Jellycat selling emotions: how plush toys become an adult fad

As Christmas approached, Causeway Bay was bustling with activity, offering a dazzling array of sights. A long queue formed at Jellycat, a British soft toy shop, in the atrium of the Lane Crawford department store.

Angelina Tang Jiayue, 20, weaved around the large displays, eyeing the pink rabbit with long droopy ears, the grey smiling seal and the fluffy white lamb. She finally picked up a festive red-scarfed dachshund, which will be a Christmas present to reward herself for a year of hard work.

“Jellycat is my favorite toy brand, which is very cute-looking, and the fur is so soft and cozy,” she said. “Till now, I have three plush toys, two plush bags and three plush keychains.” 

As a devoted fan of Jellycat, Tang made a point to visit the pop-up store on its opening day in Causeway Bay.

She is not the only one captivated by Jellycat. Founded in London in 1999, Jellycat is a relatively young brand compared to toy giants like Lego and Mattel, but it has quickly gained a foothold in the market, selling emotional value to young consumers with its anthropomorphic designs featuring tiny eyes, small feet and smiling faces. 

In the past five years, Jellycat has seen a meteoric rise in global sales. In 2022, the company’s revenue was £146 million (HK$1.504 billion), and by 2023, revenue had exceeded £200 million (HK$2.06 billion), with a gross margin consistently above 60%, according to Jellycat’s financial reports. 

Jellycat’s journey in China began in 2006 with the opening of its first counter in Shanghai, and by 2015, it had entered Chinese e-commerce platforms. Since 2021, Jellycat has exploded in popularity in China, and it became the best-selling brand in China’s plush fabric category in 2024, according to the China Toy and Baby Products Association. 

On Xiaohongshu, a social media site similar to Instagram in China, there are nearly 100 million posts with the hashtag #jellycat, and over 120,000 related products are listed.

Currently, there are over 900 dolls in stock according to the official website, and it will release more than 200 limited edition toys each year in January and July, with customized backstories and personalities for each.

“Most of the toys range from HK$200 to HK$400. I’ve collected almost 30 from the desserts, vegetables, fruits and plants series, and more than ten from the animal series,” says Susie Zheng, a Jellycat fanatic from Beijing. She admitted she has spent over HK$10,000 on Jellycat items.

Jellycat plush toys are not cheap. In May of this year, a limited-edition “Rose + Plush Toy” gift set in collaboration with the French luxury art brand Beast was sold, priced from CNY520 (HK$582) to as much as CNY13,880 (HK$15577.6).

According to British toy online store Hamleys, the prices of popular limited-edition Jellycat products increased by 20% in the first half of 2023, with many everyday products seeing price hikes of around 10%. 

On Chinese second-hand platforms Xianyu, some rare Jellycat items are being resold at astronomical prices. For example, a discontinued Jellycat pencil plush is listed at CNY2,000 (HK$2,131), while a set including a small dinosaur and a small fox pencil case is priced at CNY1,488. Previously, a soft plush dog originally priced at CNY229 was resold for up to CNY3,200 after it was discontinued. 

“Jellycat is like the Hermes of the toy world,” said Tang.

Initially, Jellycat was positioned as a baby comfort toy, but its explosive popularity among young adults suggested it has evolved into an emotional toy for teenagers and young adults. 

“People who love Jellycat often see it as an emotional outlet. Even though it's expensive, we are willing to pay for it,” said Zheng. 

Zheng and her boyfriend have been in a long-distance relationship for over ten years due to work commitments. “The two Jellycat bears I have were gifts from my boyfriend when he went on business trips,” she says. “Whenever we can't see each other, these two little bears feel like he's with me.”

On a post in Xiaohongshu, Li Yu,  from Fujian, was proposed to by her boyfriend this May. “He pulled out a diamond-ring-like Jellycat plush and asked if I would accept. I said yes, thinking it was a joke,” she recalled in the post. When her boyfriend revealed the real diamond ring hidden inside the Jellycat plush, she nearly cried. “Many important moments in my life have been witnessed by Jellycat, and now there’s one more.” 

There’s a saying on the Chinese internet: “a Jellycat may be childish for kids, but it’s just right for adults.” This sentiment is wholeheartedly embraced by Natalie Tang Tszkwan

“Jellycat makes me feel that kind of happiness I experienced as a child, as if no matter how old I am, I’m still a child,” says Natalie Tang, 38. She worked as a Chinese distributor for an American skincare brand and ran her own music tutoring business in Guangzhou. Recently, she founded a fan group for Jellycat lovers in the Greater Bay Area.

“In the past, I would spend a lot of money on luxury goods, but now Jellycat is almost the only ‘luxury item’ I support. The companionship it brings is more valuable to me now,” she added. 

Psychologists call this phenomenon the “security blanket effect,” where people seek psychological comfort and security from objects, using plush toys as imaginary companions to alleviate stress, which is known as “soft object attachment,” according to a research from BCP Business & Management. 

“From a social need perspective, Jellycat provides emotional value to adults,” said Chen Peng, an honorary research associate of marketing and business at the University of Hong Kong. “Many young people are living independently, away from their parents and without significant others, but people still have the need to connect with others. When there’s no one specific around, people tend to engage with anthropomorphized objects like Jellycat.” 

Chen also said that people have social needs to connect with others. “When your friends are all into something, you might get curious and want to try it too,” he said.

Angelina Tang initially bought her first Jellycat plush because of its popularity online. “At first, it was partly because of a ‘following the trend’ mentality,” she said. “It seemed like something I could talk about with others, showcasing a shared interest.”

“Jellycat seems to represent a well-off, urban girl who values life,” she added.

“I have friends who earn only a few thousand yuan a month, and they’ll spend over 500 yuan on a plush toy. Do you think they can’t afford it? They’ll tighten their belts to buy it,” said Natalie Tang. “But I wouldn’t believe they do it purely out of love without any vanity.”

Chen said Jellycat shares many similarities with luxury goods in terms of consumer behaviours, but it is more affordable, yet still provides similar social effects in terms of status and social circles. “It’s another kind of emotional value,” he said, “regarding how consumers expect their social image to be perceived and maintaining bonds within their social circles.”

According to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness economy has reached a new peak of US$6.3 trillion (HK$49.45 trillion) in 2023 and is projected to grow to nearly US$9.0 trillion (HK$70.65 trillion) by 2028. Young people play a central role in this “paying for emotions” economy. 

“Since the intensified competition and the enormous pressure from study and seeking jobs, I’m increasingly willing to pay for my own emotions and wellness,” said Angelina Tang.

According to statistics from the China Toy and Baby Products Association, Gen Z is the largest consumer group of plush toys, accounting for 43%, followed closely by people born in the 1990s, who make up 36%. 

In 2014, Jellycat shifted its brand positioning from baby comfort toys to a high-end gift brand for all ages. William Gatacre, co-founder of Jellycat, once said in an interview with The MBS Group: "We are not making toys; we are creating pieces that evoke emotional resonance."

In October of this year, Jellycat launched a coffee house themed pop-up store in Shanghai. The store employees dressed as coffee shop staff and used Jellycat plush toys to simulate the full process of food preparation, checkout and packaging, mimicking a real coffee shop experience.

“It’s like the games we played as children pretending to run a family,” said Zheng. “As an adult, it’s been a long time since I’ve experienced such childish joy.”

Natalie Tang, who created a Jellycat fan group in the Greater Bay Area repetitively, provided a platform for fans to share information about new releases, grab limited-edition items, and assist with purchasing. “For example, the recent opening of the pop-up store in Causeway Bay sold Hong Kong-exclusive plush toys, and we share information like this in the group, helping with purchasing,” she said, “and there is indeed some markup involved.”

“Thousands of people are fighting to get them, and when I manage to get one and you don’t, it feels like I’ve won against so many others,” Zheng said. “They (Jellycat company) know exactly how to tap into people’s psychology.”

“This is their scarcity marketing,  and as fans, we accept their rules,” Zheng added.

A Shanghai netizen named "fattweedledee” openly expressed her frustration with Jellycat’s scarcity marketing. “They release new products quickly, then take them down quickly, and whatever’s unsold goes to the second-hand market to be inflated. It’s like they’re mocking 

Although paying for emotions might seem like a way of tricking consumers and Jellycat’s pretend play concept may seem like a farce to some, in Angelina Tang's mind, for those who believe they can buy happiness, a higher price is not an issue.

“I know many people think it’s silly,” she said, “but I still want to take care of that child inside me—the one who is trying to be an adult and face life bravely.”