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A woman named Stella purchased her first Jellycat soft toy during a time of job loss in the pandemic. Prompted by an acquaintance's fondness for the UK-created creatures, her interest was fully sparked when she saw a distinctive gingerbread house design circulating on a widely-used social networking app.

Although Christmas isn't traditionally observed in China, serving more as a commercial event than a cultural tradition, the imagery of festive cottages resonated with her. "It doesn't mean much to me... However, I have always loved the sight of those sweet houses," she explains. This led her to eventually request an old friend from her hometown to buy the item on her behalf.

That acquisition took place back in 2021, coinciding with Jellycat was poised to achieve enormous popularity across China and internationally. "People were anxious, and nobody knew what would happen," says Stella, who developed a routine of petting and squeezing her soft toys to cope during that stressful time. Living in Beijing, which experienced some of the most stringent restrictions globally, she passed a great deal of time at home.

Now 32 and working as a tourism sector professional, Stella still grow her collection. It has reached approximately 120 items, representing an investment of about 36,000 yuan. "As an adult, you have numerous matters that you cannot discuss with others... and the troubles we encounter are far more complicated than before," she says with a sigh. "The plushies help me regulate my emotions."

Initially created for children, these soft creatures have transformed into an international phenomenon, especially in China where an increasingly disenchanted younger generation has been turning to them for comfort and solace.

The Rise of Adult Toy Enthusiasts

Her Gingerbread house plushie is part of their "Amuseable" collection, a range of characters featuring small faces modelled after commonplace inanimate objects, from bathroom tissue and boiled eggs. These toys have become the "standout products" which "resonate with a broad Gen-Z and millennial audience" globally, as noted by market observers.

The surge in appeal "may have something to do with a desire for companiable," propose experts. It is hard to say for sure if the introduction of the now-iconic series back in 2018 was an intentional strategy to target the young adult market, companies in the sector increasingly must find alternative audiences due to declining fertility rates in many parts of the world.

Jellycat entered the Chinese market back in 2015. Having laid the necessary "foundation", the company was able to tap into "the mood during Covid"—a time when people sought comfort amid heightened anxiety—capitalizing on this momentum in the country, according to business consultants.

Its popularity was also boosted by creative temporary events. These retail events sometimes offered a menu of exclusive "culinary" products. Many enthusiasts record their experience interacting and post the videos on social platforms.

Localisation has also been an essential approach. For instance, customers could purchase plush interpretations of traditional UK dishes like fish and chips during a temporary shop in London. Meanwhile, items like teacup and teapot plushies were sold at exclusive stores in Beijing and Shanghai the previous year.

Last year, the UK-based firm's revenue reportedly increased by two-thirds to a substantial sum. In that timeframe, sales of an estimated $117 million worth of its products in China on major online marketplaces, according to research estimates.

This growth parallels a wider boom within China's collectable-toy sector driven by young adults seeking emotional comfort and connection. Overall sales 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 dolls by Chinese toy maker Pop Mart, highlights the country's growing demand for designer collectibles. The so-called "adult-child" phenomenon is not exclusive to China; adults worldwide are increasingly question "traditional notions of adulthood," note cultural experts.

Particularly, especially the eggplant plushie—nicknamed "the big boss" in China—have inspired a wave of memes, where users sharing frustrations about adult life. The "eggplant boss" hashtag is a space where people draw various emotive faces on the plushie, depicting it in various moods enjoying a drink to forcing a smile.

For example, a marketing professional from Hong Kong, Wendy Hui, personalized her aubergine toy by drawing bags around its eyes and putting a pair of glasses on the toy. She then shared an image on a social platform with the caption: "The mental state of workers at the start of the week." "I kept working at home even during my days off," she explains. "I merely intended to convey how exhausted I was."

In this way, the brand has emerged as a surprising, light-hearted outlet for young Chinese to air their frustrations about a slowing economy, in which dedicated effort no longer ensure commensurate returns. Despite heavy content regulation, the internet remains an important, perhaps the primary, space for these types of conversations.

Its frequent launches of exclusive designs and the discontinuation of older designs—a strategy sometimes referred to as "scarcity marketing" in China—has further fueled {