Toynamics UK & Ireland

Please provide a brief introduction to yourself and the company you work for

Emma Damerell, Head of Marketing for Toynamics UK & Ireland. I oversee UK marketing for Hape, and focus on developing and delivering our category-based consumer marketing campaigns.

What is your favourite part about working in the toy industry?

I love working for a company that designs playful products that are all about having fun and making children smile. Seeing the joy and excitement our products give children is contagious – I’m definitely feeling happy!

Give us the inside scoop, what products are you launching at Toy Fair 2023?

It’ll be the first showing of our Green Planet Explorers range expansion, a new sub brand under the Hape umbrella. The new toys are all made from sustainable materials and focused on teaching children about sustainability. And new from Skip Hop is the Bladeless Stroller Fan, which just won the innovation award at Kind +Jugend 2022

What trends do you predict for the Toy Fair industry in 2023?

There’ll be a focus on sustainability – not just packaging, but the actual toy and its design, it’ll be about sustainability messaging and what toys are helping to teach children.

How many years have you exhibited at Toy Fair 2023? Any favourite memories?

This will be my sixth year at Toy Fair. I think my standout memory has to be my first Toy Fair press day with the costume characters, as I met the Powerpuff Girls. They’re my childhood superhero idols!

What is your favourite toy?

Stretch Armstrong – I never had one so always stole it off my brother!

What top tip would you give to a fellow exhibitor or visitor attending their first Toy Fair?

Wear comfortable shoes because your feet will definitely ache!