Golden Bear’s Barry Hughes on the origins – and success – of Soccer Bot

Barry, it’s always great to catch up. Let’s talk Soccer Bot! How did this concept first come about?
We were having success with some initial football lines and challenged the team to develop an innovative football product that mum and dad would let kids play indoors. In a little bit of an unconventional way, inspiration then grew from the automatic vacuum cleaners that can be set off like a drone to clean the carpet whilst you put your feet up. With these two ideas as our starting point, we felt we could develop a very engaging toy that both parents and kids would love.

Design-wise, were there any challenges that you were proud – or relieved! – to crack?
One of the first challenges was developing something that could work on different surfaces. Researching different normal floor surfaces in homes worldwide was a rabbit hole I wasn’t expecting to go down at the start of the project! And then, in those markets where carpet is popular, asking questions like: What is the average pile?

The team was brilliant and delivered a product with a boost button on the bottom of the Bot which means it can work on carpets and hard floors, and then still have three variable speeds on each surface. This ensures the product can grow with the user, getting quicker and more difficult as they get better.

How has Soccer Bot performed in the UK since its launch last year?
We launched on September 23rd 2023 and shipped what we thought was quite a bullish number for a £50 line. It sold out within three and a half weeks and became the number Outdoor Toy in the UK. Not bad for an indoor sports product!

Not bad at all! It’s now also landed in the US. Was it always a given that Soccer Bot would come Stateside?
We know football is “The Global Game”, even if they call it different names in different countries. We deliberately called it Soccer Bot so that it would work across borders, including in the US where soccer is growing in popularity every year. It has resonated in every market we’ve launched in – even in markets where soccer has bigger sports to compete against. We designed it as a product to play indoors when it’s cold and raining, but it sold out in Australia and The Middle East where people play it indoors as it’s too hot outside to play!

Ah! Makes sense! Now, with any ‘skill’ product, I imagine there’s a balance to be struck in terms of making it easy to engage with, but tough to master. How did you thread that needle with Soccer Bot?
When we did the first wave of research with kids and families – with Steve Reece, who you know well – we knew it was a winner. But the value of the research came through when we found out the slowest speed was too quick for six to eight year-olds.

The slowest speed was still too fast for them – an insight worth its weight in gold!
Absolutely! The team worked hard to slow down that slowest speed and introduce some pauses in the movement of the Bot. What’s great about the product is not only do you have the three different speeds to make it easier or harder, but you can also change the size of the playing area. As I know from earning my UEFA C coaching badge, when you are running a football coaching session, if you make the space smaller it’s more difficult… If you make it bigger it’s easier. So Soccer Bot is a product that can truly grow with the player, helping them improve while being very addictive and fun. It also gives you a score once you’ve lost your three lives, so you can compete with yourself as well as others.

Terrific – and nice work on the coaching badge – AFC Telford is on standby! Has Soccer Bot opened Golden Bear up to doing more in the active toy space?
Yes. We know how important it is to parents that kids have products that get them active and off screens – and kids love them as well. In addition to our football range, we launched Hyper Dash this year; it’s received a fantastic response. It’s great fun for all ages to play, gets everyone up and active, has the competition element and can be played indoors or outdoors.

Away from Soccer Bot, what other upcoming launches should we be keeping an eye out for from you guys?
The football range is continuing to grow. Come to our London Toy Fair (E69) and Nuremberg (Hall 6 – C39) stands. Oh, and bring your boots or trainers!

Ha! Yes coach! Thanks Barry.

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