Toy Fair New York 2026: Hot Products & Trending Categories
Published 25 February 2026
With the global toy industry returning to growth last year, Toy Fair New York (February 14-17) was an energised event, with brands vying to feed fandoms and cultivate collectors, capitalise on the growing kidult cohort, and integrate evolving tech into imaginative play concepts. We also highlight motifs to watch across product categories.
Routes to Screen-Free Play & Entertainment
Feeding Fandoms & Cultivating Collectors
Catering for Kidults & Adult-Emulating Kids
Key Motifs: Seasonal Surge, A-List Animals & Food Mania
As experts and influential figures underscore the harms of prolonged immersion on digital devices, toys increasingly aim to draw kids away from screens. Several key products do this by integrating advanced technology, while others encourage age-old, hands-on analogue activities.
As experts and influential figures underscore the harms of prolonged immersion on digital devices, toys increasingly aim to draw kids away from screens. Several key products do this by integrating advanced technology, while others encourage age-old, hands-on analogue activities.
Across generations, fandoms and collectors are fuelling growth: sales of collectibles rose 32% worldwide in 2025, while licensed toys grew by 15% (Circana, 2026). Nostalgic intellectual property (IP) retains its powerful pull, but the Labubu craze (see The Brief) and the KPop Demon Hunters phenomenon also demonstrate how quickly new fandoms are being minted (and need to be seized upon).
Toy brands are playing to the expanding number of adult customers – who now account for about one-fifth of US toy sales (Circana, 2025) – with products that lean on nostalgia, pointed humour, meditative activities and upgraded aesthetics. Meanwhile, kids’ products now help youngsters emulate or engage in a wider array of adult activities, from baking to supermarket self-checkout.
Brands are seizing on seasonal themes, increasingly driven by the aforementioned collectibles opportunity. Keeping products fresh, other motifs aiming for cross-generational appeal include a cornucopia of foods and a crew of trending animals, from cats to Highland cows.
Toy Fair New York 2026: Hot Products & Trending Categories
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Toy Fair New York 2026: Hot Products & Trending Categories
With the global toy industry returning to growth last year, Toy Fair New York (February 14-17) was an energised event, with brands vying to feed fandoms and...