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At the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) trade show held May 3 to 5 in Dallas, some of the hottest trends in infant goods involved licensed brands. Among those creating a buzz were vintage lines such as Care Bears, Rainbow Brite and Strawberry Shortcake, along with newer brands that included SpongeBob, Dora the Explorer, Sesame Street and The Wiggles.

"What's really hot for us this year is Disney Princess. Some Wal-Marts tested it last year; it's blown out and they're expanding it," said Bob Shelek, senior design and development manager for Dolly, which produces infant bedding and accessories.

Adapting cartoon characters to "babies" for this market continues as a trend, with other examples including Baby Looney Tunes and Baby Mickey. Meanwhile, Sesame Street characters, popular for years with preschool children, expanded to a new brand called Sesame Beginnings at the show. The licensed line targeting infants includes a wide range of products from supplier partners that include Crown Crafts, Fisher-Price, Hamco, Blue Ridge, Baby Boom and AD Sutton.

While many suppliers have backed licensed brands as a growth strategy, other trends at the show included products with learning features, easy setup and portability. Numerous examples of these trends could be seen at the show, from a clip-on cordless baby monitor by The First Years to the Baby Sit & Step activity center from Kolcraft that converts to a walker with 20 different activities and nine toys.

"One of the big trends is a product that can do more than one thing. And everything is travel this, travel that," said Jennifer Szwalek, vp of communications for JPMA.

Toys and mobiles that attach to strollers, carriers or car seats are driving infant toy innovation. One example is Tiny Love's new Clip & Go Classical Mobile that attaches to carriers, strollers and car seats, plays five classical music pieces and has interchangeable characters tailored to a baby's development.

Styles in strollers and diaper bags are growing more diverse, with some fashion-forward items including Jeep brand strollers, and infant carriers from Kolcraft and suede accents on new Eddie Bauer diaper bags by Baby Boom. Hot pink "jelly Kelly" bags and monogrammed bags were other fashionable items from Baby Boom.

Targeting mass retailers, Ginsey Industries launched 16 products under the brand Soft Giggles, a line it acquired last year that initially focused on specialty retailers. The product ranges from diaper pail covers to growth charts with inserts for pictures.

"We've tried to create interesting new products where there's little competition or it's a new category," explained Edward Gershowitz, vp of sales at Ginsey.

Ginsey, which continues to expand in the juvenile arena, is best known in hardware for bathroom accessories such as toilet seats. Another hardware supplier that is making a play into juvenile products is Lentek with a device called Why Cry that analyzes and interprets a baby's cry. The device signals whether a baby is bored, annoyed, hungry, sleepy or under stress. Suggested retail on the product is $149.99.

Keeping babies entertained with lights, sound and touch experiences continues to move into new categories, such as feeding. TS Kids, which

produces licensed Playskool products, debuted insulated travel cups that display sparkling lights when an outside button is activated, while Infantino expanded its popular Shop & Play shopping cart cover line to new items offering more interactive toys and sounds.

The three-day show--the 36th annual event for JPMA--drew 1,600 buyers and 325 exhibitors this year, despite the lack of some major vendors such as Dorel and Graco.

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