Saturday Night Live‘s 2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens parody toy commercial. | Source: NBC

It’s print week here at The Toy Book which means the 2023 edition of The BIG Toy Book is nearly complete.

On Feb. 28, we’re kicking off the 39th volume of The Toy Book by unleashing what has traditionally been our biggest issue of the year. This year, however, the game has changed and it appears that our October Toy Fair issue is going to be a second hefty slab of toy-and-game-fueled goodness when it lands on Sept. 30. If you’re in the business of play in North America, you won’t want to miss what we’re working on this year, so be sure to subscribe if you haven’t already and check out our editorial calendar if you want to get in on the action!

Spielwarenmesse is in the books and from what I hear, it was a stellar event.

Our own Jackie Breyer, Vice President and Group Publisher here at Adventure Media & Events, was racking up the steps on the show floor in Nuremberg last week. In a statement issued by organizers at Spielwarenmesse eG, the 72nd Spielwarenmesse was hailed as a return to form as more than 2,100 exhibitors from 69 countries welcomed 58,000 retailers from 128 countries.

The biggest takeaway that I’ve gathered from my contacts is that there are some fantastic new products on the horizon — a fact I can confirm based on early line previews and some of the new products featured in the next issue of The Toy Book.

The LEGO Transformers Optimus Prime | Source: Hasbro

Beware the Kidults?

By now, everyone knows that kidults and kidulting went mainstream last year. The “kidult” term itself is polarizing, and some might even deem it to be in poor taste. Does the cohort of toy buyers ages 12 and up (kids ages 12+ and adult buyers ages 18+) even need a buzz-worthy name?

The word “kidult” has been around for ages. The earliest mention that I’ve found in the pages of The Toy Book is in a 2017 story from the HKTDC Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair where Kidult World is a dedicated pavilion. But it wasn’t new. Kidult World first launched in Hong Kong back in 2013 — a full decade ago. At the time, trade show organizers touted it as “riding on the industry trend to adult toys and games.” That sounds very familiar.

You could equate the rise of the kidult to being like most “overnight success” stories: it took a decade to catch on.

The problem with the kidult market is that I don’t see it as being sustainable in the long term.

Back on December 29, I shared a few thoughts about this market in an episode of The Playground Podcast. Around the 32-minute mark, I mentioned that if you’re playing the long game (which I tend to do), the prospect of keeping the kidult market alive has a very important factor that I just don’t see being addressed: the kidults of the future are the kids of today and tomorrow.

Related: The Toy Insider Welcomes Submissions for its 2023 Spring & Summer Gift Guide

The adult collector is nothing new, but the extent of the spend coming from folks who maybe 5-10 years ago wouldn’t have been buying “toys” for themselves has increased. The fact that 25% of the U.S. toy market sales are coming from adults buying for themselves shouldn’t be a pat on the back for the industry: it should be a warning.

If the kidults of today are buying products based on nostalgia for things that they grew up on 20, 30, or 40 years ago, the only way to keep that business moving in the future is to be creating products that new generations of kids will love enough to hold dear decades from now.

Will the kidults of 2050 be dropping hundreds of dollars on a collectible statue of JJ from CoComelon? Will a 40-something that grew up on PJ Masks be interested in a 6-inch scale, highly detailed Catboy action figure with ultra-articulation and premium deco? Will high-end doll collectors be hunting for a 35th anniversary L.O.L. Surprise! doll?

There is no way to know.

As 2023 marks further re-invention for Transformers, Barbie, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — properties that are 40-60 years old — I wonder if the kidults of tomorrow will just be nostalgic for the same stuff that the kidults of today are going after.

The only way to ensure that the market doesn’t collapse is to be razor focused on creating BIG new brands and stories that are properly developed and don’t get lost in the sea of “too much content” that kids face today.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

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