In this episode of "Making It in The Toy Industry" podcast, host Azhelle Wade aka The Toy Coach interviews Dr. Amanda Gummer, a research psychologist and founder of Good Play Guide, a service that provides independent product evaluations and accreditations for children's toys and games. Azhelle asks Dr. Gummer, about her work and the importance of evaluating toys for children's development. Dr. Gummer talks about her passion for helping people make good toys for kids and raising standards within the industry. She also shares details about Good Play Guide's accreditation program and how it helps prevent products that could damage a brand's reputation.

The conversation talks about the Toy Associations new STEAM accreditation, established in 2021 and details how it follows the same principles as the Good Play Guide. The Toy Coach and Dr. Gummer discuss the value of having an independent, research-based evaluation program for toys and games that involves children in the testing process. Dr. Gummer shares some of the most recent Good Play Guide award winners, as well as construction toys that are becoming more environmentally friendly.

Overall, this episode provides valuable insights into the importance of independent toy evaluations and how they can help the industry create better products for children's educational development.

Have you been considering joining Toy Creators Academy to develop your toy or game idea? Do you still have a few questions about how the program works, when it starts, or what it covers? This episode is perfect for you! In today’s podcast episode, The Toy Coach addresses the most frequently asked questions about this 12 week group coaching program. Toy Creators Academy is the only toy education and implementation program of its kind that not only shows you how to fully develop your toy or game idea like a pro — but also how to properly pitch that idea to buyers and toy companies. Are you ready to bring your toy and game ideas to life? Make it happen with the guidance and support provided by Toy Creators Academy.

“The games category is too competitive!” “You shouldn’t even try to get a card game into Target!” If Kiara Imani had let those thoughts dissuade her from trying, she may have never gotten her Like U card game into one of the biggest retailers in the United States. Today, my podcast guest Kiara shares how she came up with, designed, manufactured and sold her conversation starting card game, Like U. In a world where we’re always trying to put people in boxes, the Like U card game helps players to enjoy a conversation of differences.

Small toy companies and toy inventors that only want to order a small amount of product can’t work with factories in China, right? Wrong! Today’s episode is practical and essential for anyone who wants to manufacture a toy or a game. Today’s podcast guest Kate Khvorostianova is an account manager with LongPack Toys, a toy and gift factory in China. She tells you how to present yourself professionally, why it's important to market parallel to manufacturing, and all of the services LongPack Toys provides. Kate says that LongPack is really interested in working with smaller toy companies, entrepreneurs, and Kickstarter based projects. Is that you? Listen to the episode to get all the information, then reach out to Kate to start the manufacturing process.

All across the globe we are seeing a massive increase in prices and reduction in quality. In fact it’s so prevalent, it has a few nicknames. Shrinkflation and Skimpflation are two practices of reducing the quality of goods and services to maintain margin, and reducing the actual contents of goods and quality of services while increasing the cost. The goal of cost reduction is typically to reduce cost without affecting overall aesthetic or playability. But when companies have to make up for 10% or more in lost margin, there’s no way around affecting the size and sometimes the quality of a product. As an inventor these monetary changes could affect the categories you focus on and as an entrepreneur or maker, it can affect the amount of components you need for your toy or game to stay competitive. If you want to maintain a cash-positive toy business you’ve got to look at the bottom line, and that means adjusting when margin and revenue take an unfortunate tumble.

Wondering if there are any manufacturing options for you that are outside of China? More and more toy makers, toy creators, and even toy companies want to expand their manufacturing resources beyond China, but they don’t know where to start. Major toy companies and retailers have announced goals to move 30%-60% of their manufacturing of toy products out of China by 2023. And where will they move them? Likely India. India is an emerging country for manufacturing in general, but especially is a current hotspot for toys, in part thanks to today’s guest. Today on the podcast, I chat with Joshua Punin, the owner of Source 4 India. He and his business partner created this manufacturing resource for toy and game companies in the beginning of the pandemic by partnering with India based factories and educating them on the needs of the toy industry. If you’re looking for new options to manufacture your toy products, today’s episode is a must listen.

Want to know how to protect your products and intellectual property when dealing with Chinese manufacturers? Dan Harris, a lawyer who specializes in International law, with a focus on China, gives you extremely detailed insider tips in today’s episode. I learned a lot and I know you will too. Dan tells you why you should go with an NNN agreement versus a typical NDA when dealing with Chinese firms, among other useful tips. This is a truly informative episode with extremely valuable information so make sure you take notes if you’re planning on working with overseas factories.

On October 11th, toy social channels exploded with the news that California Law would force toy retailers to fill their shelves with gender neutral toys by 2024. While partially true, the law is much more nuanced than the poppy articles make it seem. If you’ve been wondering about the details of this California Law and want to sit in on a though piece around what it could mean for the future of toy design at retail, then pop your earbuds in, and tap play my friend. You’re in for a treat.

How much do you know about how the toy products that you make and play with get to you? Most likely, they were shipped to the city you bought them from, on boats in containers. In January of 2021, shipping container prices started to climb. By early spring they were double the standard pricing and today shipping container prices have been reported to have increased 4x what importers are used to paying to ship their products. In this episode you’ll learn the history of the shipping container, gain an understanding of pricing and functionality of them but most importantly we’re going to wrap this episode by building out an extensive Market Shift Mind Map around the shipping container crisis. Whether you’re new to the industry or an experienced toy professional this is a great exercise to appreciate the history of shipping and to think ahead for its future.

Are you in the process of sourcing a factory overseas? Or perhaps you’re in the middle of working with a factory to produce your toy product. Or maybe you’ve just been considering reaching out to a factory in China but you haven’t taken the leap just yet. If you answered yes to any of those questions, then today’s episode is a must listen. In today’s episode I walk you through three of the 3 BIGGEST and most common mistakes you need to avoid when you start working with factories. Some of today’s lessons are taken directly from the early days of my toy career, so listen up, learn from my mistakes, and save yourself time and money!

Have you ever gone to a product pitch meeting with a less than perfect prototype? Did you ever have an excellent concept fall flat because a prototype failed to capture the hearts of your audience? You don't want to find yourself in a meeting with a poorly made prototype that does not speak to your audience.

In this episode of Making It in The Toy Industry, we focus on Manufacturing in the USA. Learn how to use an indispensable resource for American manufacturers. We'll outline key differences in working with a factory in China versus a factory in the USA.

Finally an answer to one of the biggest industry questions out there. How do I start manufacturing my own toy or game ideas with a factory in China? This podcast episode breaks down the easiest way to find, analyze, and communicate with the ideal overseas factory for YOU.