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Stella Huang purchased her first Jellycat cuddly companion during a period of unemployment during the global health crisis. Inspired by a friend's fondness for the UK-created creatures, her interest was fully ignited upon seeing an adorable gingerbread cottage plushie featured on a major social networking platform.

While The Christmas holiday is not widely celebrated in China, serving more as a commercial event rather than a cultural tradition, the sight of gingerbread houses resonated to Stella. "The festival doesn't hold much to me... But I always like the look of those sweet houses," she remarks. This led her to request a friend from her hometown to buy the item on her behalf.

That purchase occurred back in 2021, coinciding with the brand was on the cusp of achieving significant success across China and beyond. "Everyone felt anxious, and nobody knew what exactly was going to happen," says Stella, who developed a routine of stroking and squeezing her plushies for comfort throughout that stressful time. Living in Beijing, a city with some of the most stringent restrictions globally, she spent a great deal of time at home.

Now 32 and working as a sales manager professional, Stella continues to grow her collection. It has swelled to around 120 toys, with a total a cost of about 36,000 yuan. "At my age, you have numerous matters you can't share with others... and the problems we encounter are far more complicated than before," she notes reflectively. "These soft toys assist me in managing my emotions."

Originally created with kids in mind, these soft toys have evolved into an international phenomenon, especially within China where a increasingly disenchanted younger generation has been seeking solace in them as a source of comfort and solace.

The Rise of Kidults

Her gingerbread cottage plushie belongs to the "Amuseable" line, a set of characters with tiny expressions modelled after commonplace items, ranging from toilet rolls to hard-boiled eggs. These items are considered a key "breakout products" that "appeal to a wide younger adult demographic" globally, as noted by market observers.

The surge in popularity "may have something to do with wanting for companionship," propose experts. It is difficult to ascertain if the launch of the iconic Amuseable line in 2018 was a deliberate move to engage the adult market, toy manufacturers increasingly need to cultivate new markets amid declining birth rates in many parts of the world.

Jellycat entered the Chinese market as early as 2015. By laying significant "foundation", the toy maker was able to capture "the tone during Covid"—when individuals looked for comfort amid widespread uncertainty—capitalizing on its early success there, according to business consultants.

Jellycat's popularity was further boosted through engaging temporary events. These in-store activations often featured a selection of limited-edition "culinary" themed items. Numerous enthusiasts record their experience being served and share the videos online.

Localisation proved to be an essential approach. As an example, fans were able to buy stuffed toy interpretations of classic UK dishes such as fish and chips at a temporary shop in London. Meanwhile, items like teacup and teapot toys were featured at exclusive stores in Beijing and Shanghai the previous year.

Last year, the British company's sales is said to have increased by two-thirds to reach an impressive sum. During that period, it sold roughly $117 million in value of its products to Chinese consumers via leading online marketplaces, per research data.

This expansion reflects a broader surge in China's collectible toy market among adult consumers in search of emotional support and community. Overall sales from collectible toys nationally are expected to top 110 billion yuan annually, according to a recent industry report.

The remarkable popularity of other toys such as Labubu, elf-like dolls from domestic company Pop Mart, underscores the market's increasing appetite for designer collectibles. The so-called "kidult" trend isn't exclusive to China; adults globally are starting to re-evaluate "outdated notions of adulthood," note academics.

Particularly, especially the aubergine plushie—affectionately dubbed "the big boss" in China—have spawned a wave of online jokes, with many sharing grievances about the pressures of adulthood. On social media, the "eggplant boss" hashtag is a space where people sketch different expressions on the plushie, depicting it in various moods enjoying a drink to forcing a smile.

As an illustration, one Hong Kong-based, Wendy Hui, modified her eggplant toy adding dark circles around its eyes and placing spectacles on it. She shared a picture online with the caption: "The mental state of employees at the start of the week." "I was working at home even on my days off," she explains. "I just wanted to express how exhausted I felt."

Thus, the brand has emerged as a surprising, light-hearted channel for China's youth to air their frustrations about economic challenges, where dedicated effort doesn't always ensure comparable rewards. Amid heavy online censorship, the internet have become an important, if not the only, space for these types of conversations.

Its regular releases of exclusive products and the discontinuation of older designs—an approach sometimes referred to as "scarcity marketing" locally—has also fueled {