Our History

Fatoş İnhan began designing and producing the first toys at her home for her son. At the time, she had no intention of turning it into a big business. However, in the following months, with the encouragement of her husband, she would go on to produce many toys that would become the “childhood friends” of thousands of children.

Fatos Toys started its operations in a 30m² workshop in Fatih, producing stuffed fabric toys. Fatos didn’t even have a phone in her workshop, and orders were collected through phone calls made to her neighbor.

Fatos moved to a 2,500 m² factory in Topkapı, Istanbul. The initial team of 20 people eventually expanded to 7,500 m² with new floors that were first rented and later purchased, and the number of employees grew to 300.

Production of plastic dolls began.

The first advertising campaign, launched with the slogan "Big happiness on little faces with Fatos Toys" appeared in Milliyet, Hayat magazine, and on Turkish television.

Fatos Toys became the first toy brand from Türkiye to participate in the Nürnberg International Toy Fair.

Pedagogical consultants were engaged in the development of toys, and psychologists were brought in to enhance the motivation and creativity of the growing team.

The first nationwide market research on toys in Türkiye was conducted. This research, carried out in collaboration with the Faculty of Educational Sciences at Istanbul University, provided crucial real-time insights into children’s communication and interaction with toys, shedding light on the future of Fatos Toys.

The project we called “Home School” became another signature initiative of Fatos Toys. The visual design was created by Altan Erbulak, one of Türkiye's most respected and admired cartoonists, theater, and film artists. This modular play set was the first playset in Türkiye developed from scratch, aimed at children’s imagination.

Production began on smiling, crying, singing, walking, record-playing, wetting, and moving-eyed dolls made of hard and soft plastic, with molds produced in-house at Fatos Toys.

In a nationwide toy competition, nearly 300 toys, all created by children’s creativity, were evaluated by a jury, with submissions coming from dozens of provinces. Altan Erbulak was also part of the jury, and the award ceremony, hosted by Halit Kıvanç, was held at the end of the competition.

Production began of “Fashion Dolls” characterized by jointed arms and legs and long hair. Sevgi Doll was Fatos’s first Fashion Doll in this category.

Fatos Toys received Türkiye's first TSE Quality Certificate in the toy industry.

Fatos Toys opened its first store, valued as a marketing laboratory for direct consumer interaction, in Galleria Shopping Center, Türkiye's first universal-sized shopping mall.

After Galleria, Fatos Toys opened the first toy chain stores of the time with locations in Erenköy, Akmerkez, and Capitol in Istanbul, as well as in Bursa and Izmir.

At the special request of the Minister of Tourism at the time, Mesut Yılmaz, Fatos Toys launched a doll project of the quality and characteristics that could represent Türkiye. The master molds for the regional dolls, representing different areas of Türkiye, were specially prepared by the esteemed artist and sculptor Saim Bugay, a faculty member at Mimar Sinan University’s Fine Arts Department. Folkloric research to determine the dolls’ costumes was conducted at Ankara University, while their facial features were shaped based on the local anatomy, and their outfits were designed with regional details, drawing from university archives.

As part of the first anniversary celebrations of Galleria Mall, Fatos Toys won the first prize in a window display competition. The award was given for a display featuring a toy craftsman working in the window in front of visitors.

A competition was held to choose a name for the new "fashion doll" toy model, and among the names suggested by approximately 13,000 children, "Lady" was selected. A fashion show featuring famous models was organized to promote Lady.

In the same year, the Lady television commercial was awarded the prestigious Kristal Elma (Crystal Apple) advertising award.

A licensing and distribution agreement was made with the American company Mattel for the production of Barbie dolls in Türkiye by Fatos Toys. This collaboration lasted until 1997.

The Toy Manufacturers Association, now known as TOYDER, was established. Fatoş İnhan became member number one on behalf of Fatos Toys, in recognition of her efforts and leadership in initiating and founding the association.

Fatos decided to leverage its 28 years of experience in toy design and production to collaborate with global and major Turkish brands.

Fatos’s toys were redesigned to once again become “childhood friends” and were reintroduced to children at www.fatos.com.tr.

In the Fatoş Nostalgia Series, a selection of beloved stuffed toys from the past, such as Caniko the Rabbit and Karakaçan the Donkey, were updated and reintroduced.