Irish start-up HoloToyz takes the industry by storm with prestigious award win
"It's like the golden globes for toys!"
HoloToyz, an Irish toy company, has won a prestigious Toy Award at the world’s largest toy fair, Spielwarenmesse which took place last week in Nuremberg, Germany.
The Irish augmented reality technology start-up took home the coveted prize for its ‘outstandingly innovative’ Paw Patrol Tattoos and Stickers. The jury also commended HoloToyz for the prudent introduction to new technologies, the easy-to-use app and the fair price point to award founders Kate Scott and Declan Fahy from Co. Meath with the ‘Start-Up ToyAward’.
"We are thrilled to receive this recognition from the ToyAward judges and to have been selected from a total of 584 new products registered at the event," said Kate. "We believe that our 'Awesome Reality' technology will revolutionize the toy industry, and we're proud to be leading the way with our innovative and kid-friendly products."
With the Metaverse vision cultivating in recent years, MetaToys is one of the latest toy trends highlighted at Spielwarenmesse. Through the use of technology, these tattoos and stickers come to life in a whole new way, providing kids with an interactive and immersive play experience like never before. Kids can watch as their favourite Paw Patrol characters come to life right before their eyes through augmented reality.
"We know how prevalent technology is in kids' lives but we wanted to create something where they're not completely immersed in tech," said Declan. "Instead, children can connect with technology through physical things, such as books, tattoos and stickers. Our aim is to bridge the gap between augmented reality and reality."
HoloToyz started as a concept in 2019 with Kate having worked in augmented reality over the years in marketing. The couple quit their jobs of fifteen years to focus on HoloToyz, where they could "give children the same quality technology in a fun and kid safe way, away from the social media platforms."
Along with their Paw Patrol AR tattoos and stickers, HoloToyz also unveiled an additional seven new products at the toy fair that will be launched to market in 2023/24, including jigsaw puzzles, t-shirt activity sets, cube puzzles, wall decals, books and collectibles that all come to life using their Awesome Reality tech.
Across the five days, a total of 58,000 retailers and buyers from 128 countries visited the Spielwarenmesse including big companies such as Hasbro and MGA Entertainment.
“Winning the toy award gave us significant exposure at the world's largest toy fair," said Declan. "It put us on the radar of some of the world's largest toy distributors, further solidifying our position as a leading player in the industry."