SNOW JOKING - THAT WAS THE 75TH EDITION OF THE SPIELWARENMESSE-NUREMBERG TOYFAIR 2026 REVIEW
I’m writing this on the plane home with what remains of my brain cells after a very hectic week in Nuremberg for the 75th Spielwarenmesse-Nuremberg Toy Fair.
Everyone has an opinion, and everyone has a different experience of these major shows, so let’s start with some hard stats: According to show organisers Spielwarenmesse eG “At this major landmark show 2,313 exhibitors from 68 countries presented a vast array of products – including the growing “Kidults” segment. Around 58,900 trade visitors (+2.5%) from 121 nations explored new trends, fresh formats, and networking opportunities with enthusiasm. 93% of exhibitors – 3% more than last year – rated their participation as successful.”
Let’s avoid the usual ‘it was quiet this year’ – ‘No, our booth was mobbed’ debate by sticking with the stats...read into them what you will. I spoke with c. 250 people during the show, so frankly whether there were 50,000 or 60,000 visitors is of no relevance – the human brain can only manage so many inputs in a short space of time, and 250 people from across the world of Toys & Games made this a very successful show experience for our company. If you didn’t get enough good meetings to make the show worthwhile then that needs to looked at for sure, because the Buyers were there!
MORE HARD STATS – THE GLOBAL TOY INDUSTRY GREW ACROSS THE WORLD IN 2025
The following market stats from Circana released during the Spielwarenmesse show (Circana is the leading sales tracking organisation covering the Toy & Game industry):
“After three consecutive years of decline, the global toy industry staged a strong comeback in 2025, delivering renewed growth driven by pop culture relevance, licensed products, and increased engagement from teens and adults. Across 12 global markets (G12), including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States, year over year sales increased by +7% in value and units sold grew +3%, as average selling price rose +3%, according to Circana, LLC.
For the first time in Circana’s tracking history, all G12 countries posted growth in 2025. According to Circana’s Retail Tracking Service, the Netherlands posted the fastest growth, up +15%, while the slowest gains came from Brazil at +2%. Six of the 11 toy super categories experienced year over year dollar sales gains within the G12. Games & Puzzles grew the fastest, up +30%, while Building Sets grew for the sixth consecutive year, up +18%.”
You can read that entire press release here: https://www.circana.com/post/global-toy-industry-rebounds-in-2025-as-sales-rise-7-fueled-by-pop-culture-collectibles-and-kidu
After some tough years, it’s great to see so many Toy markets return to growth last year. And while there was a lot of turbulence last year, and some companies did better than others, nevertheless momentum is with our industry once again.
WORTH THE TROUBLE TO GET THERE!
This year’s Spielwarenmesse was remarkable for more reasons than the celebration of the show’s 75th birthday. Heavy snowfall the day before the show, combined with severe winter weather in the USA lead to some remarkable stories of persistence and hardship in people getting to the show. I can’t remember a time when Nuremberg was snowy since my first visit in the year 2000. It was somewhat tricky to get around the Alstadt on foot with compacted snow turning icy, but the snow certainly made things atmospheric.
KEY TRENDS – AI, CREATIVE MINDFULNESS & KIDULTS
The official trends of the show were hard to disagree with. Clearly AI is affecting the entirety of human existence, and the Toy business is clearly being changed above by this transformational tech. This is a topic I know well as I have been helping my client Fluffbotics.ai meet with partners from across the industry to showcase what they can do. Needless to say Kidults is now more than a trend, it is a critical pillar of out industry today, and this was evident on Booths across the show.
MAKE SPIELWARENMESSE LONGER AGAIN
I appreciate that for some people this show is already too long, but it would be very beneficial for our business if it was twice as long! I ran round the show from start to finish, my last meeting finished at about 4.40pm on the last day, leaving just enough time to go and queue up for the official show bus to Munich airport (can highly recommend this bus service to any one coming in via Munich). Leaving the show it literally felt like I’d only just arrived, the 5 days of the show going by in a blur. Normally by Day 2 it feels like the show is your entire existence because it is so intense, this year was particularly hectic. Just in case anybody cares I walked 77km/48 miles during the show in my ever more comfortable, albeit ever less attractive footwear.
We can now look forward to a week of heavy follow up and back and forth, alongside the usual ‘ghosting’ and hurry up and wait. I’m hoping to be there for the 100th anniversary celebrations in 25 years – yes, I know for some of you this may sound like an over statement, but it’s my truth whether it’s yours or not is up to you - can’t wait until next year, hope to see you there…but in the meantime New York beckons…
TOY RECRUITMENT
We're currently recruiting for:
Sales Director, HK
Toy Sales Manager: North of England
NPD Manager, Plush Toys, UK.
Toy Buying Manager, Essex,
Toy Buying Manager, (Part time, 3 days pw), UK
Sourcing Manager, Ningbo, China
If you, or someone you know, are interested in one of these roles AND have relevant experience in the stated country, please feel free to get in touch and we can discuss.
Check out www.ToyRecruitment.com for more information/details on these roles.
FACTORIES
We consult with and/or represent the following factories:
· Games factories in China, India, Vietnam
· Sensory compounds and STEM/Science experiment kit factories in China, Cambodia & Europe
· Leading Scooter & Ride On vendor in India
· Electronics Toy factory in India
INTRODUCING PLAYMETRIX
We just launched www.PlayMetrix.biz with some Tech gurus to help Toy & Games companies profitably grow their Amazon, D2C & other e-comm business. Get in touch if you need help on these areas - we're offering a Free audit of your Amazon account & listings to the first 5 companies who get in touch.
We had some great meetings at the show, and many conversations to come.
ACQUISITIONS
We're currently advising a European Construction Toy brand & also a Tech company with bespoke Toyetic AI platform looking to be acquired. Interested parties can DM for an NDA leading to more info.
Sign up to our Free Toy Industry Journal e-newsletter for the latest articles, podcasts, trends and insights into what’s going on in the Global Toy & Games business, just click here to sign up: https://forms.aweber.com/form/54/1325077854.htm
This article is copyright 2025 RG Marketing Ltd, all rights reserved. All contributors to this article contributed under a work for hire basis on behalf of RG Marketing Ltd. Please also note, this article was written and published in the United Kingdom.
