Dongguan has become a key force in the trendy toy industry with its profound manufacturing heritage. In its early years, it accumulated technology by working as a contract manufacturer for Disney and Bandai. Today, it uses processes such as "vinyl + plush" to solve the problems of pure plush being easily deformed and vinyl being easily scratched. It is also exploring slow-rebound plush and temperature-changing materials, and developing trendy toys with movable joints to seize the initiative in the "material revolution." In terms of production capacity and efficiency, the "Dongguan speed" is outstanding. Large quantities of vinyl plush can be shipped in 2 months, and small batches can be pre-sold in as fast as 15-20 days. The industrial cluster efficiently connects the processes. Although technical talent is scarce, skilled pattern makers remain a core advantage, and some talents have entered the upper reaches of the brand value chain. On the market side, local contract manufacturers once helped Pop Mart, and now original IPs are on the rise. IPs such as HiTOY, "Wa San Sui" and "Zhuo Da Wang" have achieved outstanding results overseas. Many Dongguan original trendy toy IPs have entered the global market, becoming a carrier of young people's emotions and making Dongguan a "shipping place" for China's trendy toy culture.

This article focuses on the profound transformation and spatial resurgence of the plush toy market, charting its journey from a fringe category to a core consumer and emotional hub. Three major trends have emerged within the market: deepening IP collaborations, upgrading emotional interactions, and cultural IP derivatives. The IP collaboration trend breaks down barriers, connecting virtual and real life. The emotional interaction trend leverages technology to enhance interaction by empowering toys with features like heating, fragrance, and emotion recognition. The cultural IP derivative trend infuses cultural connotations through "abstract reproductions" of cultural relics and the integration of local cuisine and dialectal memes. In the commercial space, plush toys have evolved from supporting roles at the bottom of supermarkets to soothing corners of cultural and creative stores, and then to standalone stores and pop-up shops in core shopping districts of high-tier cities. Shopping malls are shifting their investment strategy towards brands that prioritize spatial design and emotional interaction. Plush toys, with their strong emotional appeal, have benefited from this. Online promotions on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) and offline pop-up stores have formed a closed loop, and trendy brands are eager to collaborate with them, propelling them to become a powerful force in the consumer market. The essence of this change is the recognition of the value of emotional consumption by physical businesses. Plush toys are not only commodities, but also spiritual refuges and soul backup devices for urbanites. In the future, they are expected to replace traditional jewelry counters and become a new generation of spiritual landmarks. The emotional value they carry far exceeds the material itself.

Entering the trendy toy industry during its explosive growth in 2020, Letsvan founder Zhan Huiyu broke through the startup difficulties with extreme productism - he would rather give up 5 million yuan in emergency payments than destroy defective products; with a deep understanding of emotional value, he led the team to incubate popular products such as "China's No. 1 Princess IP" Youli and the phenomenal IP WAKUKU. Among them, WAKUKU took less than a year from its birth to its popularity, and it competed with Pop Mart's top-tier LABUBU. Starting from 2024, Quantum Song completed the full acquisition of Letsvan. The two parties "complemented each other's genes" to strengthen their marketing capabilities. By cooperating with Lehua Entertainment to open up celebrity channels, the SIINONO blind box launched in 2025 was sold out at its first launch, and pre-sales were scheduled until September; after the brand was upgraded to "Letsvan Dream Island", Zhan Huiyu positioned it as an open ecosystem connecting designers, artists and users, and continued to lead with the market response speed of "cheetah" - incubating 15 self-owned IPs in 4 years since its establishment, in the fiercely competitive trendy toy track, using passion and long-termism to write the growth trajectory from a dark horse startup to a new force in the industry.

This article delves into the global blind box craze, charting its journey from its roots in Japan’s "lucky bags" to a multi-billion-dollar market encompassing trendy toys, luxury goods, and more. It explores how blind boxes, driven by their ability to deliver emotional and social value—such as the joy of surprise, collectibility, and social interaction through unboxing sharing—along with the appeal of personalized experiences, have won over Gen Z and millennials across the globe. Spotlighting major players such as Pop Mart—the dominant force in the trendy toy segment, with its IP-based collections (including top-selling lines like SKULLPANDA and MOLLY), collaborations with artists, and rapid expansion in Southeast Asia and beyond—and HEAT, a luxury-focused brand partnering with over 100 high-end labels (from Givenchy to Prada) to capitalize on the trend, the piece breaks down the market’s explosive growth. From $15 blind boxes that resell for $150 to luxury blind boxes priced at $350+ that sell out within minutes (like HEAT’s offerings, which even secured investment from LVMH and Hermès family members), it uncovers how this "surprise economy" has become both a source of emotional satisfaction and stress relief for consumers and a profitable business model—solving inventory challenges for brands while fueling a global spending frenzy across social media platforms and international markets.