Toy Business Forum

Reyne Rice, ToyTrends, San Diego/USA

What's next in toys, games, and play technology: Come experience a visual cavalcade of new ideas, trends and innovations shaping the world of play products and experiences in 2023 and beyond. Explore emerging trends from a global perspective and be inspired by the latest generation of play experiences, from a multitude of manufacturers and creators! Let's discover the latest play trends!

Reyne Rice is a world-renowned Global Trend Hunter & CEO/Founder of ToyTrends. And Co-President of the International Toy Trade Magazine Association. A leading journalist and expert Spielwarenmesse TrendCommittee member, she travels the globe with a keen eye for identifying play trends & innovations.

Claudia Rivinius, STI Group | STI – Gustav Stabernack GmbH, Lauterbach

You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, as they say. This also applies to the topic of sustainability. However, a product, a brand or even a shop can’t be classified as sustainable simply based on how it looks – the system is much more complex than that. But what does it come down to, which criteria are relevant and how important are sustainable packaging solutions for brands?

Claudia Rivinius is Marketing Director of the STI Group – a leading European supplier of sustainable packaging and displays. She has supervised numerous studies on the impact that packaging and displays have on sales and has developed a sustainability scorecard to assess sustainable concepts.

Dr Maximilian Lude, philoneos GmbH, Munich

How do we as (family-run) businesses prepare for the future? Zoom and Miro shape our everyday working lives, remote work discussions are polarising, and grocery delivery companies drop off the fillet of cod for your lonely dinner. DIY stores are booming, the shortage of skilled workers is turning into a shortage of employees in general, sweatpants are experiencing a renaissance, and stock markets are on a roller coaster ride...

Dr Maximilian Lude is an entrepreneur, scientist, and speaker. As the founder and managing director of philoneos GmbH, a “future bureau” for family-run businesses, he and his team give family-run companies support with all aspects of innovation, transformation, and the future of work.

Dominik Griese-Kentschke, Griese Advertising, Cologne

What is this Metaverse and what are its chances? How does the Metaverse get onto the toy shelf? And vice versa? How does the Metaverse make toys come alive? Dominik answers all these questions and provides important key facts as well as an outlook on a possible future. Everything also with a view to the toy industry. Furthermore, he presents visions, ideas and possibilities of hybrid toy concepts, underpinned with already real projects and products.

Dominik is the inventor and author of The MetaSpace, the German-language blog on Web 3.0 with the widest reach. He is a metaverse enthusiast and a communicative nerd who tends to look at the metaverse rather in a logical and technological way.

Steve Reece, Kids Brand Insight / Toy Team Asia, Buerton/UK

Leading Toy business Consultant Steve Reece predicts the Future of Toys based on 20+ years’ experience working internationally across the toy & Games business. The sections covered include: 1. The future of toy retail 2. The future of toy products 3. The future of toy consumers 4. The future of toy manufacturing

Steve Reece has worked in the toy business for more than 20 years starting in market research & brand management for Hasbro. Steve now works as a Consultant to toy companies offering Consultancy on the toy & game business & strategic sourcing diversification.

Julia Frings, IFH Köln, Cologne 

The hype is already here! More and more consumers are fascinated by the new worlds that the metaverse, NFTs and the like open up for them and want to dip their toes into these new trends. The young target group in particular are keen on them. But what opportunities does this open up for retailers? And can shopping in the metaverse even revolutionise e-commerce?

Julia Frings is a project manager at IFH KÖLN. Since 2018, she has concentrated on the latest trending topics in the retail sector. She focuses on the topics of the platform economy, sustainability and payment.

Olaolu Fajembola and Tebogo Nimindé-Dundadengar, Tebalou, Berlin

Our society is diverse, but this is not represented in most play environments. Diversity as a hot topic of the future is something that the retail trade simply can’t ignore. In an interactive talk, the two bestselling authors and founders of “Tebalou” will talk about their own careers. They wish to encourage people to strategically incorporate the issue of diversity in companies.

Olaolu Fajembola is a cultural scientist, bestselling author, and an expert in incorporating diversity in early childhood education. As a co-founder of the online platform Tebalou, she is primarily responsible for the areas of purchasing and strategy.

Tebogo Nimindé-Dundadengar is a psychologist, bestselling author, and an expert in incorporating diversity in early childhood education. As a co-founder of the online platform Tebalou, she is mainly responsible for marketing and logistics.
 

Reyne Rice, ToyTrends, San Diego/USA

Overview of the ToyTrends 2023 Trends: "Discover!", "Brands for Fans" & "MetaToys". Explore and understand these new 2023 global trend stories. Experience visual examples of products that define each trend, in new and exciting ways, across multiple categories of products, representing a global range of manufacturers. Find out how they were chosen, and how they are represented in play experiences.

Reyne Rice is a world-renowned Global Trend Hunter & CEO/Founder of ToyTrends. And Co-President of the International Toy Trade Magazine Association. A leading journalist and expert Spielwarenmesse TrendCommittee member, she travels the globe with a keen eye for identifying play trends & innovations.

Sebastian Olényi, sustentio GmbH, Berlin

CSRD, LkSG, CSDDD, UNGPs…These cryptic German abbreviations stand for increasing regulatory demands. At the same time, increasing numbers of customers are demanding greater sustainability. What is feasible? And how do you become a sustainable retail company? What would be a realistic claim that many companies can already meet today? And what will the near future bring?

Sebastian Olényi assists companies with strategic sustainability processes. With his agency “sustentio” and the sustainability consulting cooperative “sustainable natives”, and as a lecturer at the FU Berlin, he provides support with issues relating to sustainability strategies and communication.

Julia Frings, IFH KÖLN, Cologne 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic at the very latest, using a smartphone has become a matter of course for many. Proving you’ve been vaccinated, holding Zoom meetings and making payments online have become part of everyday life. This means that retailers have to adapt to the new framework conditions and integrate the smartphone into their sales and business processes. But how can they do this? And how should the (smart) payment mix be designed?

Julia Frings is a project manager at IFH KÖLN. Since 2018, she has concentrated on the latest trending topics in the retail sector. She focuses on the topics of the platform economy, sustainability and payment.

Patrick Klingberg, Digital Architect, Hamburg

Which message, which company has lingered in your mind in the last 24 hours? The answer is very sobering and thus is a challenge to our current strategies. So, let’s talk about bold online marketing! Let’s create real attention-grabbers! Let’s talk about live formats!

Digital architect Patrick Klingberg has been an independent sparring partner, speaker, and streamer in the German digital landscape for many years. His goal is to create inspiring online marketing!

Dominik Griese-Kentschke, Griese Advertising, Cologne

What is this Metaverse and what are its chances? How does the Metaverse get onto the toy shelf? And vice versa? How does the Metaverse make toys come alive? Dominik answers all these questions and provides important key facts as well as an outlook on a possible future. Everything also with a view to the toy industry. Furthermore, he presents visions, ideas and possibilities of hybrid toy concepts, underpinned with already real projects and products.

Dominik is the inventor and author of The MetaSpace, the German-language blog on Web 3.0 with the widest reach. He is a metaverse enthusiast and a communicative nerd who tends to look at the metaverse rather in a logical and technological way.

Niklas Wittkowski, TikTok GBS DACHI, Berlin

TikTok is a social media platform for creating, sharing and discovering short videos. The app is used as an outlet to express themselves and allows users to create videos and share them across a community. This presentation will debunk the myth about TikTok and will show its purpose for marketeers as the Gateway to Gen Z and Millennial Marketing.

Working in online marketing and E Commerce for over 13 years makes we want to find out about true incremental impact of on and offline marketing. The journey started at Solon Solar, included agencies, start-ups, networks, podcasts and energy providers.

Sharon Keilthy, Jiminy Eco Toys, Dublin/Ireland 

Sharon will share all she's learned in 4 years of running the world's first eco-activist toy store, and of organising and influencing for change in our global toy industry. Which has a bigger impact: the material a toy is made from, or the distance it travels? Which is more urgent: a toy's carbon footprint, or the trash it generates? What are the practical steps for toy makers/buyers/retailers?

Sharon founded the world's first eco-activist toy store Jiminy.ie and sold €1 million eco toys to date. All carbon-neutral and minimal-waste. She co-founded Women in Toys Sustainability Learning Community. Faculty, Toy Design Degree Otis College Los Angeles.

Achim Himmelreich, Capgemini Deutschland GmbH, Berlin

New terms such as blockchain, NFTs, the metaverse and Web 3.0 have found their way not only into the trade press but also into the mass media. The question now is whether they are just new buzzwords created by marketing departments or whether a new and substantial trend has started. Achim Himmelreich will answer these questions and show how companies can profit from this.

Achim can look back on a consulting career of more than 20 years in the field of digital transformation. Before joining Capgemini, he was a partner at the management consultancy firm Mücke, Sturm & Company, among others. He was also Vice President of the German Digital Economy Association for eight years.

Frank Bittel, ppm gmbh, Dormagen

Using the example of the partnership with the ARMEDANGELS brand, the talk outlines the major and minor levers for eco-friendly shopfitting.

Frank Bittel founded ppm gmbh in 1996 and, with a spirit of innovation, passion and a focus on sustainability, continues to drive it forward with his visions to this day. He is dedicated to answering the questions of how people’s needs are evolving and what the spaces of tomorrow should be like.

Reyne Rice, ToyTrends, San Diego/USA

Overview of the TrendGallery 2023 Trends: "Discover!", "Brands for Fans" &"MetaToys". Explore and understand these new 2023 global trend stories. Experience visual examples of products that define each trend, in new and exciting ways, across multiple categories of products, representing a global range of manufacturers. Find out how they were chosen, and how they are represented in play experiences.

Reyne Rice is a world-renowned Global Trend Hunter & CEO/Founder of ToyTrends. And Co-President of the International Toy Trade Magazine Association. A leading journalist and expert Spielwarenmesse TrendCommittee member, she travels the globe with a keen eye for identifying play trends & innovations.

Simone Brett-Murati, "Eskimos mit Kühlschränken", Hamburg 

It’s not just well-known DAX executives who have built up their own personal brand via LinkedIn – even ordinary entrepreneurs with no marketing know-how whatsoever can become their own personal brand in LinkedIn and reach new customers. This lecture explains a new self-marketing concept for retailers and manufacturers. You’ll see examples of how you can use LinkedIn to become a marketing professional in your own right.

Simone Brett-Murati is a consultant for personal branding and coaching for entrepreneurs and company owners on LinkedIn as well as the author of an Amazon e-book on social selling (Social Selling Praxishandbuch - Werde zum LinkedIn-Influencer für deine Kunden).

Christian Krömer, Spielwaren Krömer GmbH & Co. KG, Schrobenhausen

Christian Krömer can no longer imagine doing business without social media, as this is precisely where his target group is. But simply sharing suppliers’ content on platforms? In his view, that era is over. Customers want authenticity. They want a face behind the brand, and they want custom content. Christian Krömer describes which channels he uses and how.

Christian Krömer is managing partner at Spielwaren Krömer GmbH & Co. KG. Spielwaren Krömer is a specialist shop for toys and gift articles and can be found at 24 locations across Bavaria as well as online. He is also an advisor and member of the supervisory board at idee+spiel, a member of the executive committee of the Bavarian Trade Association, and a member of the general assembly of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Munich and Upper Bavaria.

Alexander Wessling, Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Handel, Cologne

As part of the process of digitalising the point of sale, in-store analytic solutions offer retailers added value by optimising processes and revealing key customer data. Learn how smart camera solutions, frequency counters and sensors, among other things, can help to create customer profiles, record conversion rates and optimise staff planning.

Alexander Wessling is a project officer at the Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Handel at the IFH KÖLN, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. He works on topics related to the vitalisation and digitalisation of retail locations as well as the digitalisation of bricks-and-mortar retail outlets in the field.

Sascha Verlan, Wort & Klang Küche, Bonn

The state of research is clear about this: dividing toys into pink and light blue and the targeted way children are addressed as boys and girls have a restrictive influence on the way children’s personalities develop. This lecture outlines the socio-psychological backgrounds as well as strategies for a range of toys that go beyond the usual gender role clichés.

Sascha Verlan is an author, journalist and director (Die Rosa-Hellblau-Falle, Equal Care, 35 Jahre HipHop in Deutschland). Together with Almut Schnerring, he founded the Equal Care Day initiative in 2016 and has been awarding the Broad Hint Award for absurd gender marketing since 2017.