Will Plush Toys Become a New Trend in the Emotional Economy?

No matter how emotional consumption trends evolve, the consumer mind remains the core battleground.

As the internet captures users' time with "guess what you might like" ads, offline competition among retail brands intensifies, vying for consumers' attention and emotional connections in everyday situations.

Plush toys are a category that has emerged in the past two years: young people, overwhelmed by KPIs, immerse themselves in them not only to relax but also as a ritual escape from reality. Much like the amulets and statues of deities of ancient times, in this fast-paced world, simple plush toys have become a source of emotional sustenance, without the need for complex rituals or statues.

When consumers buy plush toys, they're essentially searching for a tangible, reliable outlet for their emotions. Plush toys have become a crucial part of emotional consumption precisely because they satisfy deep emotional needs, becoming "emotional companions" with whom they can confide and rely. This emotional connection is the key to their market presence.

In January of this year, MINISO partnered with the game "Black Myth: Wukong" to launch a product line, debuting in stores across multiple cities. Long lines formed in front of a giant installation outside a Beijing store. Plush figures like Bajie and Black Bear, priced in the low-priced range, were even more popular than action figures priced in the low-priced range, reflecting the surge in adult consumer demand for emotional products.igners and engineers have produced countless great designs for customers from different industries

Global plush toys are shedding their "children's consumer product" label, with a significant trend towards adultization and rising global demand for therapeutic toys. Data from the US market from January to April 2024 shows that the 18+ consumer group surpassed children aged 3-5 for the first time, becoming the largest consumer driving growth.

In the domestic market, the plush toy market grew from 6.429 billion yuan to 7.156 billion yuan from 2018 to 2022, and is projected to reach 7.723 billion yuan in 2025. Online sales reached 264 million yuan in May 2024, a year-on-year increase of 42.03%. Jellycat and Miniso performed particularly well, with online sales increasing by 163% and 202%, respectively, in May. Jellycat even took the top spot with sales of 446 million yuan in the first five months of 2024, achieving a commanding lead.

Behind this market frenzy lies a profound shift in consumer behavior. The rise of the plush toy market not only epitomizes the rise of emotional consumption, but also represents an indispensable "new family" for urban youth.

Emerging brands like Jellycat may have caused confusion with their playful marketing, but their sales performance and social media buzz demonstrate that consumers aren't buying "toys" for them, but rather "life partners" with whom they can confide their innermost thoughts.

I used to think plush toys were all the same: bunnies with round eyes and long ears, cats with sharp eyes, and bears resembling Paddington Bear relatives. It wasn't until a friend in the toy industry did I learn more about the industry that I discovered that, driven by the healing economy, plush toys have evolved into three distinct genres, each occupying a niche in the market.

1. IP Collaboration

This genre is gaining momentum in the market, focusing on transforming gaming and film and television IPs into plush toys. Brands like MINISO, with their keen insight and resource integration capabilities, are satisfying fans' emotional and collectible needs through IP collaborations, continuously injecting vitality into the market:

In 2019, the first Marvel co-branded Black Gold store opened in Guangzhou;

In 2022, it collaborated with Sanrio to launch Hello Kitty and My Melody collections;

In 2023, it partnered with Disney to launch 100th anniversary limited editions, princess collections, and Pixar collections;

In 2024, the Harry Potter co-branded products set sales records upon their global launch.

2024 is the first year of MINISO's global brand strategy upgrade. Its collaboration with the popular Japanese manga "Chiikawa" has become a phenomenal event: the joint pop-up store in Shanghai Jing'an Joy City broke the sales record just 10 hours after its opening, and consumers lined up on the spot to buy it.

Miniso is a true expert at breaking through barriers when it comes to IP collaborations. With a deep understanding of fan psychology, they transform virtual characters into physical plush toys, transforming core IP elements into soft, fuzzy textures. Some brands in the industry are even unlocking the power of "emotional empowerment," allowing ordinary dolls to connect with others.

Disney's 2021 release of Lina Belle is a prime example: this pink fox rose to fame with its adorable appearance, and even became a global favorite thanks to the anthropomorphic design, interactive experiences, and independent personality (such as its dancing business) imbued by Disney. Its popularity on scalpers even surpassed that of Moutai.

While workers use dolls to meet KPIs, another trend—the one focused on enhancing emotional interaction—has quietly emerged. Players are using technology to make their plush toys interactive, transforming them from silent decorations into communicative "partners."

2. Emotional Interaction Upgrade

Compared to the traditional IP collaboration strategy, this trend prioritizes the application of new technologies.

McHugs, a high-end British brand, is a representative example. Its plush toys are infused with fragrances like Canadian flax seeds and lavender. Microwavable, they retain warmth for 2-3 hours, making them ideal for cold winter nights or when tired. They also prioritize the olfactory experience, with the subtle lavender scent scientifically proven to help relax and relieve stress. After a busy day, hugging a fragrant McHugs doll can help you forget the stress of work and immerse yourself in a sense of tranquility and comfort.

BubblePal is a smart accessory that attaches to a bear plush toy, resembling a cute AI companion. Children can freely choose story themes and characters, such as Einstein, Princess Elsa, and Sun Wukong. Squeeze the bubbles to engage in conversation, and the storyline can be adjusted at any time.

Its intelligent system can sense a child's changing emotions and provide adaptive feedback: when a child is happy, it uses a cheerful voice to share their joy; when a child is upset, it uses a gentle voice to comfort and listen to their concerns. This emotional recognition and feedback makes BubblePal a valuable companion for children as they grow.

BubblePal is equally captivating for adults. When stressed out at work or feeling down, communicating with it can ease tension and provide comfort. It's like a confidant who's always there, never betraying or judging.

3. Cultural IP Derivatives

With the support of the "14th Five-Year Plan" policy for the integration of culture and tourism (which explicitly encourages the development of cultural and creative products that combine artistry and practicality), museums and cultural and tourism bureaus across the country have been actively engaged in this field, and plush toys have become "lively practitioners" in this field, using plush to reconstruct the real-life representation of culture.

The first category is plush toys related to museum artifacts. The "Horse Stepping on Flying Swallow" cultural and creative plush toy, launched by the Gansu Provincial Museum in 2022, became an online sensation and even sold out. This toy, based on the "Bronze Galloping Horse," a bronze artifact from the Eastern Han Dynasty (the museum's treasure), comes in two different poses: a standing "Leading the Way" and a running "Success." Its name is appealing, and although its design has been jokingly called "ugly and cute," its unique style has garnered countless fans.

The popularity of the "Horse Stepping on Flying Swallow" figurine is no accident; its "ugly yet cute" abstract design perfectly captures the aesthetic tastes of young consumers. Other museums have since followed suit, releasing unique plush toys. For example, the Sanxingdui Museum's gold-masked and bronze-masked figurines feature exaggerated eye designs, transforming the bronze mask's mysterious and majestic qualities into a cute and endearing presentation.

Looking ahead to 2025, "abstract reproduction" will be the core competitive advantage of cultural relic plush toys: rather than simply replicating the appearance of a relic, they deconstruct and reshape its characteristics through exaggeration and distortion, imbuing it with a modern and playful feel while preserving its recognizability.

The second category is "food-toy" plush toys, which primarily blend food with a cute aesthetic. These products combine food elements with plush materials, appealing not only visually but also through tactile and olfactory experiences. For example, the Nanjing Jiangning Tourism and Health Industry Group's "Chicken Soup Dumplings," "Duck Blood Vermicelli," and "Beef Pot Stickers" plush toys are inspired by traditional Nanjing cuisine, allowing consumers to experience the delicious flavors of the food while playing with it.

The Gansu Provincial Museum, which once became famous for its funny cultural and creative products such as "Horse Stepping on Flying Swallow", has come up with another creative idea: it has made spicy hot pot ingredients such as broccoli, mushrooms, and crab chops into cute plush dolls. Not only are the appearances of the ingredients highly realistic, but four "spicy" levels are also provided.

"Everyone is Hungry" in Wuhan's Xian'anfang district borrowed from Jellycat's "playing house" marketing style to recreate the lively breakfast vendor scene in Wuhan in the store. Using local specialties such as hot dry noodles, bean skin, and noodle nests as prototypes, it launched a doll "ordering" service.

In addition to local delicacies, temples are also entering the cultural and creative plush toy market. For example, Nanjing Jiming Temple, combining its cultural heritage with traditional snacks, has launched a "Su Mian" cultural and creative doll, combining a cute style with cultural connotations.

The third category is plush toys inspired by dialect memes. Driven by the recent boom in urban cultural tourism, these dolls, incorporating local dialect and cultural elements, have become a new highlight of cultural and tourism integration, both resonating through language and strengthening local cultural identity through design.

Take the "Garlic Bird" and "Zebra" dolls that became popular in Wuhan at the beginning of the year as an example: "Garlic Bird" is a homophone for the Wuhan dialect word "forget it," and "Zebra" is associated with local transportation culture. These dolls are presented as small animals, and when squeezed, they produce authentic dialect sounds such as "forget it, forget it" and "what are you doing?", creating a fun and engaging experience.

From the "dimensional wall-shattering" of IP collaborations, the "five-sense experience" of emotional interaction, to the "everything can be plush" and "abstract reproduction" of cultural IP derivatives, the plush toy market is undergoing profound changes. Brands such as MINISO, Lingna Belle, McHugs, and BubblePal, as well as innovative practices by museums and cultural tourism institutions around the world, are jointly driving the diversified development of the market and satisfying consumers' emotional and cultural needs.

As shopping malls evolve, plush toys have seen a significant rise in their spatial importance. Ten years ago, they were confined to the bottom shelf of supermarket shelves, sharing space with cleaning products. Five years ago, they entered cultural and creative stores as "healing corners," complementing aromatherapy and notebooks as therapeutic packages. Now, in the core business districts of high-tier cities, standalone stores ranging from 80 to 200 square meters are proliferating. This shift reflects a renewed understanding of the value of the emotional economy in the commercial sector.

New store formats are rewriting the retail landscape. Toy stores no longer simply sell merchandise; they create immersive shopping experiences. Through playful and warm designs, soft and comfortable color schemes, and upbeat background music, they help consumers relax and rediscover their childlike innocence.

In December 2024, MINISO LAND Chengdu opened its first store in the Chunxi Road shopping district. As the highest-level store in MINISO's brand upgrade, it features a completely redesigned image, consumer experience, and dedicated IP zones, creating the first two-story, amusement park-style shopping experience in Southwest China. Plush toys play a crucial role in attracting customers and showcasing the store's products.

The specially built "fairy tale house" in the store is filled with plush toys, and paired with warm lighting and exquisite decorations, creating a dreamy atmosphere. It not only enhances the fun and immersion of shopping, but also allows consumers to immerse themselves in the world of childlike innocence and temporarily forget the pressure and troubles of life.

Shopping malls have quietly shifted their investment strategies: in the past, they favored large-scale grocery and homeware chains, relying on a large inventory of SKUs to generate traffic and revenue. Now, realizing this strategy is failing, they are prioritizing toy brands with unique strengths in spatial design, interactive experiences, and brand culture. They partner with them through pop-up or slow-moving stores, offering prime locations like entrances and atriums for increased exposure. Stores specializing in plush toys, due to their strong emotional appeal and high interactivity, have benefited from this trend. Since 2022, plush brands have been rapidly expanding their presence on Xiaohongshu.

Trendsetting brands, with a keen sense of style, have been actively soliciting investment through Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) to identify suitable plush brands for cross-brand collaborations, making plush toys increasingly common in the market. From online promotions on Xiaohongshu to the explosive growth of offline pop-up stores, plush toys are not only synonymous with cuteness but have also become a powerful force in both consumer and brand supply. In December 2024, the American trendy toy brand Pünchkins opened its first pop-up store in China on the first floor of the BREWTOWN Beer Town East District in Shenzhen. Founded in 2022 by Steve Wampold, the brand's dolls are crafted from high-quality fabrics, felt, and thread, with weighted bottoms for upright standing. Each doll also comes with its own unique pun, making it both fun and collectible.

On January 25, 2025, the first pop-up store in China of FuRyu, a well-known Japanese two-dimensional brand, opened at the Bailian ZX Creative Center on Nanjing East Road in Shanghai. Its popular plush brand MOCHIPICO became a highlight of the pop-up store.

Earlier this year, SFSG and PLUSONE opened a joint pop-up space at 201 Anfu Road in Shanghai. The adorable plush puppies attracted many visitors, and the space also offered diverse experiences, including selecting New Year gifts and enjoying co-branded coffee.

The essence of this spatial revolution lies in the recognition by brick-and-mortar businesses of the profound value of emotional consumption. While online platforms use algorithms to deconstruct emotions, plush toy stores in shopping malls are creating warm sanctuaries for the digital age, using cotton, polyester, and delicate spatial design. Each toy sold is no longer a simple commodity, but a small spiritual refuge where urbanites find their roots.

Future top consumer brands may learn the principles of emotional economics from the disruptors of plush toys: not only occupying users' time and space, but also cultivating emotional alchemy—the most sophisticated emotional consumer products, at their core, provide tangible, contemporary spiritual comfort.

In this sense, the plush toys on Generation Z's bedside tables are fundamentally connected to the Dunhuang flying apsaras and the Sistine Madonna: they serve as external storage devices and backup devices for the human spirit. While digital immortality is still a work in progress, we have already completed our first collective soul migration using cotton and polyester.

In future shopping malls, plush toy stores may replace traditional jewelry counters as a new generation of spiritual landmarks: diamonds cannot bear witness to the weight of emotion, but a doll, warmed by caressing, may hold the most intimate memories of a person's past.