By JT Nisay
WHAT the Oscars is to entertainment and Fashion Week is to, well, fashion, the annual Spielwarenmesse is to toys.
Held in Nuremburg, Germany, Spielwarenmesse is the top international-trade fair for toys, hobbies and leisure; the biggest gathering in the toy sector, where a comprehensive communication and order platform for around 2,800 manufacturers worldwide is created. The trends and innovations determined here set the tone for the annual-market orientation of 70,000 buyers and retailers from more than 120 countries.
According to Pascal Bernard, CEO of Juratoys, with brands Janod and Kaloo, “Nuremberg is the place to be, since everyone is here. It is the only trade fair where you meet everyone from everywhere.”
Recently, the 67th Spielwarenmesse rolled down the red carpet and once again handed out the anticipated ToyAwards.
Divided into four age-specific categories, the award is paneled by an expert 10-man jury, comprised of educators, market researchers, international sales agents and an expert in toy safety. The stringent criteria for the awards include the product’s fun factor, originality, safety, workmanship and quality. The jury also looks at the product’s comprehensibility of concept and its potential for market success.
According to the Spielwarenmesse website, “the winners of the ToyAwards are presenting innovative components in traditional toys, while illustrating the technical progress made in the industry.”
This year, the winners rose from a record-breaking field of 616 submissions. Without further ado, here are the hottest toys of 2016:
Baby & Infant (0 to 2 years old): Globber 5-in-1 by Globber Templar. Versatile scooters are always hot in the ToyAwards. In 2012 the Mini Micro 3-in-1 by Micro Mobility Systems Ltd. took home the award in the same category.
Last year the Highwayfreak by Scoot & Ride wheeled its way to first place in the Preschool bracket.
Carrying the torch for the wheelers is this year’s ToyAward winner in the Baby & Infant category, the Globber 5-in-1. This baby isn’t called 5-in-1 for nothing, as it can change from a balance bicycle into a full-fledged scooter with just a few adjustments, while teaching balance and developing motor skills to young ones. According to the ToyAwards web site, “The jury was not only impressed with the design, but also with how simply the product could be adjusted for the various stages, its high-quality finish and, last but not least, its value for money. In the jury’s opinion, the Globber 5-in-1 is suitable for girls and boys through infancy and beyond.”
PreSchool (3 to 5 years old): Junior Kit by Revell. With almost 60 years of experience in developing true-to-the-original plastic model kits, Revell is known for its top-notch modeling products. As such, its expertly-made Junior Kit has come away with the ToyAward trophy in this year’s PreSchool category. Featuring five assembly kits, including a police car, jeep and fire truck to choose from, model construction is Junior Kit’s point of emphasis. The toy features a screw mechanism, patent pending, that allows young constructors to build the car with only a screwdriver. “The solid workmanship and added value also convinced the jury,” added the ToyAwards web site.
SchoolKids (6 to 10 years old): Bunch-O-Balloons by Zuru (distribution: Splash Toys). Splash Toys Managing Director Marcus Abt, the German distribution partner of manufacturer Zuru said that, “for us, the ToyAward is a heaven-sent miracle.” He must really be singing with the angels now as Zuru’s Bunch-O-Balloons won the ToyAward for the SchoolKids category. Basically water bombs, it takes less than a minute to fill and seal 100 of these in one go. It’s the products’ sheer simplicity, ingeniousness and promise of sure-fire fun that won over the judges.
Teenager & Family (11 years old and above): KosmoBits by KOSMOS Verlag. For the first time in two years, the ToyAward winner for this category is nonaerial. What won the judges’ hearts this year is Kosmos Verlag’s KosmoBits, which teaches teenagers to program in an engaging manner. According to the ToyAwards site, “With four sensor characters and a controller board, they play through the app, level by level, solving programming puzzles. All with the aim of soon writing their own first programs for the four characters so that they can be used outside of the game. Countless interesting projects await here—from a light-sensitive drawer alarm system to an LED disco, which responds to movement.”
Ernst Kick, CEO of Spielwarenmesse eG—a service provider specializing in trade fairs and marketing services that organizes the Spielwarenmesse—said that the record-setting number of exhibitors they had this year is a welcome sign of the surging toy market.
“We have 2,851 exhibitors from 67 countries. This is a high demand of the international branch and we are happy to have this quality in the fair,” he said. “For us, as the organizer, it was one of the best toy fairs ever, because the quality and quantity were just right. We look forward to more of the same next year.”