Brands

Hape® (pronounced "hah-pay") takes the first two letters of its founder Peter Handstein's name and sounds similar to "Happy", which reflects the brand's desire to create happiness for children around the world. Since it was registered as a trademark in 2005, Hape® has become a world-leading brand in the design and manufacture of high quality baby and children's toys made from sustainable materials. Hape's range features over 20 categories covering STEAM toys, learning toys, instrument toys, role play, outdoor toys and many others - providing a kaleidoscope of choices for free play and learning.

Besides the eponymous brand, Hape Group also owns German handmade doll brand Käthe Kruse® which is over 100 years old, the German classic building block PolyM® and others.
Today, Hape toys are sold in over 100 countries and regions through specialty retail, toy stores, museum gift-shops, school supply stores and online platforms. Hape® has won numerous awards from prestigious independent toy associations for toy design, quality and safety. Hape believes the future starts with and belongs to children, and that toys' influence on children's growth is thorough and lifelong.

Design

To satisfy the diverse demands of the global market, Hape has incorporated talent from many different cultural backgrounds to work on product design and visual design.


Henrik Johansson
Hape Global Design Director

With a passion for the core of play, Henrik has a career of 20-plus years in the toy industry, working for global brands in Europe and Asia.

Henrik deeply agrees on the theory that we don't need to push children to play or make them learn through play, it comes naturally. Children learn through play spontaneously. We just have the opportunity to be there and enhance and actively contribute to this happening.

Greta Giangrande
Hape Design Milano

Graduated from Industrial Design at the Politecnico di Milano in 2005, Greta had the opportunity to work with several world famous toy brands such as Lego, Geomag, Tiny Love, Ravensburger, Trudi and so on, but none has touched her as deeply as Hape has. Hape is all about love for children, honest care for their development, and unceasing research for toys able to stimulate their growth in the most natural and funny way. "Love Play Learn" is the motto and philosophy of Hape, it is also at the base of each product that Greta Giangrande has designed.


Gert Olsen
Hape Design Switzerland

Gert Olsen is a world-renowned toy designer from Denmark and established Do It Yourself, a publication of quality wooden toys oriented to children, to encourage children's DIY concept. Gert has over three decades' experience in the industry and has always recognized the profound influence toys can have on children's development. One of his key focus areas is toys designed to develop science, technology, arts, engineering and mathematics (STEAM) skills. Therefore, in 2018, Hape introduced Junior Inventor, a typical STEAM toy designed by Gert.


Gert is also well-known for his work organizing dozens of interactive science exhibitions in the Nordic countries. In 2015, he won a top award for his work as exhibition architect on the Lost Shield Viking experience visitor center at Trelleborg Viking Fortress.


Luca Salamone
Hape Design Switzerland

Worked for IKEA retail stores and Edenpark Outdoor retail stores for years.

Introduced “Hape Playland” in 2018, continuously seeking to provide the best shop display solutions for Hape stores.

Yang Guokai
Hape Design China

Manager of Hape design team in China. Graduated from the earliest Toy Design School in China, Yang designs every toy full of enthusiasm. Devoted to the toy design for over a decade, Yang has always maintained childlike innocence and keep earnest care for children before a brilliant and unapplied idea put into practice and also throughout the design process.

Lu Lianping
Hape Design China

Lu has worked in Hape for 10+ years. Introduced Railway, Music, Kitchen & Food categories, Hape Mighty Mountain Mine, one of the most successful and classic Railway items, has been titled as a winner by numerous internationally renowned toy awards.

Quality & Safety

All Hape products meet, and more often exceed the strictest international standards for quality and safety.


ASTM F963: American Standard Consumer Safety Specification on Toy Safety
EN71: European standard for toy safety
ISO 8124: International Toy Safety Standards
GB 6675: Chinese Toy Safety Standard Updates
SOR-2011-17: Canadian Safety Requirements for Children's Toys
BPA: (migration) requirement in Appendix C to Annex II to Commission Directive 2014/81/EU.
AZO: EU AZO Colorants Directive 2002/61/EC
FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)
IETP (ICTI Ethical Toy Program)