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A woman named Stella acquired her first Jellycat plush toy during a time of job loss in the pandemic. Inspired by an acquaintance's passion for the UK-created toys, her curiosity was truly ignited when she saw a distinctive gingerbread house plushie featured on a widely-used social networking app.

While The Christmas holiday is not traditionally observed in China, being more of a retail occasion than a religious festival, the sight of festive cottages resonated with her. "It doesn't hold a lot for me... However, I have always loved the look of those sweet houses," she remarks. This prompted her to eventually request a friend in Guangzhou to buy the item on her behalf.

That acquisition occurred back in 2021, right as Jellycat was poised to achieve enormous success in China and beyond. "Everyone felt uneasy, and nobody knew what was going to happen," recalls Stella, who picked up a habit of petting and hugging her soft toys to cope during that stressful time. Living in Beijing, a city with some of the strictest lockdowns globally, she spent extended periods indoors.

Now aged 32 with a new job as a sales manager in the tourism industry, Stella still grow her assortment. It has grown to around 120 items, representing a cost of roughly 36,000 yuan. "At my age, you have many things you can't share with other people... and the problems we face are a lot more complicated than in the past," she says with a sigh. "These soft toys assist me in regulate my emotions."

Originally marketed with kids in mind, these soft creatures have become an international sensation, particularly within China where an increasingly disenchanted youth demographic has been seeking solace in them as a source of comfort and solace.

Understanding the Kidults

Her gingerbread cottage plushie belongs to their "Amuseable" series, a set of characters with tiny faces based on commonplace items, from bathroom tissue and hard-boiled eggs. These toys have become the "standout products" which "attract a broad younger adult demographic" around the world, as noted by industry analysts.

The surge in popularity "could have a connection to a desire for a sense of connection," propose experts. While it's difficult to say for sure if the launch of the iconic series in 2018 was an intentional strategy to engage the adult market, toy manufacturers increasingly need to cultivate new markets due to falling birth rates in many parts of the world.

The brand entered the Chinese market as early as 2015. By laying the necessary "foundation", the toy maker was able to tap into "the tone of the pandemic"—when people sought comfort amid widespread anxiety—capitalizing on this momentum there, according to industry experts.

Its fame was further boosted through creative temporary events. These retail events often featured a menu of limited-edition "culinary" themed items. Many enthusiasts record their experience interacting and post the clips on social platforms.

Localisation has also been a core strategy. As an example, customers were able to buy plush versions of traditional British fare like fish and chips during a temporary shop overseas. Conversely, items like teapot and teacup plushies were featured at special stores in Beijing and Shanghai last year.

Last year, the British firm's revenue is said to have increased by two-thirds to reach a substantial sum. In the same timeframe, it sold an estimated $117 million worth of its products in China on major online marketplaces, according to research estimates.

This expansion parallels a broader boom in China's collectible toy market among young adults seeking emotional support and community. Total revenue of collectable items in China are projected to top 110 billion yuan this year, as per a recent analysis.

The remarkable popularity of other toys such as Labubu, elf-inspired figures by Chinese toy maker Pop Mart, highlights the country's increasing appetite for designer collectibles. This "adult-child" trend is not unique to China; adults globally are increasingly re-evaluate "traditional understandings of what it means to be an adult," note academics.

Amuseables, especially the aubergine plushie—nicknamed "the boss" in China—have inspired numerous online jokes, with many expressing frustrations about adult life. The "eggplant boss" hashtag is a space where fans draw different expressions on the plushie, depicting it in various moods from drinking to forcing a smile.

For example, a marketing professional from Hong Kong, Wendy Hui, personalized her aubergine toy adding bags around its eyes and placing spectacles on the toy. She posted an image online captioning it: "The mental state of employees at the start of the week." "I kept working from home even during my days off," she explains. "I just wanted to express the level of exhaustion I felt."

In this way, the brand has emerged as a surprising, whimsical channel for China's youth to air their grievances over economic challenges, where hard work no longer ensure comparable rewards. Amid heavy content regulation, the internet have become a crucial, perhaps the primary, arena for such conversations.

Its frequent launches of limited-edition products coupled with the retirement of older designs—a strategy often called "hunger marketing" in China—has also driven {