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Stella Huang bought her initial Jellycat brand cuddly companion amid a period of unemployment during the global health crisis. Prompted by a friend's passion for the British-designed creatures, her curiosity was truly ignited when she saw a distinctive gingerbread cottage plushie on a major social networking platform.

Although Christmas is not traditionally observed in China, serving more as a commercial event rather than a cultural tradition, the imagery of gingerbread houses resonated to Stella. "The festival doesn't mean much for me... But I have always loved the sight of those sweet houses," she explains. This led her to request an old friend from her hometown to purchase the item on her behalf.

That acquisition occurred back in 2021, just as Jellycat was on the cusp of achieving massive popularity across China and beyond. "People were jittery, and nobody knew what would happen," recalls Stella, who picked up a habit of stroking and squeezing her plushies to cope during that stressful time. Residing in Beijing, which experienced among the strictest lockdowns globally, she passed extended periods at home.

Now 32 with a new job in sales manager professional, Stella continues to expand her assortment. It has grown to approximately 120 items, with a total an investment of about 36,000 yuan. "At my age, there are numerous matters you can't share with others... and the problems we face are a lot more complicated than in the past," she says with a sigh. "The plushies help me regulate my feelings."

Initially marketed for children, these soft creatures have become an international sensation, especially within China where an somewhat disillusioned younger generation is turning to them as a source of emotional support.

The Rise of Adult Toy Enthusiasts

Her Gingerbread house toy is part of their "Amuseables" line, a set of characters featuring small faces inspired by everyday items, from bathroom tissue and hard-boiled eggs. These items are considered the "breakout success" that "resonate with a broad Gen-Z and millennial demographic" globally, according to industry analysts.

The surge in appeal "could have something to do with wanting for companionship," suggest experts. It is hard to ascertain whether the launch of the now-iconic Amuseable line back in 2018 was a deliberate strategy to engage the young adult consumer, toy manufacturers are under pressure to must find alternative audiences amid falling birth rates across numerous parts of the world.

The brand entered China as early as 2015. By laying the necessary "foundation", the toy maker was able to capture "the mood of the pandemic"—when individuals looked for comfort amid widespread uncertainty—and built on this success in the country, as explained by business consultants.

Its popularity was also propelled by creative pop-up experiences. These retail events sometimes offered a menu of limited-edition "food" products. Many fans would film themselves interacting and share the videos online.

Adaptation to local tastes has also been a core approach. For instance, customers could purchase plush interpretations of classic British fare like fish, chips and mushy peas during a pop-up in London. Conversely, products including teapot and teacup toys were featured at exclusive stores in Chinese metropolises last year.

Last year, the UK-based firm's sales reportedly increased significantly to reach a substantial figure. In the same period, it sold an estimated $117 million worth of toys in China via major e-commerce platforms, per market intelligence data.

This expansion reflects a broader surge within China's collectable-toy market among adult consumers in search of emotional support and community. Total revenue of collectable toys in China are expected to exceed 110 billion yuan this year, according to a recent industry report.

The remarkable success of brands like Labubu, elf-like dolls from domestic company Pop Mart, underscores the country's increasing appetite for collectable toys. The so-called "adult-child" phenomenon isn't unique to China; young adults globally are increasingly question "traditional notions of what it means to be an adult," observe academics.

Particularly, especially the eggplant character—affectionately dubbed "the big boss" by Chinese fans—have spawned a wave of online jokes, with many expressing grievances about the pressures of adulthood. On social media, the "aubergine boss" hashtag is a space where fans draw various emotive faces on their toy, showing it in various moods from drinking to fake-smiling.

For example, a marketing professional from Hong Kong, Wendy Hui, personalized her eggplant toy adding dark circles under its eyes and placing spectacles on it. She then shared a picture online captioning it: "The mental state of employees on Monday." "I was working at home even on my days off," she explains. "I just wanted to express how exhausted I was."

In this way, the brand has emerged as a surprising, light-hearted outlet for China's youth to air their frustrations about economic challenges, in which dedicated effort doesn't always ensure comparable returns. Amid strict online censorship, digital spaces have become a crucial, perhaps the primary, arena for these types of discussions.

Its regular launches of exclusive products and the discontinuation of older designs—an approach often called "scarcity marketing" locally—has also driven {