British Toy & Hobby Association announce winners of this year’s 25 Hero Toys at London’s Toy Fair 2023

24 January 2023:

British Toy & Hobby Association announce winners of this year’s 25 Hero Toys at London’s Toy Fair 2023

● 10 of the 25 toys are available to buy now with prices starting from £12.99.
● Nostalgia is set to dominate the market this year with Playmobil UK Ltd, The LEGO Group, Care Bears, Sesame Street and Sylvanian Families amongst the winners
● Toy categories featured in the list include Plush Toys, Arts & Crafts, Action Figures, Preschool Toys and more!
● Toy Fair 2023 opens its doors for its 69th year at Olympia London from the 24th to 26th January

The British Toy and Hobby Association (BTHA) are delighted to announce their 25 Hero Toys for 2023, which have all been selected by a panel of industry experts and are based on informed predictions for this year’s trends. The winners were unveiled at 9.50am on 24th January at this year’s Toy Fair with broadcaster and presenter Anna Williamson on hand to congratulate the winners.

The selected toys are aimed at a range of ages, are suitable for a variety of interests and cover a large range of toy categories including plush toys, arts & crafts, action figures and preschool toys. Just some of the wonderful toys include a Paddington Bear Tea Set, an RC Transforming Optimus Prime and a Pigs On Trampolines Game. Building sets showed a strong 4% growth in 2022 and are likely to remain popular in 2023.

Rebecca Deeming, Communications & Events Manager at the BTHA, commented: “This year’s Toy Fair’s Hero Toys are bigger and better than ever! We received over 250 product entries – the greatest number of entries we have ever had – and the competition was very strong. We are confident that our winners perfectly encompass the wide-ranging categories of toys on display at Toy Fair and they represent everything our industry is about: ensuring every childhood is filled with play.”

Several of the winning toys are based on characters who reigned during the 80’s like Elmo, Barbie, Sylvanian Families, and Wallace and Gromit, as nostalgia looks set to be a strong theme this year.

Rebecca adds: “We know that parents, grandparents and carers love passing on traditions to their children and purchasing toys that remind them of their childhood, such as the Care Bears Dare to Care and the Build Your Own Wallace & Gromit Rocket, both Hero Toys. We expect to see this trend continue in the next year, with the nostalgic trend clearly popular with consumers.”

10 of the 25 winners are available to buy now with prices starting at £12.99. The other winners will be released into retail later this year in the lead up to peak season. The complete list of Toy Fair’s Hero Toys 2023 can be found in the product guide attached and will be on display outside of the Press Office for the duration of Toy Fair.

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For PR enquiries or for more information please contact [email protected]
Visit the website: https://staging.toyfair.co.uk/
Follow Toy Fair on Instagram & Twitter at: @toyfairuk

Notes to Editors

Source: The NPD Group / Retail Tracking Service / YTD Nov 2022 vs 21

About the BTHA
The British Toy & Hobby Association was established in 1944 to represent the interests of British toy manufacturers and to raise standards of practice in the industry. Today it has around 150 members ranging from international toy giants to small family-run businesses that together account for more than 80% of the UK toy market. Membership of the British Toy & Hobby Association shows the member’s commitment to adhere to the BTHA Code of Practice under the umbrella of the Lion Mark which includes rules covering ethical and safe manufacture of toys, toy safety, a ban on counterfeit goods, an assurance to market responsibly, a commitment to improving sustainability and a desire to promote the value of all play through support of the Make Time 2 Play campaign. Our members are manufacturers committed to making good quality toys in a responsible way. The BTHA also administers the Toy Trust – the industry’s charity.

About The NPD Group, Inc.
NPD offers data, industry expertise, and prescriptive analytics to help our clients grow their businesses in a changing world. Over 2,000 companies worldwide rely on us to help them measure, predict, and improve performance across all channels, including brick-and-mortar, e-commerce, and B2B. We have services in 19 countries worldwide, with operations spanning the Americas, Europe, and APAC. Practice areas include apparel, appliances, automotive, beauty, books, B2B technology, consumer technology, e-commerce, fashion accessories, food consumption, foodservice, footwear, home, home improvement, juvenile products, media entertainment, mobile, office supplies, retail, sports, toys, and video games. For more information, visit npd.com. Follow us on Twitter: @npdgroup

The full Toy Fair’s Hero Toys list is:

Hero Toys Available To Buy Later This Year