Stella Huang acquired her initial Jellycat plush toy during a time of unemployment during the global health crisis. Prompted by an acquaintance's passion for these British-designed creatures, her interest was fully ignited upon seeing a distinctive gingerbread house plushie featured on a popular social networking platform.
Although Christmas isn't traditionally observed in China, serving more as a commercial event rather than a religious festival, the sight of gingerbread houses appealed with her. "It doesn't hold much for me... But I always like the sight of gingerbread houses," she remarks. This prompted her to eventually request a friend from her hometown to buy the item on her behalf.
That acquisition was made back in 2021, just as Jellycat was on the cusp of achieving enormous popularity across China and internationally. "People were jittery, and nobody knew what exactly would happen," says Stella, who developed a habit of petting and squeezing her soft toys for comfort throughout that stressful time. Residing in Beijing, a city with among the most stringent restrictions globally, she spent extended periods at home.
Now aged 32 and working in tourism sector in the tourism industry, Stella still expand her assortment. It has reached approximately 120 items, with a total a cost of roughly 36,000 yuan. "As an adult, you have numerous matters you can't share with other people... and the troubles we face are a lot more complicated than in the past," she says reflectively. "The plushies assist me in managing my feelings."
Originally designed with kids in mind, these soft toys have transformed into an international phenomenon, particularly within China where an increasingly disenchanted youth demographic has been turning to them for emotional support.
Understanding the Kidults
Stella's Gingerbread house toy belongs to the "Amuseables" collection, a set of characters featuring small faces based on commonplace inanimate objects, ranging from toilet rolls and hard-boiled eggs. These items are considered a key "breakout success" which "appeal to a wide younger adult audience" around the world, as noted by market observers.
The surge in popularity "could have something to do with a desire for a sense of connection," propose experts. It is hard to say for sure whether the launch of the iconic Amuseable line in 2018 was an intentional move to target the adult consumer, companies in the sector increasingly need to find alternative audiences due to declining fertility rates across numerous parts of the world.
The brand made its foray into the Chinese market as early as 2015. Having laid significant "groundwork", the company was able to capture "the mood during Covid"—when individuals looked for solace amid heightened anxiety—and built on its early momentum there, according to business consultants.
Jellycat's fame was also propelled through engaging temporary events. These retail events sometimes offered a menu of exclusive "culinary" themed items. Many fans record their experience being served and share the clips on social platforms.
Localisation proved to be a core approach. As an example, fans were able to buy plush versions of classic UK dishes such as fish, chips and mushy peas at a temporary shop in London. Conversely, products including teacup and teapot plushies were featured at special outlets in Chinese metropolises the previous year.
Last year, the UK-based company's sales reportedly rose significantly to a substantial figure. During that timeframe, it sold an estimated $117 million worth of toys to Chinese consumers via major online marketplaces, according to research data.
This expansion parallels a broader surge in China's collectible toy market among young adults seeking emotional comfort and connection. Overall sales from collectible toys in China are expected to exceed 110 billion yuan annually, as per a recent analysis.
The runaway popularity of other toys such as Labubu, elf-like dolls by Chinese toy maker Pop Mart, underscores the country's increasing appetite towards designer collectibles. This "kidult" trend isn't exclusive to China; adults worldwide are increasingly re-evaluate "outdated understandings of adulthood," note academics.
Particularly, especially the eggplant character—affectionately dubbed "the boss" by Chinese fans—have also inspired numerous memes, with many expressing grievances regarding adult life. The "eggplant boss" tag serves as a platform where people draw various emotive faces on their toy, showing it in various moods from drinking to forcing a smile.
As an illustration, one Hong Kong-based, Wendy Hui, personalized her aubergine toy adding bags around its eyes and putting spectacles on it. She then shared an image online captioning it: "The mental state of workers at the start of the week." "I kept working at home even during my days off," the 30-something says. "I merely intended to express the level of exhaustion I was."
In this way, the brand has emerged as a surprising, light-hearted outlet for young Chinese to air their frustrations about economic challenges, where dedicated effort doesn't always guarantee comparable returns. Despite heavy online censorship, digital spaces have become an important, if not the only, space for these types of conversations.
Its regular releases of exclusive products coupled with the discontinuation of certain lines—an approach sometimes referred to as "hunger marketing" in China—has further fueled {
