NEWS

HoloToyz wins Irish Times Innovation Award for Manufacturing and Design

Published on: 11th November 2022

Earlier this year, the company launched the world’s first range of Paw Patrol Tattoos and Stickers to bring the pups to life using the power of augmented reality.

Declan Fahy and Kate Scott accept their Irish Times Innovation Award for Manufacturing and Design.

For HoloToyz, 2022 has been topped and tailed with podium positions, from winning silver in the Editors Choice awards at the London Toy Fair in January to now winning Gold at the Irish Times Innovation Awards in the Manufacturing and Design category.  The prestigious awards, which were held in Dublin on 9th November, hosted the best of Ireland’s innovators. The Irish Times Innovation Awards are designed to recognise and honour innovations in business across six key categories; Life Sciences and Healthcare, New Frontiers, IT & Fintech, Sustainability, First Time Founder and Manufacturing & Design.

Kate Scott, co-founder & CEO at HoloToyz, and Declan Fahy, co-founder & sales director, told Toy World the award came at the end of what has been a hugely positive year for the business, one that saw the pair focus their efforts on the HoloToyz growth strategy. The company has recruited the help of toy experts from across the industry in areas such as sales, product design, creative and strategic thinking and finance in order to really sharpen its product offering for the next three years.

It’s been a year of major achievements for HoloToyz. First, the company launched the world’s first range of Paw Patrol Tattoos and Stickers, which bring 10 characters to life and allow children to place the characters in the room with them and take photos and videos with their favourite pups. HoloToyz has also created its first TV ad, which can be seen on HoloToyz.com.

Holotoyz described the landing of the Paw Patrol deal as a ‘pinch me’ moment, with the licence giving the company credibility and helping start conversations with retailers and licensors. Entering the licensed sector has given scope to massively push the boundaries of what its technology can do, while being selective and only working with licences that align with HoloToyz’ strategy and vision.

Another major milestone for the company this year was securing its first round of investment with 14 of Ireland’s most respected tech investors. The investors, say Kate and Declan, all believe strongly in what HoloToyz does and shares its vision and values. In addition, HoloToyz has been backed by Enterprise Ireland as a High Potential Start Up.

“Winning this award means the world to us,” Declan told Toy World. “We have so much passion and energy for what we are creating and we strongly believe in leveraging new technologies to enhance children’s play and learning experiences in a kidsafe format. We do this by bridging the gap between physical and digital through our Free HoloToyz app that brings all of our toys and books to life.”

Kate added: “We have always believed in what we do, so it is a great feeling that this has been recognised and that others share our belief and vision, and can understand the value and future potential of what we are bringing to market. Young children today are engaging in mass numbers with the AR filters and effects on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram but these are not safe playgrounds for children – and they are only a swipe away from content that’s inappropriate for their age. We always ask the question ‘why should adults have all the fun?’ At HoloToyz, we want to offer the same technology to generation alpha so that these tech titans can enjoy the same experience and more in a safe and controlled way. Children who have an interest in technology usually turn to the app stores, where there are thousands of apps for kids: however, they offer a digital-only solution. As parents to small children, we don’t want them to lose touch with the physical world or the environment around them, so we are creating a solution that marries these worlds in a fun and immersive way. We like to think of HoloToyz as the world’s first Fun-Tech company.”

The company’s main focus is now on Nuremburg, where HoloToyz will be exhibiting in Hall 4A, C15. On show will be a number of exciting new products. Attendees are invited to stop by and say hi or make an appointment by contacting hello@holotoyz.com to secure a time slot.

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