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Trade fairs give you something you cannot get from a factory brochure or a supply chain report: a real-time read on who is exhibiting, what they are showing, and what the broader industry conversation looks like.
The Play Trail team attended IBTE Hanoi 2026 as VIP Buyers. IBTE, the International Baby Products and Toys Expo, is one of Vietnam’s most significant trade events for the toy and baby products industry. Organised by Chaoyu Expo Vietnam, the 2026 edition brought together around 500 companies across 1,000 booths and 20,000 square metres of exhibition space.
This post shares what we observed: A ground-level account of what the show floor told us about Vietnam toy manufacturing, regional sourcing trends, and the IP licensing market in Southeast Asia.
The majority of exhibitors were Chinese factories presenting ODM (original design manufacturing) products: pre-designed products available for private label or minor customisation.
For brands unfamiliar with the distinction: an ODM factory shows you finished designs you can put your name on. An OEM factory takes your own design specifications and manufactures to them. Play Trail’s clients typically work on an OEM basis, bringing their own IP, tooling requirements, and compliance specs to a factory relationship.
An important nuance, however: ODM and OEM are not mutually exclusive capabilities. Every factory presenting ODM samples at IBTE is also, in principle, capable of OEM production within their area of expertise. Those samples (whether plush characters, plastic collectibles, or remote-control vehicles) are a tangible proof of what that factory can produce. Being able to hold a finished product, assess its surface quality, check the articulation on a joint, or examine a print finish is exactly the kind of ground-level intelligence you cannot get from a capability sheet or a Zoom call.
For Play Trail, attending as VIP Buyers meant we could move through the floor efficiently, evaluate this quality evidence systematically, and identify which factories are operating at a level relevant to our clients’ OEM requirements in categories like plush, plastic collectibles, wooden toys, board games, and craft.
We also made meaningful direct contacts with Vietnamese factories at the show. Those conversations were among the most useful of the visit. If you are building a Vietnam sourcing strategy and want to move beyond the trade fair floor to structured factory vetting, Play Trail can support that process.
Running concurrently with IBTE was the inaugural edition of the Global Licensing Expo (GLE). This was one of the more significant developments at the 2026 show.
GLE is focused on connecting global IP holders with manufacturers, retailers, and licensees across Southeast Asian markets. These holders include animation, entertainment, cultural institutions, and fashion brands. Vietnam is an attractive target given its population of over 100 million and its growing consumer class.
From a sourcing intelligence perspective, this matters. Brands that work with licensed IP are already asking whether their SEA manufacturing partners can handle the compliance, approvals, and quality controls that licensing agreements typically require. The presence of GLE at IBTE signals that licensors are actively looking at Vietnam as a market for licensed goods, not just as a production base.
We saw some genuinely interesting IP presentations at the show. For brands working in licensed categories, it is worth tracking what IP is gaining traction in Southeast Asia. It is also worth talking to Play Trail about whether your factory partners are set up to meet licensing compliance requirements.
3D printing has been a presence at toy trade fairs for several years. At IBTE Hanoi 2026, the quality on display was noticeably more convincing than what we have seen previously. Surface finishes, detail resolution, and material range have all improved to the point where 3D-printed samples are beginning to look like credible production references rather than rough approximations.
For toy brands, this has practical implications. If your Vietnamese manufacturing partner uses 3D printing for pre-production prototyping, the accuracy of those prototypes is now closer to what you will get in production. That can shorten the feedback loop during sampling and reduce costly revision cycles.
It is still worth asking your factory exactly which printing technology they use and how they handle the transition from prototype to tooled part. The Play Trail team can help you ask the right questions during factory evaluation.
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The toy industry at large has been discussing gender-neutral product design for several years. On the IBTE Hanoi show floor, that conversation has not yet translated into product range.
The vast majority of toy categories on display were clearly segmented by gender: pink and princess on one side, blue and action on the other. STEM toys and craft products were the clearest exceptions. These categories had more neutral positioning, broader age targeting, and in several cases, more thoughtful design thinking.
For brands that are specifically developing gender-inclusive or age-agnostic product lines, this is useful context. You will need to be explicit about it in your product specification and will likely need to work with factories that have experience producing for more contemporary retail environments. Play Trail can help identify the right manufacturing partners for briefs like these.
One of the practical benefits of attending an industry event as a VIP Buyer is the access it gives you to other buyers.
At IBTE Hanoi 2026, the Play Trail team connected with procurement and sourcing professionals from several large Vietnamese brands and corporations. These conversations are genuinely useful. They give you a realistic view of how established buyers in the region are approaching supplier relationships, quality standards, and production management.
For international toy brands that are newer to Vietnam sourcing, understanding how experienced local buyers operate is often more instructive than studying factory capability sheets. Local buyers have already done the vetting work over many years. Their expectations and practices are worth understanding.
IBTE Hanoi 2026 had one distinctive feature worth mentioning. Most toy trade fairs restrict entry to trade professionals. IBTE had children in attendance, which created an interesting dynamic. Children are, of course, the end user of almost every product in the hall, and their instinctive reactions to product displays were informative to watch.
The catch: nothing was for sale. Visitors could touch and test products, but not purchase anything. Several booths did indicate they would sell items on the final day of the fair rather than carry inventory back.
The organisation throughout was excellent. Chaoyu Expo Vietnam ran a professional event and we appreciate the VIP Buyer invitation.
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IBTE Hanoi 2026 confirmed several things we at Play Trail already knew about Vietnam’s toy manufacturing landscape, and surfaced a few things worth watching.
Vietnam has a strong and growing OEM manufacturing sector, with well-established capability in categories including plush and crochet toys, wooden toys, plastic collectibles, board games and puzzles, and papercraft. The show floor reflected a market that continues to develop its breadth. Additionally, the presence of both Chinese and Vietnamese factories in the same exhibition space makes it easier to benchmark quality across production origins.
The ODM samples on display from Chinese factories were a valuable reference point. They represent the quality ceiling that factories in this network can achieve, and they are the same factories that can produce to your OEM specification when you bring your own brief.
The IP licensing market in Southeast Asia is entering a new phase. Brands that work in licensed categories should pay attention to which IPs are gaining regional traction and whether their factory partners can meet the compliance standards those licenses require.
Product innovation at the category level was limited. But for brands doing development work, the evolution in 3D printing capability is worth noting in your prototyping and sampling process.
If you are building a Vietnam sourcing strategy and want to understand the factory landscape beyond what a trade fair reveals, Play Trail can help you identify and evaluate manufacturing partners that match your OEM requirements and compliance needs. Explore our Vietnam toy manufacturing guides or get in touch to discuss your sourcing brief.
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Yes! IBTE runs twice a year in Vietnam: the Hanoi edition in June and the Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) edition in December. IBTE Ho Chi Minh City 2026 takes place 17–20 December 2026 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC). If you are planning to attend or would like Play Trail’s team to represent your interests as VIP Buyers at the Saigon edition, get in touch and we can discuss how to make the most of it for your sourcing strategy.
IBTE stands for the International Baby Products and Toys Expo, held in Hanoi, Vietnam. It is organised by Chaoyu Expo Vietnam and brings together manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and buyers from across the toy and baby products industry. The 2026 edition featured around 500 companies across 1,000 booths. Play Trail attended as VIP Buyers.
Yes, though you need to know how to use it. Most exhibitors present ODM products (pre-designed ranges available for private label), but these same factories are capable of OEM production within their areas of expertise. The value is in using their physical samples to assess production quality firsthand, and in making direct contact with factory representatives. For structured OEM factory sourcing beyond the show floor, Play Trail can run a targeted outreach and vetting process tailored to your specific brief.
GLE is a concurrent licensing trade event focused on connecting global IP holders with manufacturers, retailers, and licensees in Southeast Asian and other emerging markets. Its inaugural edition ran alongside IBTE Hanoi 2026, signalling growing interest in licensed product categories in the Vietnam and SEA consumer market.
3D printing is increasingly used for prototyping and pre-production samples in Vietnam toy factories. The quality of output has improved significantly in recent years, with better surface finishes and material options that make printed prototypes more accurate as production references. It is worth asking any potential factory partner about their specific printing technology and how they manage the transition from prototype to tooled production.
Vietnam has a strong and growing toy manufacturing sector with well-established capacity in specific categories, particularly plush and crochet toys, wooden toys, plastic collectibles, board games, and papercraft. Chinese factories generally offer broader category range and larger scale, but Vietnam is a highly credible and increasingly competitive China-plus-one option for many brands. Play Trail specialises in helping international brands navigate Vietnam’s factory landscape, from initial vetting through to ongoing production management. See our Vietnam toy manufacturing guide for a detailed comparison.
