REPORT: Six trends shaping the kids industry in 2025

Promoting mental health, co-branding collaborations, AI tools and immersive ads are some ways brand owners can shake things up this year, according to The Insights Family.
January 21, 2025

A new report published by The Insights Family this week reveals that kids are driving six emerging trends brand owners can leverage for business growth in 2025. 

The Manchester-based market research firm surveyed 800,000 families and 56,000 brand owners in 22 countries to underpin its latest Future Forecast report, which delivers this core message: Companies that empower kids by supporting their well-being, agency and imagination will be best equipped to create new value for consumers at retail. 

For 19% of kids ages six and up that were surveyed, health and well-being are primary concerns—which is understandable, given that their formative years thus far have been shaped by the pandemic, social isolation and economic instability. For brand owners, this signifies that families are looking for products and experiences (especially video games, construction toys and plush) that support physical and emotional growth in children. 

Kids and teens are embracing a new era of experimentation in which they value the novelty of cross-category brand collabs, such as Haribo and Adidas teaming up for basketball shoe collections, or Walmart developing mystery color macaroni cups as part of the marketing campaign for Wicked. According to the report, 44% of kids ages 10 to 18 want to be the first to own a new product or service. And The Insights Family forecasts that sensory-driven collab experiences will be the most popular with this demo in 2025 because of their frequent launches and limited-edition appeal.

Gaming is the preferred entertainment choice of Gen Alpha, with 74% of kids surveyed reporting that they play video games regularly. To get the upper hand in this market, The Insights Family encourages brand owners to expand their engagement with kids beyond core product lines by investing in licensed digital experiences. It also recommends teaming up with popular influencers—who sway 18% of kids surveyed to purchase the games they promote. 

The advertising landscape is also shifting away from traditional TV spots and towards immersive brand integrations, such as Roblox partnering with Shopify to sell physical items directly to gamers, and Pokémon GO rewarding players with items if they engage with interactive ads in-game. This will resonate the most with teens, who are already aware they’ve been experiencing increased exposure to advertising on their favorite gaming and social platforms since 2023, including video games in general (up 20%), TikTok (up 14%) and Instagram (up 10%). 

Meanwhile, 38% of kids worldwide are excited about the potential that AI has to enhance their lives. These young creators are already being empowered by AI tools on YouTube, TikTok, Roblox and in Fortnite that lower the barrier of entry when it comes to developing their own animated videos or creating new items in games.

Lastly, The Insights Family forecasts that YouTube will become a classroom companion for young students in the near future. In South Africa, 36% of pre-teens already use the platform for educational purposes, followed closely by India (35%) and Brazil (14%). This trend signifies that learning is no longer confined to the classroom, and kids are actively hunting for interactive educational materials to help them develop new skills. 

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