world that more or less dictates the toy trends for the year.
“Nuremberg is the place to be since everyone is here,” said Pascal Bernard, the CEO of Juratoys with brands Janod and Kaloo, in a release at Spielwarenmesse’s web site. “It is the only trade fair where you meet everyone from everywhere. Our company is represented with sales representatives from 50 countries here.”
The event was conceptualized in 1949, following the split of Germany, east and west, leaving toy manufacturers with no suitable platform or venue to present their products. A group of entrepreneurs—namely, Carl Ehmann (Märklin), Ernst Theodor Horn (general manager of the Toy Industry Association), Arno Drottboom (director of VEDES) and Hans Mangold (GAMA)—conferred, braved the risks and ultimately decided to set up a trade fair in Nuremberg that would be exclusive for toys. A year after, Federal Minister of Economics Ludwig Erhard opened the first German Toy Fair in Nuremberg, where 351 exhibitors presented their products that attracted around 4,000 buyers from around the globe.
Recently, the international toy fair that admits only trade professionals, concluded its 66th edition (January 28-February 2) that drew around 72,000 trade visitors, where a record-setting 2,857 manufacture from 67 countries showcased a total of 1 million products.
One of the biggest draws of Spielwarenmesse is the prestigious ToyAwards, which is divided into four categories according to the age of the products’ target market. According to the toy fair’s web site, “There are thousands of novelties and trends for children’s toys. But which new toy is a real innovation that will give children pleasure and is useful? The ToyAward reliably provides the answer. The internationally recognized prize of the Spielwarenmesse is presented annually by an expert jury.”
Not only are the ToyAward winners exalted in the toy industry for passing such exacting criteria that include “play fun, originality, safety, workmanship and quality, comprehensibility of product concept and prospects of success in the shop”, but the additional marketing opportunities that come with the award typically spur the sales of the wining product.
According to Christian Nimmervoll, managing director of Austria’s Scoot & Ride, which received the innovation prize for Highwayfreak, a scooter with push bike function: “The ToyAward rocketed us into a whole new bracket of sales opportunities. The day after the award ceremony, a retailer with whom we’d been negotiating for some time placed his order. The award prompts retailers to quit hesitating and close the deal.”
This year, the four winners came through a close contest in terms of creativity as the field had 601 product submissions for the ToyAwards, up from 491 last year, by 318 exhibitors. Here are the Spielwarenmesse 2015 ToyAward winners:
Roll Around Rattles by Skip Hop
Baby & Infant Category (0 to 2 years of age)
At a time when your bundle of joy blossoms and becomes old enough to play and cuddle, this 0-2-year-old phase is also notorious for a child’s inclination to just about “destroy” everything, throwing and slamming everything within arm’s reach.
This is not a point of worry for Skip Hop’s Roll Around Rattles. Aside from the toy’s vibrant colors that engage babies in developmental play, the special feature of the toy is that it just bounces back very quietly when the little one impulsively throws it in whatever direction. Roll Around Rattles also helps with motor development, fosters haptic abilities and improves the dexterity of the child.
Highwayfreak by Scoot & Ride
PreSchool Category (3-5 years of age)
THE winner in the toddler category combines a scooter and a push bike into one award-winning toy. Despite what the name suggests, Scoot & Ride’s Highwayfreak is very safe with a simple but stable conversion mechanism, making it transformable from a push bike into a scooter with just one hand.
Zoomer DINO by Spin Master International
SchoolKids Category (6 to 10 years of age)
Really, what can top off a pet dinosaur as the winner of this category?
The Zoomer DINO is equipped with sensors in the nose, howling noises and eyes that glow in different colors particular to its mood. It can be controlled either by remote or hand gestures and, when it’s been turned on, the Spin Master International product straightens up and balances itself on wheels.
‘Nuff said.
Hobbyzone Sport Cub SAFE by Horizon Hobby
Teenager & Family cCategory
(as of 11 years of age) For the second year in a row, an aerial toy brought the jury’s hearts to the sky.
Following last year’s winner in the category (Revell Control Nano Quad by Revell GmbH), the Hobbyzone Sport Cub SAFE proves flying toys are still the flight of fancy of kids and kids-at-heart. This product by Horizon Hobby “is an easy introduction to the world of model aeroplanes for inexperienced pilots and toy retailers. Beginners can effortlessly fly the aircraft through the air in safe mode and slowly gain experience as a pilot of the skies.
And should this model later experience
turbulence in solo-flight mode, just a quick press of the panic button is enough to activate the safe mode so that the owner of the model regains control of it at any flight attitude,” according to the Spielwarenmesse’s web site.
***The next Spielwarenmesse, its 67th, is set from January 27 to February 1, 2016.