SANTORO Closes A Milestone Year Filled With Awards, Anniversaries, Innovation, And Global Momentum

SANTORO ends 2025 with a full slate of achievements that reflect a landmark year for the company’s creative legacy. From major anniversaries to global releases, industry accolades and international showcases, the company’s four-decade journey reached new heights.

This year marked 30 years of paper-engineering for SANTORO with their award-winning Swing Cards, celebrated with the release of nine commemorative number-themed cards that honoured the ingenuity, charm, and craftsmanship that have defined the collection for three decades. The Swing Cards range also earned one of the industry’s highest honours: the Henry Cole Classic Award at this year’s Henries, solidifying its status as a category-defining innovation and a timeless, legacy-defining collection.

Awards were a recurring theme in 2025. Across its creative output, the boutique design house secured six major industry wins, including a win in the Paper Engineering & Innovation category at the Louie Awards for the Book Cafe Swing Card, a Gift of the Year Award and an Independent Toy Award for the new Pop & Build range, plus an additional Independent Toy Award recognising their latest character brand, Bangoberry.

The company’s calendar was packed with global trade shows where new releases and upcoming collections were showcased to international buyers. SANTORO exhibited at various shows this year, both familiar and new, including Spielwarenmesse, Maison et Objet, Atlanta Market, PG Live, The Gift Fair, and the Noted Greeting Card Expo, underscoring their commitment to meeting partners and introducing innovation on the world stage.

New product introductions added strength to SANTORO’s 2025 portfolio. The company released In The Forest, a new Gorjuss collection inspired by nature’s quiet magic. Bangoberry expanded with another series of playful products and the debut of new Bango Bunch characters. They also unveiled the new Pop & Build countdown collection, the award-winning successor to the acclaimed Pirouette Countdown range. Alongside these launches, the company released a total of 16 new 3D Pop Up greetings throughout the year, each showcasing SANTORO’s inventive paper construction and thoughtful artistry.

Beyond product, the company reached new audiences through the power of film. The award-winning Gorjuss Anthology animated shorts, Little Luna and Dearest Grace, were screened at more than 40 Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas locations across the US this past summer. Both animated shorts were a part of the theatre’s iconic curated pre-show programming for family-friendly films, introducing more viewers to the beloved character brand. The series also received a “Special Mention” at the 2025 UK Animation & Music Festival, further cementing its place as a standout in independent animation.

SANTORO also advanced its sustainability commitments this year through substantial, multi-layered environmental initiatives. The company began transitioning its 3D Pop Up greetings to plastic-free packaging. Throughout the year, 16 new designs have launched in the sustainable format, alongside 12 existing designs transitioning to the new packaging — bringing the total to 28 updated designs in the programme’s first year. In addition to the packaging redesign, the company continued its hands-on environmental stewardship in Puglia, Italy, where the SANTORO family has deep ancestral roots. Through an ambitious rehabilitation effort to restore the region’s iconic olive groves – devastated in recent years by fungal disease – the family helped plant more than 1,200 olive trees between 2024 and 2025, followed by an additional 300 new olive trees this year. Complementing the olive reforestation, new fig, apricot, peach, and lemon trees were also planted, reinforcing SANTORO’s long-term commitment to meaningful environmental action and supporting sustainable renewal for generations to come.

“It has been a challenging few years within the gift industry and retail landscape, but as we look back on this year, we’re so incredibly proud of the innovation, recognition, and global support that have shaped 2025,” said Tara Strickland, Head of Design. “Our mission has always been to create art that resonates deeply, and seeing our ranges not only stand the test of time but also open up new opportunities really reflects the power of that vision, and spurs us on to keep prioritising creativity.”

With new projects already underway and more innovation on the horizon, be sure to watch this space as SANTORO heads into another anniversary year in 2026 with exciting new launches that are already creating a buzz at pre-launch.