Recently, the "doll style" is "plushing" the entire network with its soft and cute offensive. AI can open the soft and cute attack with one click. Landmarks, cultural relics, and delicacies are collectively "cute" and can also move "watery". A cute storm of "everything can be plush" is sweeping in.

In recent years, with the quiet rise of the "plush" trend, the plush market is experiencing unprecedented prosperity. According to the "2025 Plush Toy Industry Development Report" recently released by the Guangdong Toy Association, the global plush toy market size will exceed 10 billion yuan in 2024, with an annual growth rate of about 15%.

Surprisingly, it is not children who drive this craze, but "adult naughty children". Data on the distribution of the audience of plush toys show that the "post-00s" have become the largest consumer group of plush toys, accounting for 43%; the "post-90s" are closely behind, accounting for 36%.

Self-pleasure, socializing, expressing emotions, investment... These diverse needs make plush products no longer exclusive to children, but a fashion trend, and the consumer group continues to extend to adults.

In my impression, plush products are emotional compensation "exclusive" for children. Why are they also popular in the adult market? It is found that the soft touch in the hands is gradually becoming the spiritual "sugar substitute" of contemporary youth.

After punching the clock off, Qi Yue, a girl from Chengdu born in the 1990s, went straight to Tianfu Joy City. "Buy a bee bear" is her goal of this trip.

"I also gave the 'baby' a rattle and a comfort towel." Qi Yue, who chose the doll as she wished, did not forget to show off the "trophy" in her hand when chatting with reporters.

The brown bear in Qi Yue's hand, dressed in a bee costume and with cute antennae on its head, is one of the new products of the jELLYCAT2025 spring and summer series that has just been launched. Compared with the online rush sale method, Qi Yue prefers to buy in offline stores. If she is lucky, she can choose the "face" herself.

"Every time I feel bad, hugging them can heal me instantly." Answers like Qi Yue are not isolated cases.

"It's soft and feels very comfortable to touch." "You can buy happiness with a little money." "When I'm usually under a lot of pressure, I hug the doll when I get home, and I feel relieved." When asked why they buy plush toys, the reporter randomly asked several customers. Among the many answers, the most frequently asked answer is: healing and companionship.

Behind the willingness to pay for "emotional value" is a new consumption trend. The "China Consumer Trend Survey 2024" released by McKinsey shows that 64% of consumers value spiritual consumption more, and young consumers attach more importance to spiritual consumption. Plush toys, as one of the carriers of "emotional consumption", are naturally in a hot state.

With the reshaping and upgrading of AI technology in recent years, it has also injected more possibilities into emotional companionship. The Japanese company Vanguard Industries keenly captured this market demand and launched Moflin, a unique AI plush pet robot.

"I can feel its 'heartbeat' and 'trembling', as if it is a little life with flesh and blood." User Elise told reporters that with soft fur and cute bead eyes, Moflin has emotional ability like a real animal. Under such a "life narrative", these plush products are no longer simple cotton fillings, but an emotional sustenance for adults in this complex world.

Behind the opening of consumers' hearts this time is the manufacturer's accurate grasp of the psychological characteristics and living conditions of contemporary adults.

"From simple commodity transactions to emotional expression, 'big children' have found spiritual ties in plush dolls." Jin Bihua, a professor at the Department of Social Work of Zhejiang University of Technology, said that for adults, plush toys, the former childhood playmates, are no longer limited to the category of "toys", but also a way for them to express themselves and seek emotional resonance.

It can be seen that when it becomes more difficult to get comfort from "others", these soft products endowed with personality traits are rewriting the emotional connection of adults.

As the boundaries between emotions and materials are constantly broken, reporters have found that plush products can provide more in-depth narrative help.

On Xiaohongshu, the blogger "Big Fat Baby"'s notes are quite different. Lingna Bell has to catch the high-speed train today, Bingbing complains that he "doesn't want to go to school", and Shirley May is sulking because her owner gets off work late... The detailed and full character settings make the dolls in her hands vivid and specific. Under her lens, every Disney friend seems to be a real partner with personality and hobbies. With high-frequency likes and interactions, many netizens shouted in the comment area: "Painless motherhood, double happiness!" On Xiaohongshu, there are more than 3 million notes under the topic of "plush"; on Douyin, the topic of "plush toys" has been viewed more than 15.59 billion times; on Douban, the group "Plush toys also have life" has attracted nearly 50,000 members, with the slogan "Let's discuss how to raise plush babies scientifically and reasonably"... Countless adults share their "parenting" experience on Xiaohongshu, including dressing them, grooming their hair, applying blush, etc., miniaturizing reality into their plush world. Adults who "painlessly raise babies" constitute their own unique community. On the one hand, they desire the soft touch in their hands to obtain lasting emotional comfort, and on the other hand, they hope to expand their social circle with the help of interactive sharing. Another phenomenon worthy of attention is that with the influence of "like-minded" social interaction, it is realizing the leap from interest circles to high-dimensional social interaction. "If I come across a model I like, I will find a way to get it." Ms. Liu, a 27-year-old plush toy collector, said this with a firm tone and a little pride.

Looking through Ms. Liu's friend list, there are many adults who are as keen on collecting dolls as she is. In their view, accumulating such IPs can also establish a trendy personality for young people, which is a low-cost investment.

 

"Still eating! I'll take you!" This scene from "Nezha 2" has made the character image of the groundhog popular, and also made the groundhog-like Capybara popular again.

The advantage of "Yiwu Speed" lies in its keen grasp of consumer demand and its conversion into product productivity. Walking into the first area of ​​Yiwu International Trade City, there are hundreds of Capybaras of various shapes, each of which is cute and lovable.

"Capybara is the latest hot product, with a daily shipment of 5,000 to 6,000 recently." Business owner Lu Qingrong told reporters that the purchase increase of the large category of plush toys has increased significantly.

The same strong consumer demand is also reflected on e-commerce platforms. On the Taobao platform's Tao Factory, the total sales of Capybara peripheral products, mainly plush, exceeded 5 million orders.

In fact, the "out-of-circle" of Capybara dolls is not an isolated case. Not only in the toy industry, with its diverse product forms and rich cultural connotations, this "fluffy" trend has spread to a wider field.

Gansu's "spicy hot pot", Shaanxi's "roujiamo", Shanxi's "daoxiaomian", Shaoxing's "stinky tofu"... Since last year, plush toys have taken advantage of the "cultural and creative" trend, accompanied by immersive interactive experience, not only attracting many young consumer groups, but also bringing new vitality to the toy market.

At the same time, in the evolution of "everything can be plush", it also opens up ideas for companies to innovate products.

From creative DIY to enhance interaction to leveraging popular IP marketing, from applying blind box gameplay to developing functional toys, this series of innovative gameplay has infinitely broadened the boundaries of "plush + X". All of these bring premiums to plush products themselves, and at the same time can better hit the material needs of young consumers.