Feature
Wooden Toys
All wood things
Demand for wooden toys is soaring thanks to increasingly eco-conscious consumers, while imaginative product development and new licensing deals are resulting in impressive new ranges that will secure strong sales at retail this year. Rachael Simpson-Jones speaks to a selection of wooden toy suppliers to get the lowdown on what their latest offerings bring to the marketplace.
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t’s fair to say by now that consumer demand for toys made from more sustainable materials appears to be a permanent change. We’re seeing the positive effects of eco-conscious consumption across all toy categories, but as the ‘original’ sustainable toy material, wood is very well placed indeed to serve the burgeoning demand for planet-friendly playthings. “I think we are starting to see a move back towards wooden toys; people are looking for something a little bit eco-friendlier and more responsible,” says Zac Chapman, buyer at Oldrids & Downtown in Lincolnshire. “This trend is not going to go away, so I think we will see wooden ranges grow for us and probably for many other stores too.” Suppliers agree that environmental concerns appear to be behind increasing sales of wooden toys, at least in part. David Lubliner, head of customer
marketing – Europe at Melissa & Doug, told Toy World that parents and children alike now possess more awareness of climate change and sustainability issues than they did before. He adds: “We love wood because it's natural and renewable and we therefore try to use it whenever we can. Helping ensure the world has thriving forests is an important goal of ours.” And while Neil Montgomery, UK commercial director at Juratoys, says a wooden toy’s carbon footprint is ‘25 times lower than that of a plastic toy’, he also tells Toy World there’s another reason sales are on the up parents and grandparents are increasingly conscious that traditional toys, which promote creative play, are being looked to more and more by parents and carers wanting to offset the amount of time their kids spend on digital devices. Toy companies are an imaginative bunch and nowadays, wood no longer means ‘boring’. This year,
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we’ve seen several big wooden brands announce major licensing partnerships that will introduce pre-school properties and classic animated movie licences to the marketplace. Character Options is introducing new Disney additions to its World of Wooden Toys range, including the gorgeous Princess Enchanted Royal Castle Wooden Playset, and train set specialist Brio has also signed a deal with Disney. Katy Fletcher, head of Marketing and Product Development at Ravensburger, says: “Having the Disney licence broadens our audience and will continue to bring more consumers to the Brio brand. With both Mickey Mouse and Disney Princess licences onboard, we have a fantastic opportunity to combine vehicle play with character play, encouraging magical storytelling and adding some extra fantasy that places iconic Disney characters at the centre of Brio play.” Katy also tells me that Brio, which has been
