placing increasingly stringent demands upon. “Last year, we conducted a unification of the packaging for our toddler products to create as few sizes as possible. All new materials are evaluated physically and chemically to ensure that they comply with current and future standards. We also look at materials from a sustainability perspective and analyze their future environmental impact.”
Celebrating the Child Within This year, Brio celebrates its 130th anniversary. Instead of emphasizing groundbreaking milestones such as the Labyrinth Game (1946) and miniature railways in wood (1958), the Swedish toy company has decided to pay tribute to play and celebrate the child within each of us. Play has always been the basis of children’s well being and development and has brought people together across generations. It is also the strength and power of play that has allowed the Swedish toy company to develop. “For us, play is vital. For more than 100 years, it has developed us as a company and as humans. Our ambition is not only to make toys that last for several generations, but to enrich people’s childhood, and their lives,” says Elvefors. Around the world there is a growing concern that children aren’t spending enough time playing. Research shows that children have less time for free play and that families are spending less time together. In November of last year, Cambridge researcher Dr. David Whitebread was awarded a Brio scholarship for his report, The Importance of Play. This year, Brio continues its efforts to bring more play into people’s everyday lives. In the campaign “Liberate a friend,” Brio gives adults the chance to awaken their inner child. The winner gets paid to take time off and be a kid for a day. “It is a way for Horse
DECEMBER/JANUARY 2015
Deluxe Railway Set
us to, with tongue in cheek, focus on something we think is important. Less and less time is devoted to free play, even though we know that it is central to both children’s and adults’ creativity and development,” says Elvefors. Children often inherit their first Brio toys from their parents and create imaginative worlds as they build up the older toys with newer, modern Brio products. Over the past decade, Brio has launched several innovative concepts. Monorail trains and aircraft roll on the same train track that grandpa played with as a kid. “We have put a lot of energy into increasing the play value and expanding the Railway world. At the same time, we do it in a respectful manner that makes old and new literally fit together,” says Michael Heun, product development manager at Brio. Brio was launched in 1884 in the small town of Osby in southern Sweden and soon became known for toys of high quality. In the 1940s, Brio was named purveyor to the royal court in Sweden, which the company still is today. Brio’s first global success came in 1946, with the Labyrinth game. This unique invention was not only loved by children, but was also used in the rehabilitation of thousands of injured European war pilots after World War II. In 1958, Brio introduced a miniature wooden railway. Today, the railroad trains with all their elements are Brio’s largest export. “The key to Brio’s survival and growth for more than 130 years is that we have always put the child and the play first, while simultaneously being open to change with time. Brio’s history is a part of the company’s identity and strength now, as well as in the future,” says Elvefors. ■
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