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Baby & Infant

Icon für Kategorie PreSchool

PreSchool

Icon für Kategorie SchoolKids

SchoolKids

Icon für Kategorie Teenager & Adult

Teenager & Adult

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Startup

Icon für Kategorie Sustainability

Sustainability

Category Baby&Infant (0-3 years)

GEOMAG MAGICUBE BLOCKS STACKING SAFARI (GEOMAGWORLD SA) 

Simply ingenious: the building blocks from GEOMAGWORLD are magnetic! They make tricky constructions possible and give stability to even the tallest towers. The ten-piece Magicube set is particularly cute and suitable for even the smallest builders. Five cubes represent popular animals from the safari worldelephant, lion, hippopotamus, crocodile and zebra – and five further hemispheres require dexterity when stacking. According to the jury, this is a cute, simple baby toy that does without technology and plush. For the judges, the Magicubes are the absolute winner in the Baby&Infant category. 

Category PreSchool (3-6 years)

3 SHAPE MEMO (Buitenspeel BV / BS Toys) 

BS Toys has created a great, completely new memory game named 3 SHAPE MEMO. The set consists of easy-to-grip cards of different shapes and colors, three of which are placed inside each other to create a unique combination. Of course, all the cards are laid out face down and the players still have to find the pair for the figure they have placed. Simple 3D shapes are turned into a complex game idea that trains the cognitive skills of eye-hand coordination. In addition, children learn to think strategically and their ambition is awakened. The jury was impressed and awarded 3 SHAPE MEMO the prize in the PreSchool category.    

Category SchoolKids (6-10 years)

RC FOOTBALL SET – BUNDESLIGA (Carrera Toys GmbH) 

Carrera Toys has come up with a fun idea with the RC soccer set: Bundesliga feeling meets RC cars. Two players use their remote-controlled cars to push a miniature soccer ball into the opponent’s goal within a set-up field. This is reminiscent of Stefan Raab’s legendary Blind Kick tournaments and provides plenty of fun! Each car can be decorated with the logo of your favorite club. The ball is moved with a small shovel on the vehicle. The successful combination of soccer and RC racing car, the attractive price and long-lasting fun promise the perfect family competition. The jury is delighted and names the set the winner in the SchoolKids category.   

Category Teenager & Adults (10 years+)

MOON ACRYLIC JIGSAW PUZZLE (ABFUN Inc) 

The MOON ACRYLIC JIGSAW PUZZLE from ABFUN is an entertaining challenge for young and old alike. After concentrated puzzle fun, a breathtaking depiction of the moon is created from 50 beautifully shaped acrylic pieces. The jury is particularly impressed by the variety of puzzle pieces: hidden among the conventional shapes is one that is modeled on a telescope, another depicts a star and yet another resembles Saturn with its characteristic moons. The judges chose the acrylic puzzle as the winner in the Teenager&Adults category. They rated it as unique and creative and were delighted that it lives on as a decoration after it has been solved. 

Category StartUp

QUBITUNES (Qubs AG) 

The round sound adventure box QUBITUNES, which serves as a creative platform for audio games, is simply enchanting. Developed by Swiss start-up Qubs AG, the educational toy trains active listening and sound perception. Each of the lovingly designed cassettes opens up a new thematic world. With the story “Little Maestro”, children conduct their own orchestra with four instruments played individually or together, interactive game sequences change depending on the figures used and with “Matty Block”, listeners learn about numbers in a playful way. This versatile toy, which is easy to expand and appeals to motor and auditory learners, was worthy of the jury’s award in the StartUp category 

Category Sustainability

WAVE STACKER (Plan Creations Co., Ltd. / PlanToys) 

The beautifully shaped WAVE STACKER building block game from Plan Creations impresses with its wonderful colors and unusual design. The building blocks are made from a special wood mixture and consist of rubberwood chips, organic water-based pigments and harmless, formaldehyde-free glue. The jury sees this as a well-integrated waste management system and selects WAVE STACKER as the winner in the Sustainability category. In addition, the special wave shape gives the blocks a good grip, so that they fit perfectly in the hands of small children and allow even unusual stacking attempts to succeed 

TIMELINE

Jury

Jury Mitglied

Andreas Schäfer has been Managing Director of idee+spiel GmbH, one of the most successful specialised trade cooperations for leisure, hobbies and games, since October 2011. Mr. Schäfer entered the toy industry in 1990 after his training as a retail salesman and a 4-year engagement in the EDP accessories trade and has gathered 20 years of experience at home and abroad to date.

Andreas Schäfer, idee+spiel GmbH, Managing Director
Andrew Dobbie

As founder of the British consulting company Gameplan Europe, Andrew Dobbie advises and publishes throughout the world on the consumer behaviour of children and products and markets for children and young people. As former European Marketing Director of Mattel Toys Inc, Andrew Dobbie has an extensive knowledge and many years of experience in the international toy industry.

Andrew Dobbie, Gameplan Europe Ltd., Owner and Managing Director
Axel Dammler

Axel Dammler is Managing Director of iconkids & youth international research GmbH in Munich, Germany’s largest research institute specialised in kids and youth research. He has been working with young target groups since 1992 and has carried out numerous studies in national and international consumer and media markets.

Axel Dammler, iconkids & youth, Managing Director
Jury Mitglied

Catherine De Bleeker was Managing Director of Oxybul, the market leader for educational toys in France, from 2016-2023. She is President of the French section of the Women In Toys association and, as a passionate brand and design ambassador, is always on the lookout for the optimal balance between aesthetics and functionality.

Catherine de Bleeker, President Women in Toys France
Jury Mitglied

Dean Smith is the co-owner of jaZams toy & book stores. jaZams has been in business for 22 years and has been rated as one of the 25 best toy stores in America. Before becoming part of the jaZamily Dean was an organic farmer.

Dean Smith, jaZams, Owner

Disappointed not to find a gift she could feel good about for her daughter on the toystore shelf, Sharon Keilthy quit her consulting job at McKinsey & Company and founded the world’s first eco toystore in 2018 – www.Jiminy.ie, named after Pinocchio’s conscience in the Disney movie. Her vision is that soon, every toy in every store will be sustainable. To that end, she speaks, consults and organises on sustainability in the global toy industry, including contributing to Spielwarenmesse Toy Business Forum, Spirit of Play Magazine and Toys Go Green, co-hosting bio!TOY Conference, co-founding Sustainable Toys Action Consulting, co-founding WiT Sustainability Community, and sitting on the Toy Association Sustainability Committee.

Sharon Keilthy, SustainabilityWorks, Associate Director
Jury Mitglied

Jean Youn has over ten years of experience developing toys and kid-adult products not only in the South Korean market, but also Japan and China. His international experience is displayed through his role as the East Asian representative in an international toy jury consisting of toy experts, expanding various different countries and continents.
With his international background and knowledge, he not only judges within the Korean toy industry, but is also involved in various government sectors. As the CEO of Toy Institute, Jean has plans to continue promoting safe and productive toys to parents and children as well as offer consulting on the most recent toy developments.

Jean Youn, Toy Institute Korea, CEO & Head of Toy Business
Jury Mitglied

Jörg Meister studied product design at the FH Coburg. In 2010, after working for five years as an industrial designer for a globally operating company for baby hardware and toys, he joined forces with Eva Stemmer to set up the service agency for product design, consulting and PR with a focus on children’s products.

Jörg Meister, little big things GmbH, General Manager
Jury Mitglied

Keri Wilmot is a pediatric occupational therapist currently living in the Dallas, Texas. With 22 years of experience helping kids of all ages develop motor skills through play. In 2009, Keri began interacting on social media sharing toy recommendations and tips to promote play and development on YouTube, and on her website. In 2020, Keri authored her first book, Wired Differently: A Teacher’s Guide to Sensory Processing Challenges, which was written to give teachers practical strategies and play tips to help children. Keri’s expertise has been frequently featured on television segments and she serves as a contributor, consultant and speaker to companies worldwide.

Keri Wilmots, ToyQueen.com, Expert and therapist for motor learning development
Jury Mitglied

Rainer Weiskirchen worked for many years as a press spokesman for TÜV Rheinland in Nuremberg. The testing and certification specialist checks whether toys meet the quality and safety standards of the Product Safety Act, among other things.

Rainer Weiskirchen, Expert for quality and safety in the toy sector
Jury Mitglied

Sue Warfield has been in the both the Retail and Toy Business for over 30 years. She had been an American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) Member since 2001 having had her own sales representative group as well as a retail store. She served for 7 years on the ASTRA Board of Directors including as chair of the board. In 2014 she joined the ASTRA staff as Membership Director. In 2020, she took on the position of President.

Sue Warfield, American Speciality Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA), President
Jury Mitglied Thomas Wodzicki

Thomas Wodzicki is an educationalist specialized in games. He also works as a teacher of adult education and project developer for the German Federal Association Spielmobile e.V. Spielmobile is a Germany-wide network of working groups and the proper authority for the gap year, usually taken to do voluntary work in the social sector in Bavaria. n mark (GS) guarantees a high quality of products.

Thomas Wodzicki, Freelance play educator for various institutions at home and abroad
Jury Mitglied Thorsten Paedelt

Thorsten Paedelt works for duo schreib & spiel since 2001 and became Managing Director for Marketing and Sales in 2002. The retail trade co-operation from Berlin covers 460 toy shops in Germany and Austria. The range extends from stationery and toys to products from the creative and lifestyle segments.

Thorsten Paedelt, duo schreib & spiel GmbH & Co.KG, Managing Director

Jennifer Rydén is CEO of the Swedish Toy and Baby Association, which represents the toy, board game and children’s product industry in Sweden as well as member companies from Norway, Denmark and Finland. The association unites retailers and suppliers and promotes safe, innovative and high-quality toys.
She has worked for the association since 2010 and brings with her extensive industry experience, including almost nine years at Simba-Dickie. Her background gives her a deep understanding of market dynamics and the importance of child-friendly products.

Jennifer Rydén, Lek & Baby Swedish Toy and Baby Association, CEO

The ToyAward

Criteria

Schrank mit verschiedenen Spielzeugen

Play fun.

Brettspiel mit Karteb

Potential for success in retail

Kind hält Knete an die Augen

Comprehensibility of product concept.

Familie spielt ein Brettspiel

Originality.

Spielzeug mit Zahlen

Safety.

Kind spielt mit Spielzeugeisenbahn

Workmanship & quality.

Advantages

Ganzjaehrige Präsentation

Year round presentation

Year round presentation at www.toyaward.de

Icon zu

Press conference

Presentation of the products at the main press conference

Icon zu Werbemaßnahmen

Advertising

Intensive advertising in our online media (app, newsletter, etc.) and in the digital winner flyer on our website

Icon zu Presse

Press

Press releases to the international print and online press before and after the fair as well as during the rest of the year with mention of all the award-winning products

Donations

This year, the ToyAward products were donated to the Elterninitiative krebskranker Kinder e.V., Nuremberg and to the Sternchenmarkt in Nuremberg.

We thank all participating companies.

WHAT OUR WINNERS SAY

„The Spielwarenmesse is THE meeting place for the industry, all the important stakeholders are present here… The icing on the cake was winning the ToyAward. It is a great conversation starter, gave us a noticeable boost and brought us various spontaneous appointments.“

Haba Sales GmbH & Co. KG, winner category Baby & Infant

„The Spielwarenmesse is the big event, we wait for every year. Winning the ToyAward and the opportunity to exhibit our winning product in the special area had a huge impact.”

OPPI, winner category PreSchool

„It’s good to feel the positive atmosphere at the trade fair and to start the toy year 2024 with this spirit. These are challenging times. This makes it all the more important for the industry to come together here, exchange ideas and do good business. A special highlight this year: the ToyAward 2024 for our Adventure Puzzle. This is a great compliment for our innovative strength and rounds off this year’s very successful trade fair participation perfectly.“

Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co.KG, winner category SchoolKids

„Winning the ToyAward meant that several visitors came to our stand. The second placement of the winning products also contributed to this. We enjoyed the positive atmosphere and even had the chance to get in touch with other exhibitors. In conclusion: We are very happy to be part of this incredible show!”

Fizz Creations Ltd., winner category Teenager & Adults

Das ToyAward Logo