Born from a mother’s desire to give her daughter a doll that looks like her, Orijin Bees’ collection of Baby Bee dolls are available in an array of skin tones and curl patterns representing features of Black and Brown children. Orijin Bees dolls are now available in Target locations across 40 US states, and Target.com.
Boss Fight Studio, creator of fan favorite action figures and toys, has partnered with The Jim Henson Company to make action figures from the world of Fraggle Rock. The new agreement, brokered by FanGirl Consulting, is the latest in a diverse lineup of pop culture collectibles from Boss Fight Studio. “Fraggle Rock is one of the all-time great shows. The characters, the comedy, the songs and the social messages are timeless,” says Andrew Franks, Partner and Art Director at Boss Fight Studio. “I’m so excited to bring these amazing characters to action figure form!”
TOMY International has introduced two new owned properties, Peeky Pops and YumiAmi, that come available in fall of 2023. YumiAmi, developed in-house by the US brand design team, brings more diversity into the TOMY toy line. The five soft and sweet dolls, who come from varied cultural backgrounds, are designed for children three to five years old and will come packaged with a book and sold as a gift set. In a partnership with Cottage Door Press, each book will be paired with their respective doll and promote learning about and embracing each other’s cultures. The line, available in July of 2023, was designed with the toy specialty channel in mind and will retail for $29.99 a set.
Finalists for the prestigious 2022 TAGIE Awards have been announced by People of Play (POP). The TAGIEs, now in its 15th year, honor the best and brightest innovators, designers and marketers in the toy and game industry. Public voting starts Thursday, September 22 and ends on October 31, 2022. Visit the TAGIE Awards Voting Page to cast a vote now.
Moose Games, the gaming innovation division of award-winning Moose Toys, and Hunt A Killer, the immersive entertainment company, announced that they have engaged in a strategic multi-year international licensing deal. Moose Toys will spearhead international sales of Hunt A Killer’s popular retail mystery games under its Moose Games division, giving Hunt A Killer immediate international distribution through new retail channels. This deal diversifies Moose Games’ growing titles portfolio while simultaneously expanding Hunt A Killer’s reach into overseas markets.
KIDZ BOP, the #1 music brand for kids, has appointed Bulldog Licensing, one of the licensing industry’s leading agencies, as its official UK licensing agency, beginning at Brand Licensing Europe (BLE). KIDZ BOP is a global family music brand that records today’s biggest hits, sung by kids for kids, and currently records in five languages. Since launching in the US in 2001, KIDZ BOP has sold over 23 million albums and generated over 8 billion streams, and was also named Billboard Magazine’s “#1 Kid Artist” for eleven consecutive years. KIDZ BOP has 24 Top 10 debuts on the Billboard 200 Chart; only three artists in history—The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Barbra Streisand—have had more Top 10 albums.
TOMY International will introduce a new line of baby toys developed in collaboration with Robin Arzón, athlete, mom, entrepreneur, advocate and New York Times bestselling author of children’s book, Strong Mama and its highly-anticipated follow-up, Strong Baby, publishing in February 2023.
On Thursday, October 27, 2022, the biggest names in specialty games and crafts will be training retailers and their staff at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, MA. Due to the success of the Portland, OR and Long Beach, CA Game and Kit days, ASTRA thought it would be a great idea to have one on the East Coast. The Mass Mutual Center is centrally located for easy access from all the New England States as well as Upstate, NY. A knowledgeable staff helps increase retail sales – why not have fun at the same time?
The Pokémon Company International announced that the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG): Pokémon GO Elite Trainer Box has been awarded Game of the Year at The Toy Foundation’s September 2022 Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards. The TOTY Awards recognize the top toys, games and licenses, with winners decided by votes cast by the public and industry based on a pool of finalists determined by expert judges. The Game of the Year category is evaluated based on the product’s creativity, design, playability and marketing, and was previously won by The Pokémon Company International in 2021 for its Pokémon TCG Battle Academy family board game.