Since Playmobil has been going gung ho with mystery packs, I propose animal mystery boxes. Based on informal research from hanging out with my niece, younger cousins, and other small children; I've established that animals outrank humans on the plastic toy collectibility scale. Surprise packs may irritate us collectors who are looking for specific klickies, but kids enjoy them.
So I propose small mystery sets in the $3 to $5 range, consisting of one or more animals and some accessories to "care" for the animal.
Examples:
hamster with tank, water bottle, and wheel
dog with dog house, dish, bone, leash
cat family with cat tree and a couple cat toys
fox with pups and a little den
dolphin with fish and a bit of coral
two owls in a tree with maybe a mouse
There could be a fantasy line with:
baby dragon with nest and egg
baby pegasus with some mutant plant life
giant seahorse with giant shell
assorted weird colored animals - Those pastel creatures from the fairy line would work.
It's a win for kids because TINY PLASTIC ANIMALS, it's a win for adults because they are not spending money on myriads of klickies that spend their lives in boxes because the kids wanted the animals that came with them, it's a win for collectors looking to add new colors of animals to their collection, and it's a win for Playmobil because none of this requires new molds (although we wouldn't object to new molds); they could literally rehash old sets and it would still work. There haven't been any small cat sets for awhile; the hamsters have only appeared in the one set. The assorted vets, pet hotels, and dog walkers are in serious need of new clients. Mystery animal boxes would be a comfortable impulse buy introduction to people who've never purchased Playmobil before, and they're in line with what is going on in the toy market today (animal themed blind bags are trending) without offending long-time Playmobil fans.
