By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
The Nuremberg Toy Fair displayed the ongoing strength of the toy industry, despite a slowdown in sales in the post-COVID years.
The toy industry has seen a bit of a slump over the past two years, but that slump came after incredibly dramatic growth during the pandemic.
At the Nuremberg Toy Fair this year, the industry showed off its confidence by packing the halls, equalling last year’s attendance.
Spielwarenmesse ended its 74th toy fair in Nuremberg on February 1 after attracting 2,262 exhibitors in one of the most global events in its history, with those exhibitors coming from 71 different countries to fill a greatly enlarged space. Spielwarenmesse says the organizers believe the amended hall structure, event-packed specials and new networking opportunities were a factor in attracting roughly 57,500 visitors from 126 nations to the event this year.
“Every year, we are delighted to take part in the Spielwarenmesse in Nuremberg, which is the must-attend event for toy industry professionals,” said Daniel Levy, CEO of Buki France.
Onsite surveys confirm that view, as 97% of exhibitors said they consider attendance at the world’s leading event to be important or very important.
“Our stand has been busy all day, every day,” said Alison Coates of UK-based Just Play. “There’s a real buzz around the show.”
Exhibitors also rated the general quality and quantity of visitors as higher than in 2024.
“Exactly the right decision-makers were there, the ones with a genuine interest in our products,” said Sutepan Ganendiran, MD of the German startup company Compactoys, while Massimo Pescarolo from Cicaboom of Italy added, “The Spielwarenmesse is the only global exhibition for toys.”
Spielwarenmesse’s attendance figures confirmed that the fair was not only among the largest ever held, it was also a more global event with increased visits particularly from Europe, the USA and China. Even though European markets saw major increases in visitor numbers, as one would expect for a Europe-based event, both the US and China were among the top 10 countries for visitors.
Thomas Eichhorn, Managing Director of MGA Zapf Creation from Germany, said he was happy to see that “the big American retailers such as Target and Walmart had intensive conversations with the teams from our HQ.”
Major US-based toy companies said they too felt Spielwarenmesse was becoming increasingly important.
“Spielwarenmesse is always an exciting start to the event calendar for the team at Hasbro,” said Bhavesh Somaya, the Senior Vice President & General Manager for Hasbro EMEA & APAC, while Mattel’s Sebastian Trischler added, “Mattel always launches substantial major developments in Nuremberg, such as the ‘80th Ruby Anniversary Collection’.”
Christian Ulrich, Board Spokesperson at Spielwarenmesse eGear said one of the major improvements this year involved the addition of Hall 3C, accommodating Baby & Infant Articles and Lifestyle Products, which made for more efficient circuits around the fair, and created synergies. The modern redesign of the Toy Business Forum and its new style for presentations was likewise well received, Ulrich added.
Those presentation formats included the fireside chat with CEOs and the ToyPitch on the first day of the fair, at which twelve exhibitors gave brief 3-minute presentations on their new products.
Once again the ToyAward—the prestigious industry prize in six product categories—was presented live on the big stage.
“Winning was a tremendous honour, putting us as a small toy business on the radar with international trade,” says Yusuf Beyaz, CEO at Swiss startup Qubs.
Other highlights included the highly topical Specials ‘Sport, Leisure, Outdoor’ with its halfpipe stunt shows, and ‘Toys for Kidults’, where products targeted to the affluent adult market were brought to life in the heavily frequented central entrance.
“We appreciate the variety of formats that make it possible to present new products in the best possible way,” said Evgeni Melan, COO of Augmented Robotics from Germany.
In addition to the informational sessions and trade show booths, attendees gave this year’s show high marks for entertainment and networking opportunities.
“It is noteworthy that the Spielwarenmesse enables an unparalleled industry gathering, a trend-setting platform, networking opportunities and of course media exposure,” said Anirudh Bhargava, CEO of Tribal Earth Sounds India.
At the fairly new RedNight event, about a hundred exhibitors transformed their stands into party areas for Thursday evening. Opportunities for individual discussions were also to be found at the LicenseLounge with its networking area and at the Internationale Spieleerfindermesse – Game Inventors Convention with its evening event, GamingHour.
Fans of model vehicles enjoyed another premiere with the induction ceremony to the Model Car Hall of Fame.
In total, the onsite survey showed that an impressive 96% of participants would recommend other companies attend the Nuremberg Toy Fair, and that next opportunity will be for the fair’s 75th birthday, an anniversary edition that takes place from January 27 to 31, 2026.