Super Impulse is making a big return to New York Toy Fair (NYTF) this year with hot new releases from its flagship and emerging brands: World’s Smallest, Poptaters, 3.75, Micro Figures and Minis-in-Minis Sugar Buzz, featuring Hershey brands. From September 30th to October 3rd, attendees are invited to visit booth 1935 to see their favorite brands and characters come to life in dynamic, collectible form!
People of Play (POP), host of the preeminent toy and game industry events that occur during Chicago Toy & Game Week, is honored to announce the formation of an advisory board for the Young Inventor Challenge (YIC), a toy and game design and pitch competition for children ages 6 to 18 that is held during the Chicago Toy & Game Fair. “2023 marks the 17th year of the Young Inventor Challenge and has grown so much recently that we knew it was time to put an advisory board together,” said Mary Couzin, founder and president of People of Play. “Recent partnerships with ASTRA (American Specialty Toy Retailing Association) and Happy Camper Live (a company that brings the fun of summer camp to kids 365 days a year) have brought our program to thousands more young inventors! Expansion also means we need more mentors, judges and sponsors. Please reach out to us if you are interested!”
The winners of the 2023 Licensing Awards have been crowned in a glittering ceremony, with over 1,200 industry executives filling The Great Room at the Grosvenor House Hotel for an evening of celebration. The event opened with a special message from Angry Birds’ Red, before Jakki Brown, director at Max Publishing (which owns and organises The Licensing Awards), officially welcomed everyone, saying: “It is incredible seeing everyone here at what is the largest Licensing Awards event for many, many years. I have a feeling it will be a night to remember. Tonight, there are almost 1,300 of us here all to celebrate everything that is great about our industry. These awards exist only because of you. Licensing, to be successful, needs everyone to work together. This event is testament to the enormous talent, passion, commitment and engagement from all strands of our industry.”
TTPM, the leading video product reviewer for toys, baby gear & pet gear, unveiled their Most Wanted List of the hottest toys for the 2023 holiday season at their annual TTPM 2023 Holiday Showcase event, held in New York City. The list is divided into four categories to select the hottest products in Entertainment, Learning and Active Play, Role Play, and Specialty Trailblazers. “We put this list together as we do every year, testing and playing with hundreds of toys to determine which ones deserve a spot on our Most Wanted list,” said Jim Silver, CEO of TTPM. “This year’s list highlights toys based on entertainment properties and those that encourage both learning and active play and role play and imaginative play. We’ve also expanded our list, identifying ten toys that are specialty trailblazers that consumers may not be aware of. Our goal is to help parents find the right toy for their child and this year’s list is a perfect place to start.”
The 14th Annual Blue Plate Media Lounge, at New York Toy Fair, sponsored by Blue Plate Media Services, in association with Toy Association, will be available free to all Toy Association exhibitors and Show attendees, on Monday, October 2nd, Room 1D05, at New York Toy Fair. This highly anticipated educational lounge, commemorating its consecutive 14th Year, will provide a series of timely, informative Media Intelligence Sessions in Room 1D05, lower level Javits, from 9AM – 4PM.
Hasbro, Inc, a leading toy and game company, has announced the Hasbro Women Innovators of Play Challenge, which is open September 12 to October 12. Hasbro is searching for the next great woman-led mass market toy or game; submitted ideas will be judged on innovation, fun factor and playability, design and aesthetics, mass marketability, and manufacturability. Those who submit toys or games to the Challenge must either be an individual who identifies as a woman or leads a team (maximum of five people) and identify as a woman. “We were blown away by the support and excitement for Hasbro’s Women Innovators of Play event – and now Hasbro is taking this initiative to the next level with our Challenge, which is open to women across 11 countries,” said Tanya Thompson, Senior Director, Inventor Relations and Innovation at Hasbro. “We know that incredible women innovators are out there and can’t wait to see the submitted toys and games.”
TOMY International was recently recognized by the National Parenting Product Awards (NAPPA) for two of their new 2023 lines, Bebé Fuerte and Build-A-Buddy. As one of the longest running award programs in the country, NAPPA is recognized as a reliable source of information for parents and professionals seeking the best products for their children and families. Bebé Fuerte, which launched earlier this month at Walmart and independent toy stores, was created and designed by Robin Arzón, VP of Fitness Programming and Head Instructor at Peloton. Designed from a fresh, colorful palette inspired by Arzón’s Cuban-Puerto Rican roots, and the rich heritage of LatinX culture, the line features Spanish words and phrases and is presented in bilingual packaging. Build-A-Buddy, which launched with a single John Deere Tractor over 6 years ago, has been expanded in 2023 to include five items in the line from multiple licenses including, John Deere, Batman and Transformers. Nearly all items have received STEAM Accreditation by the Toy Association, in conjunction with Dr. Gummer’s Good Play Guide in the Technology and Engineering categories.
Wild Republic, an international toy company committed to the development of high-quality plush and toys that nurture our children and encourage a love of nature, is pleased to announce their Founder, G.B. Pillai, as a finalist in the Champion of Sustainability category at the prestigious Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards. For more than 40 years Mr. Pillai has been the driving force behind the company’s commitment to nature and conservation while proactively striving to be as environmentally friendly and ethically responsible as possible. The Champion of Sustainability is a new category for the TOTY Awards, and was developed to recognize an individual who has made outstanding contributions in the space. The awards ceremony is slated for September 29th in New York City.
TTPM, the leader in video product reviews for toys, baby, and pet gear announced their Best of Baby 2023 List. The list features the best Baby Gear across 21 categories, designed to educate parents. “Parents look to us for recommendations on top products to help them make better shopping decisions. Our team takes this very seriously, putting countless hours of testing into all of the products across multiple categories,” said Jim Silver, CEO, TTPM. “With the amount of products coming to market every single year, we are happy to save parents the time in testing products themselves. That’s what the Best of Baby List is designed to do -these items are all TTPM approved, giving parents peace of mind and easy shopping.