Trends UK is introducing the new Sweet Pups range in late spring 2018.

The new collectible range Sweet Pups features plush puppies hidden inside scented croissants, macaroons and sticky buns. Kids can transform them from pretend pastries into cuddly plush puppies by turning them inside out. The first series has 12 puppies to collect.

Available from June 2018, with a TV campaign targeting over 500 TVRs, Sweet Pups are expected to retail around £7.99.

Lee Clowes, Trends UK commented: “We are delighted to be launching the Sweet Pups range and have had a fantastic reaction from customers. With its unique play pattern, endearing designs and affordable price point, we believe it will be one of the most sought-after collectible toys this year”.

Top toys predicted to influence the industry in 2018 include entries from Playmobil, Tomy and Character Options.

The BTHA has announced the winners of Toy Fair’s Hero Toys, a prestigious new award for market-leading toys at Toy Fair 2018. These 25 toys, including entries from Playmobil, Tomy and Character Options, were selected by an independent panel of retailers and industry experts.

Toy Fair’s Hero Toys represents some of the most exciting and innovative products launched at Toy Fair today. The awards provide one of the first opportunities to see these potentially best-selling toys, before they are officially launched throughout the year.

There’s something in the list for everyone, from traditional play patterns like collectibles and action toys, to puzzles, puppets and STEAM toys. The list represents all the benefits that children can get from play, from inspiring imagination and getting kids active, to learning about emotions and exploring the world around them – and there’s even something in there for the adults.

Rebecca Deeming, public relations manager, commented: “Toy Fair’s Hero Toys celebrates the success and ingenuity of the UK toy industry. The awards judge major brands and start-ups equally, so both can be recognised for their innovative ideas across all toy categories. From the next collectibles craze to this year’s must-have Christmas present, we believe these toys could be the talk of the playground in the coming months. Congratulations to everyone that was selected.”

Independent board games company returns to London Toy Fair with its weird and wonderful Games Menagerie.

Visitors to London Toy Fair can check out the brand new collection from Big Potato, which will feature alongside its current range of adult and family party games. Best-sellers include triple award-winning whodunnit game The Chameleon and the recently released Truth Bombs – a collaboration between Big Potato and YouTube duo Dan and Phil.

Big Potato will also be showing off its line-up of third-party games which includes Klask and Foooty.

Klask is a wooden tabletop football game, designed by Danish Carpenter Mikkel Bertelsen, a fast-paced, two-player game that blends football and air hockey. Klask has already won the Danish Game of the Year, received The Dice Tower’s Seal of Excellence and racked up 3.3m views on LadBible. The aim of the game is for players to hit the ball into their competitor’s goal. Sounds simple, but there’s a catch — the whole game is operated by magnets. Each player has a goal scorer which they control by moving a magnet under the table. If they lose control of their player they lose a point. Players also have to avoid the white magnetic markers; get too close and they’ll stick to the player’s ball – attract two of them and they lose a point. Finally, when players score a goal they musn’t forget to shout Klask.

Foooty is an innovative Dutch toy that was invented by Jean-Pierre Raes, who often found himself on holiday wishing he had brought a football — or that after buying one he had to leave it behind to save space in his luggage. His solution was Foooty, a flat-pack toy that can be hooked together to make durable 3D shapes. Working with his own development agency Apollo 11, Jean-Pierre created Foooty and launched it on Kickstarter in 2016. The flexible panels allow users to build a football, frisbee, rugby ball, star, rocket and even a giraffe. It’s easy to assemble and even easier to deconstruct, and is an ideal size and weight for fitting into a pocket or bag. This year, Big Potato will unveil the brand new glow-in-the-dark edition of Foooty.

To find out more about Big Potato’s third-party games, visit stand H46 at Toy Fair.

Toytown won Overall Toy Retailer of the Year at the BTHA Awards last night.

BTHA chairman Jon Diver announced the winners of the Toy Retailer of the Year Awards.

The full line up of winners follows:

Small Independent Toy Retailer of the Year – Just Williams Toys
Large Independent Toy Retailer of the Year – Toymaster Cavan
Specialist Multiple Toy Retailer of the Year (up to 5 stores) – Toy Galaxy
Specialist Multiple Toy Retailer of the Year (up to 25 stores) – Kids Stuff Toys
Specialist Multiple Toy Retailer of the Year (over 25 stores) – Toytown
General Multiple Toy Retailer of the Year – Argos
Department Store Toy Retailer of the Year – Jarrold
Online Toy Retailer of the Year – Smyths
Overall Toy Retailer of the Year – Toytown

Jon Diver, Chairman of the BTHA: “Congratulations on behalf of the BTHA to all the winners of this year’s Toy Retailer Awards – as always, it is a great pleasure to see such a high standard of entry and judges debated long and hard to determine this year’s winners. Recognition must also go to our worthy runners-up and big thanks must go to everyone for taking part.”

MGA’s L.O.L. Surprise won Toy of the Year, and Spin Master won Supplier of the Year.

A BTHA Golden Teddy Award was also presented to Colin Rossiter of Character Options for outstanding achievement and a career in the toy industry which has spanned 40 years.

Organised by the British Toy & Hobby Association with the Toy Retailers Association (TRA) – the awards were presented at the gala event held in Olympia’s Apex Room following the first day of the 65th annual Toy Fair, which is currently taking place at Olympia in West London.

TRA chairman Alan Simpson unveiled the Toy and Supplier of the Year Awards.

The full line up of winners follows:

Action Toy of the Year – Stretch Armstrong, Character Options
Pocket Money Toy of The Year – Pokémon Cards, Esdevium
Interactive Toy of The Year – Fingerlings, Jazwares
Craze of The Year – L.O.L., MGA
Collectible Range of The Year – Hatchimals Collegtibles, Spin Master
Retro Toy of the Year – Rubik’s Cube, John Adams
Game of The Year – Dobble, Esdevium
Doll of The Year – Luvabella, Spin Master
Creative Toy of The Year – L.O.L. Fizz Maker, MGA
Pre-School Toy of The Year – Paw Patrol Vehicles, Spin Master
Electronic Toy of The Year – Laser X, Character Options
Licensor of The Year – Nickelodeon
Special Recognition Award – Playmobil
Supplier of The Year – Spin Master
Toy of the Year: L.O.L. Surprise!, MGA

Alan Simpson, chairman of the TRA commented: “On behalf of the TRA, our congratulations to all the Award winners, and those with shortlisted products too. It wasn’t an easy task selecting winners for categories which stood out in 2017. We can now all look forward to a successful 2018. I have no doubt it will be challenging, but together we can make it a success.”

UK toy sales decreased by 2.8% in 2017 to £3.4b, a dip attributed to “Brexit, under-performing licences, and counterfeit toys.”

This is according to the British Toy and Hobby Association (BTHA) and the NPD Group. The announcement, made at the 65th Toy Fair in London, follows three consecutive years of growth and a particularly strong year in 2016 and, despite the small decline, still positions the UK as the largest market in Europe.

Natasha Crookes, director of public affairs and communications for the BTHA, commented: “We are disappointed but not surprised by the contraction of the market from 2016’s exceptional performance. The increasing breadth and depth of counterfeit toys is a real concern, with over £400m worth of sales being lost to the industry, as well as the cost to companies from the theft of innovative design. 2017 was also a mixed year, with disappointments in some sectors but real success stories in others. Collectibles, for example, seem to be an unstoppable force within the industry.”

Collectibles grew by 17% in 2017 with brands such as Fingerlings dominating the must-have lists. The category was responsible for 9% of the overall value of the market and 19% of all units sold. Other strong sectors in 2017 were Doll Playsets, Pre-School Figures and Action Figures.

Frederique Tutt, global toy analyst for the NPD Group, added: “After three good years of growth for the UK toy industry, 2017 saw a decline as did other territories such as France and Australia. While licensed products are an integral part of the industry, across Europe it has been a sector that has under-performed – with the exception of PJ Masks, Cars 3. and Lego Batman.”

NPD has also released a list, found below, of the Top 10 Toys from 2017.

• MGA Entertainment – L.O.L Surprise! Doll assortment
• Spin Master – Paw Patrol Vehicle and Pup
• Jazwares – Fingerlings Monkeys
• The Lego Group – Batman the Movie Minifigures
• VTech – Kidizoom Duo
• Flair – Shopkins 2-pack Assortment
• Anki – Cozmo
• MGA Entertainment L.O.L. Surprise! Big Surprise Ball
• Flair – Shopkins Shoppies Dolls Assortment
• MGA Entertainment L.O.L. Surprise! Lil Sister Assortment

Company announces plans to launch pre-school arts & crafts IP Scribble Town. 

Sambro is known for its licensed products, but today the company announces plans to launch its own Intellectual Property – the first in the company’s history.

For the past 12 months, Sambro has been developing the new arts & crafts property Scribble Town. This is a wholly original concept which will target pre-schoolers aged 3-5, with a play system that will allow them to create and play at the same time.

Under the Scribble Town brand, Sambro plans to release multiple products which will bring to life all aspects of the arts and crafts category, enabling children to explore and engage with all craft mediums, creating masterpieces as they play.

As well as getting to grips with different arts and crafts materials, Scribble Town will encourage development of fine motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination as well as expanding a child’s imagination and creativity. The extended play possibilities are well timed as there is a distinct consumer shift with parents actively seeking creative products for their children.

SAMBRO will launch Scribble Town globally with a release in the UK expected for autumn/winter 2018.

Grant Gie, commercial director at Sambro, commented: “We are immensely proud and excited to be finally speak to the trade about Scribble Town. While our business will always remain focused on licensed toys and games and our partnerships, it is imperative for us to improve our future growth plans and increase our equity with our own Intellectual Properties and play systems. Scribble Town is the first of a number of IPs in development from Sambro with more being released over the coming two years, leveraging our leading position within the arts and crafts category.”

Scribble Town will launch with a heavyweight marketing campaign as well as extending storytelling into publishing and digital.