Doug Wadleigh – President of Spin Master’s Toy Creative Centre – talks Jellykins, Primal Hatch and the company’s New Brand Group

Doug, it’s great to catch up. To kick us off, how was 2025 for Spin?
Our 2025 line up featured some of greatest innovation to date. Primal Hatch Jurassic World T. REX is the latest in a long run of amazing toys from Spin Master in the interactive space. This hatching, trainable dinosaur received plaudits from the public and industry alike and sold out in many locations. In support of the Gabby’s Dollhouse movie, we also introduced an interactive version of the classic dollhouse in the line which was a major hit with fans.

Building on the friendship bracelet trend, we introduced the Coolmaker Stack’d Bracelet Maker which makes it easy to create trendy bracelets in a snap. And we continued to expand our Bitzee portfolio with the introduction of new licensed versions of this digital interactive playmate.

Why is Spin so strong in the area of interactivity?
Our design, brand and engineering teams are working hard to challenge the status quo of toy design and to push the envelope of what is possible. Today’s kids expect more and we are pushing ourselves to think differently about toy design and interaction.

From Bitzee, the first interactive toy product you can touch to Primal Hatch, a one-of-a-kind hatching dinosaur that a kid can really hatch, train and tame, we’ve been investing in high-tech, interactive toys for the past several years. This allows us to not only conceive of new toy concepts, but have the capabilities to make them a reality. We have created entirely new categories of play for kids.

How has Spin retained that ‘scrappy’ innovative approach while growing into the toy titan it is today?
It’s really in the culture of the company. Our founders have instilled an entrepreneurial mindset into how we operate, and our leadership supports creativity, pushing boundaries and finding the white space. While we are the fourth largest player in the toy space, we maintain a strong ‘challenger’ mindset and really put the kid at the heart of our creative process.

We want to create magical play experiences that wow kids. Our reputation for disrupting and creating never-seen-before toys has allowed us to attract top entertainment studios to leverage Spin’s innovation and ability to ‘wow’ to develop interactive items for their most popular brands.

What role does Spin’s New Brand Group play in that? How does the Group function?
The New Brand Group was set up to be somewhat independent to the other development areas within our Toy Creative Centre. They were empowered to ideate without borders and to push the limits of creativity to explore what is possible. They don’t have the constraints of other toy teams in terms of working on a set brand like PAW Patrol. They can create their own new brand and focus on the white space. Their early success with Primal Hatch is just the beginning of what exciting new toys will come out of this group.

Exciting time. And looking at the year ahead, what are you excited about?
PAW Patrol will be bigger than ever in 2026 with our dino-sized theatrical film and the most innovative PAW Patrol line ever developed. It will also be another strong year for our high-tech, interactive toys with innovation in Primal Hatch, HexBots, Bitzee, a Hatchimals co-lab with Hello Kitty and a new wearable interactive toy.

We also have some amazing innovation in a new collectible line called Jellykins. It delivers the most amazing magical reveal that kids have ever seen.

Spin has a long-standing and positive history with the inventor community. What makes inventors important to Spin?
The company believes strongly in the power of partnerships and collaboration. Our inventor community has been, and will forever be, a critical component to Spin Master’s success. We would not be the fourth largest player in toys without the help of the amazing community of talent.

The partnership between Spin and our inventors works because Spin is not afraid to take chances to launch new products. We move quickly and we have seasoned toy executives who can look at an idea and see the magic within. Our design and development teams partner so well with inventors to help bring their vision to life. And we market and support their ideas and share in the success of the items. Inventors feel comfortable coming to Spin because we treat them as an extension of our team and we can all win together.

Great answer. Thanks again Doug, let’s be sure to tie-in again soon.

–

To stay in the loop with the latest news, interviews and features from the world of toy and game design, sign up to our weekly newsletter here

More Recent Interview

Game designer Luca Borsa on the magnetic magic of Geistertanz

Designer Luca Borsa talks us through recent launches including Megableu’s Geistertanz and Blue Orange’s Ice Split.

Gurdeep Bains – Creative Director at YuMe Toys – on creating collectibles with staying power

“A good collectible used to be about likeness, now it’s more about interpretation”: In conversation with YuMe Toys’ Gurdeep Bains.

“I see faces everywhere!”: Zack Buchman – Creative Director at Furry Puppet Studio – on creating characters

“I look at a plug socket and my brain turns it into a character!”: In conversation with Furry Puppet Studio’s Zack Buchman.

“It’s the gift that goes on giving!” Artist Emily Abeydeera on biros, experiences… And Disney Lorcana

Illustrator Emily Abeydeera reveals the one thing she always does creating Disney Lorcana cards.

“Lasers, explosions, giant robots…”: Inside the new M.A.S.K. comic with writer Dan Watters, artist Pye Parr and Skybound’s Ben Abernathy

We take a look at the creative process behind the latest title in Hasbro and Skybound’s interconnected Energon Universe – M.A.S.K.

“Great play experiences are timeless”: PlayMonster CEO Jonathan Berkowitz on the return of Hacky Sack

PlayMonster CEO Jonathan Berkowitz on Hacky Sack plans – and why the brand resonates with Gen Z.