Classic Teddy bears, which make up about 80 percent of Steiff’s business, are evergreen plush.
Russ, like many plush manufacturers, is emphasizing environmentally friendly products, as with this pig, which is part of their 100-percent cotton Simply Natural line.
Like many plush toy makers, Adorable Originals has introduced a Web component to its Adorable Girl dolls.
A 2010 addition to their baby line, the Little Princess Wind-Up Musical from Mary Meyer plays “Hush Little Baby” as it rotates. Plush that incorporates sound or movement is becoming increasingly popular.
Plush manufacturers are using more bright, vivid colors in their toys, as evidenced by these Technicolor Woohoots Owls from Aurora World.
With its vibrant, mismatched fabrics and dual purposes as both a piece of plush and a bag, the Douglas Sillo Pink Zebra Guitar bag embodies a couple of trends in this market.
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We contacted a selection of plush manufacturers to find out what trends they see emerging in this market. The diverse group we spoke with puts out a wide range of products at varying price points, but despite their great differences, they identified many of the same things with respect to what’s up and coming in the plush marketplace. Read on to learn what they had to say.
Bold Colors Meet Classic Subjects
Tina Waldmier, marketing manager, Aurora World
One trend I think you’ll see throughout the consumer marketplace is an emphasis on bright, vivid colors, be they fluorescents or the colors of the rainbow. They attract kids, and tweens like them too, so we’re definitely adding them to our mix in 2010. We’re also focusing on realistic wildlife because we serve a lot of zoo gift shops.
We’re a Korean company, which allows us to be right on the cutting edge in terms of finding the absolute softest materials in the brightest hues.
Tara Rubino, national sales manager, Mary Meyer
You see a lot of vibrant color on the market today. I know we’re looking at adding a lot of unusual fabrics to classic stuffed toys. For example, we’re looking at doing a traditional dog, but using a lot of different patterns and fabrics all over his body.
The focus today is on classic, traditional items. Cats and dogs, frogs and horses are always great sellers for us.
Erika Radich, marketing manager, Douglas Toys
Using mixed, mis-matched materials in multi-colored collage looks in dolls, animals, monsters, and so on is increasing in popularity. Fun, wild colors that are not usually used together are also becoming more prevalent. Monsters, robots and fantasy creatures are big.
Elaine Kollias, marketing director, Folkmanis
We straddle two categories, plush and puppets. I am always on the lookout for trends, and we’re sensitive to these things, but we don’t really consider our company a trend chaser.
We have been noticing, however, that Uglydoll has done a big number on the monster plush category. Their influence can be seen everywhere with the prevalence of asymmetrical facial features, jewel color fleece, and so on. That’s a really fun trend, and though I don’t see our company doing anything like that, we really enjoy it and think it’s going to have a more long-term influence on the industry.
Christine Lien, vice president of product development and sourcing, Russ Berrie U.S. Gift
Our basic plush line, Yomiko, has won quite a few awards, and we use a lot of air spraying techniques and ironing to get the realistic look. So, for our company, the trend is toward realistic designs. Demand for that type of plush continues to grow.
One other trend we’ve seen is the increasing demand for mechanical plush. It’s become a big part of our business, especially in our seasonal lines.
Green vs. Green
F. Chris Nelson, general manager, Steiff USA
The great challenge we face in this particular category is pricing. It’s interesting because I think that most people, when you say “plush” have a certain price point in their heads, but do not immediately think of all the ideas we’re currently addressing around safety and lead and so on with the CPSIA.
The category has a ceiling, and for whatever reason, our organic line just did not resonate. That could be because our customer base understands that Steiff products are just about as safe and organic as you’re going to get in this category. We manufacture in Germany, and the standards in Europe as regards safety are far and away in excess over what America has done over the years.
Tina Waldmier
We’re looking into using more green materials. We had a line that came out that used kapok, a sustainable fiber that grows in the rainforest. It just did not pick up as well as we would have liked it to. I don’t know if it was the economy and the price point on that, because obviously, that fabric and filling was so much more expensive. We’re looking into introducing bamboo as well as some other natural or organic fabrics, but with sensitivity to the price.
Elaine Kollias
One trend that we are interested in is the movement to natural or green fibers. We’ve been investigating and researching it for a few years now, but the bottom line is that it adds a lot of cost to what we do, so until the price comes down for natural and green fibers, we’re probably not going to jump in. Product pricing already is a challenge in this economy, so it’s really not the right time to move on it.
Christine Lien
Like many companies, we are using more environmentally friendly fabrics. One is called Simply Natural, and the other is called Baby Basics. Both are in neutral colors, which is another trend we’ve seen, the use of neutral colors for plush. Both are 100-percent cotton, as is the stuffing. Even the hangtags are made of recycled paper.
Tara Rubino
One of the latest trends in plush that we at Mary Meyer have embraced is the move towards organic and green materials. One product line is made from organic cotton, another, bamboo, and the one we’re most excited about is made from recycled plastic bottles. The bottles are shredded, milled and woven into a fabric almost like a boiled wool, very tightly knit. We call it Fuzz That Wuzz. We introduced it at Toy Fair last year, and it’s been hugely successful.
Our other products in the EarthMates catalog include plush made from sustainable bamboo. We also offer a 100-percent certified organic cotton line. It’s completely organic, outside and in. Because it is organic, it’s got a slightly higher price point, but with the right customer, it’s done very well for us.
Melanie Corpstein, CEO, Adorable Originals
While I see a growing interest in green products, I think that fulfilling a child’s heart’s desire for a favorite toy will continue to win out every time. That will always be first in a parent’s mind, rather than pushing their own agenda. It’s a mission we as a company strive to encapsulate by creating a product that parents approve of and children ask for. We as a company have tried to both create a green product and fulfill that desire.
Value, Play Value and Values
Elaine Kollias
We have adult professionals who use our puppets as tools in their work – teachers, librarians, doctors, therapists, dentists and so on, but what percentage of our sales is driven by that, I can’t really say.
And in terms of children, probably ages 3 through 7 are the prime years for playing with our plush puppets, but we’ve gotten letters telling us how kids have brought their Folkmanis puppet along with them to college. So, we know the product appeals to more than just small children.
We also try to create gender-neutral products. Some lines may lean a little more one way or the other, like our dinosaurs may be a little more popular with boys than girls, but generally speaking, anybody can love a dinosaur.
Tina Waldmier
For little kids, plush can be educational and retain the fun factor at the same time, and for adults, it has a comfort factor.
As a rule, our girl line is much stronger than our boy line, and I think that’s just because once boys get past about age 4 they tend to move away from plush to action figures and things that make sound. We are actually incorporating sound into a lot of our plush in response, so we have dragons that make hissing noises and so on to age-up a bit and appeal more to the boys.
F. Chris Nelson
I think that in America especially, until recently, people have practiced a form of consumerism where they just buy and buy and buy. But in this economy, I think that a lot of people are starting to think more critically about what they purchase, and they’re willing to spend a little bit more for something if they see more value to it. Whereas people in the past were willing to just drop $10 on a piece of plush as a gift for somebody, they’re not necessarily doing that anymore. People are still buying this category; they’re just buying a little differently.
Melanie Corpstein
There’s definitely a trend towards combining an online component with a plush toy. Meeting kids where they’re at and being involved in their environment and what they’re into is very important.
Our dolls are very family-oriented. They’re also very fashionable, with their little boots, cute little skirts, embellished shirts and great fun hair, so they have a great play value, along with a positive message. Our dolls teach that beauty is inside. Parents and grandparents can use them to teach social responsibility and what’s most important in life.
Plush has also got to have that special endearing cute quality that says, “Pick me up and take me home.” There’s a difference between that and someone just creating something to be given away on the midway of the fair. That type of thing will eventually be thrown away.
Our dolls aren’t tied to a particular season or holiday, but I think that can be a benefit, especially in this economy. I think people are looking for toys that will be played with and used year-round. Value is king right now, and our dolls can be given any time of the year for any holiday or special occasion. |
