Hooray! - the first AI pet is here: How the Toy Fair has reinvented itself over the past 75 years

The 75th Toy Fair celebrated a fitting anniversary with numerous innovations both online and offline, one of the key ingredients that makes it so attractive to its exhibitors and visitors. Its leading role is also being leveraged by the Swiss start-up Keebox for its international expansion. CEO Christian Ulrich cites customer loyalty – 14 of whom have been exhibiting since 1950 (!) – as the foundation for this success.

By Urs Seiler || February 4, 2026

“We are overjoyed by this loyalty,” said Christian Ulrich (short interview below) at the traditionally spectacular ToyNight on the first day of the fair, referring to the exhibitors' continued support. The Toy Fair does a great deal to foster this loyalty by continuously evolving beyond simply focusing on exhibition space rental. “The Toy Fair brings trends to life,” said Scarlett Wisotzki, Director of Communication, during the new ToyTrends tour led by the organizers.

“The Toy Fair is the best networking opportunity for the entire toy industry,” says Lucca Liv of Unique Baby from Denmark. The high level of exhibitor satisfaction is also reflected in the figures: 90% of the companies plan to exhibit again in Nuremberg from February 2nd to 6th, 2027.

The Toy Fair is also impressive proof of the success and relevance of the licensing business. "We see this not only on the exhibition floors, but also in the License Lounge and our adjacent Licensing International stand, which have become the home base for the licensing industry at the fair," emphasizes Petra Strobl from Licensing International.

International Germany.

Despite the current geopolitical climate, the mood in the industry was optimistic. 93% of exhibitors – 3% more than last year – were satisfied with their participation. Mattel celebrated several global launches at its booth, while the Simba Dickie Group was particularly impressed by the quality of the professional clientele. Florian Sieber commented: "There is no other trade fair on an international level that is this relevant for us."

2313 exhibitors from 68 countries and 58,900 visitors (+2.5%) from 121 nations participated in the 75th Toy Fair from January 27th to 31st, because here, like nowhere else in the world, contacts are made and business deals for the year are initiated.

Keebox's international business is set to take place at the Toy Fair.

Like the Swiss start-up Keebox. The Keebox is a pocket-sized escape room. According to Tom, Roger, and Pascal (from left), participation in the start-up section of the trade fair is a must for the young company of the same name. "We sell 70 percent of our products in Switzerland, so the Toy Fair is essential for making international contacts, which would be incredibly difficult otherwise," they told smartville digital.

We had our interview on the evening of the first day of the trade fair, and the response from Keebox was already very positive. "It's remarkable how many visitors came to our booth—highly interested buyers from small shops to wholesalers. We made contacts that you simply can't find online. The atmosphere among the other exhibitors was also very positive; people exchanged ideas openly, and as newcomers to the trade fair, we received unsolicited tips. If things continue like this in the coming days, we'll be more than successful. Even though we're exhibiting for the first time, many visitors sought us out and found us."

Keebox's vision? "We have grown very quickly organically, without external investors. This is slowly changing, but our goal is not massive growth; we want to maintain our organic growth, including production in Switzerland and collaboration with the psychiatric reintegration organization Firstep, which was very well received by our trade fair visitors."

Each year, the Toy Fair identifies key themes and Toy Trends that show where the market is headed.

That included ROPET. ROPET is a cuddly desktop robot pet. Ropet can recognize its owners, listen to them, swing with them, and be loved a little more each day. ROPET loves nothing more than having its fluffy fur stroked...

75 Years of Future: The Transformation of the Toy Fair

For its 75th anniversary in 2026, the trade fair will set new standards with anniversary presentations, the Sustainable Collection, and the “Digital Toy Fair.” The latter offers new online formats for networking, information, and orientation.

In 2026, the topics of artificial intelligence in toys, creative mindfulness play, and the growing target group of adults/kidults were identified and prominently presented.

Also new was the "bus pitch," in which a startup company—the Swiss company Keebox from Bern—presented its product in a short presentation similar to the famous "elevator pitch" during the brief bus ride connecting the exhibition halls. This innovation was extremely well received by the trade fair visitors.

Conclusion

The 75th edition of the Toy Fair will remain in the industry's memory for a long time: Accompanied by many anniversary promotions, it impressed with a particularly atmospheric ambiance.

The next Nuremberg Toy Fair will take place from February 2nd to 6th, 2027.

-------- Short interview with Christian Ulrich -------