🔗 Share this article

A woman named Stella purchased her first Jellycat brand plush toy amid a time of job loss in the pandemic. Encouraged by a friend's fondness for these UK-created creatures, her curiosity was truly captured when she saw an adorable gingerbread house design on a widely-used Chinese social media app.

Although Christmas isn't traditionally observed across China, acting more as a commercial event than a religious festival, the concept of gingerbread houses resonated to Stella. "The festival doesn't mean a lot to me... But I always like the appearance of gingerbread houses," she explains. This prompted her to ask an old friend from her hometown to buy the item on her behalf.

That purchase took place back in 2021, right as Jellycat was on the cusp of achieving massive popularity in China and beyond. "People were uneasy, and nobody knew what was going to happen," recalls Stella, who picked up a routine of stroking and hugging her plushies for comfort throughout a difficult period. Living in Beijing, a city with among the most stringent restrictions in the world, she spent a great deal of time indoors.

Now 32 with a new job in sales manager in the tourism industry, Stella still grow her assortment. Her collection has swelled to around 120 items, representing an investment of about 36,000 yuan. "As an adult, there are numerous matters you can't discuss with others... and the problems we encounter are far more complicated than before," she notes with a sigh. "These soft toys assist me in managing my emotions."

Initially marketed for children, these soft creatures have evolved into an international phenomenon, especially in China where an somewhat disillusioned younger generation is seeking solace in them as a source of comfort and solace.

The Rise of Adult Toy Enthusiasts

Her Gingerbread house plushie belongs to their "Amuseables" series, a range of characters featuring small faces modelled after commonplace inanimate objects, ranging from toilet rolls to hard-boiled eggs. These toys have become a key "standout success" which "resonate with a wide Gen-Z and millennial audience" globally, as noted by market observers.

Their growing appeal "may have something to do with a desire to feel companiable," suggest experts. It is hard to ascertain if the launch of the now-iconic Amuseable line back in 2018 was an intentional move to engage the young adult market, companies in the sector increasingly must find alternative audiences due to declining fertility rates across numerous parts of the world.

Jellycat entered China back in 2015. Having laid significant "foundation", the toy maker was able to tap into "the tone of the pandemic"—when people sought solace amid heightened anxiety—and built on its early momentum there, according to business consultants.

Jellycat's popularity was further boosted through creative temporary events. These in-store activations sometimes offered a selection of exclusive "culinary" themed items. Many enthusiasts would film their experience being served and share the clips online.

Adaptation to local tastes has also been an essential approach. For instance, customers could purchase plush versions of traditional British fare such as fish and chips during a temporary shop in London. Conversely, products including teacup and teapot plushies were featured at exclusive outlets in Beijing and Shanghai the previous year.

In 2024, the UK-based company's revenue reportedly increased by two-thirds to reach a substantial sum. During the same period, sales of roughly $117 million in value of toys to Chinese consumers on major online marketplaces, per market intelligence estimates.

This growth parallels a broader surge in China's collectable-toy market driven by adult consumers in search of emotional support and connection. Overall sales from collectible items in China are expected to exceed 110 billion yuan annually, according to a recent analysis.

The runaway popularity of other toys such as Labubu, elf-like dolls from Chinese toy maker Pop Mart, underscores the market's growing appetite towards designer collectibles. This "kidult" trend is not unique to China; young adults worldwide are starting to question "traditional understandings of adulthood," observe academics.

Amuseables, items like the eggplant character—nicknamed "the big boss" by Chinese fans—have inspired numerous memes, with many sharing grievances about adult life. On social media, the "aubergine boss" tag serves as a platform where fans draw various emotive faces on their toy, showing it in various moods enjoying a drink to fake-smiling.

For example, a marketing professional from Hong Kong, Wendy Hui, personalized her eggplant Amuseable by drawing bags around its eyes and putting spectacles on the toy. She shared an image on a social platform with the caption: "The mood of employees on Monday." "I kept working at home even on time off," she explains. "I merely intended to express how exhausted I felt."

Thus, the brand has emerged as an unexpected, whimsical channel for young Chinese to air their frustrations over a slowing economy, in which hard work no longer guarantee comparable rewards. Despite heavy online censorship, digital spaces have become an important, if not the only, space for such conversations.

Its regular launches of exclusive designs and the discontinuation of certain lines—a strategy sometimes referred to as "scarcity marketing" locally—has also fueled {