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A woman named Stella purchased her initial Jellycat cuddly companion in the midst of a period of job loss in the pandemic. Inspired by a friend's fondness for the UK-created toys, her curiosity was fully ignited when she saw a distinctive gingerbread cottage plushie circulating on a major Chinese social media app.

Although The Christmas holiday is not widely celebrated across China, serving more as a commercial event than a religious festival, the imagery of gingerbread houses appealed with her. "It doesn't hold a lot to me... But I have always loved the sight of those sweet houses," she explains. This led her to ask an old friend from her hometown to buy it for her.

That acquisition took place in 2021, coinciding with the brand was poised of achieving enormous success in China and internationally. "People were jittery, and no-one knew what would happen," says Stella, who developed a routine of petting and hugging her soft toys to cope during a difficult period. Residing in Beijing, which experienced among the most stringent restrictions in the world, she spent extended periods at home.

Now 32 and working as a sales manager in the tourism industry, Stella still expand her collection. It has grown to around 120 toys, representing an investment of about 36,000 yuan. "As an adult, there are many things you can't discuss with others... and the troubles we face are a lot more complicated than before," she says reflectively. "The plushies help me regulate my feelings."

Initially designed for children, these soft creatures have become an international sensation, especially within China where a increasingly disenchanted younger generation is seeking solace in them as a source of emotional support.

The Rise of Kidults

Stella's gingerbread cottage plushie is part of the "Amuseable" collection, a range of toys featuring small expressions based on everyday inanimate objects, ranging from bathroom tissue to boiled eggs. These items are considered a key "breakout products" which "attract a broad younger adult audience" globally, according to market observers.

The surge in popularity "could have a connection to a desire for companionship," propose experts. While it's hard to say for sure if the introduction of the iconic Amuseable line in 2018 was an intentional strategy to target the adult market, companies in the sector are under pressure to must find alternative audiences amid falling fertility rates across numerous parts of the world.

The brand entered the Chinese market back in 2015. Having laid the necessary "groundwork", the company was able to capture "the mood during Covid"—a time when individuals looked for comfort amid widespread anxiety—capitalizing on this success there, as explained by industry experts.

Jellycat's popularity was also propelled by creative temporary events. These in-store events often featured a menu of exclusive "culinary" products. Numerous enthusiasts record themselves interacting and post the clips on social platforms.

Adaptation to local tastes proved to be a core strategy. As an example, customers were able to buy stuffed toy interpretations of classic British fare like fish, chips and mushy peas at a temporary shop overseas. Meanwhile, items like teacup and teapot plushies were sold at exclusive stores in Beijing and Shanghai the previous year.

Last year, the British company's revenue reportedly rose significantly to a substantial sum. During the same period, sales of roughly $117 million in value of its products to Chinese consumers on major e-commerce platforms, per market intelligence estimates.

This expansion mirrors a wider boom within China's collectible toy sector among adult consumers seeking emotional comfort and connection. Total revenue of collectable items nationally are projected to top 110 billion yuan annually, according to a recent analysis.

The runaway success of brands like Labubu, elf-inspired figures by Chinese toy maker Pop Mart, highlights the market's increasing appetite for designer collectibles. This "adult-child" trend isn't exclusive to China; adults globally are increasingly question "outdated notions of adulthood," note academics.

Particularly, especially the aubergine plushie—nicknamed "the big boss" in China—have spawned numerous online jokes, with many expressing grievances regarding adult life. The "aubergine boss" hashtag is a space where people sketch various emotive faces on the plushie, depicting it in different states from drinking to forcing a smile.

For example, one Hong Kong-based, Wendy Hui, modified her aubergine Amuseable by drawing dark circles under its eyes and placing a pair of glasses on the toy. She posted a picture on a social platform captioning it: "The mental state of employees at the start of the week." "I was working at home even on time off," the 30-something says. "I merely intended to express how exhausted I was."

In this way, the brand has emerged as a surprising, light-hearted outlet for China's youth to voice their grievances about a slowing economy, in which dedicated effort doesn't always ensure comparable returns. Despite strict online censorship, the internet have become an important, perhaps the primary, arena 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 further fueled {