Inside the rise of Gen Z’s plush-toy craze as they delay adulthood

Christmas is just around the corner and if you’re a stuck on what to gift your Gen Z family members, a cuddly plush toy might be the answer this year.

2025 has proved that toys are not just for kids, as more young adults show off extensive collections of plushies. Experts say it signals a longing for community and a return to childhood.

The popularity has been driven by a manic craze for Labubu dolls — collectible toys produced by Chinese toy company Pop Mart — as well as for soft toys, also known as “Jellies,” designed by British brand Jellycat.

Brightly coloured stuffed animals and wide-eyed dolls can be seen lined up on walls or falling out of overstuffed shelves, in videos posted by Gen Z on TikTok.

The platform — which has become a barometer for Gen Z trends — is currently home to millions of videos showing young adults obsessed with plushies.

Videos range from building a “Labubu wall,” to hacks on finding authentic Labubus, or a five-rack shelf dedicated to displaying Jellies.

“It’s the biggest year we’ve ever seen of adults buying toys,” Melissa Symonds, U.K. toys director at global consumer insights firm Circana, told CNBC Make It in an interview.

“Adults of all ages do buy into toys, but it’s primarily the younger, the Gen Z people, that are really driving this strong growth that we’ve had in the last few years,” Symonds said.

In fact, a recent Circana report found that 43% of U.K. adults bought a toy for themselves or another adult this year, and that rises to 76% for Gen Z shoppers between the ages of 18 to 34-years-old.

Across toy genres, plushies are the fourth most popular category for adults, with games and puzzles ranking top, following by building sets like LEGO, and action figures coming in at third place, according to data from Circanca shared with CNBC.

It’s a similar story across the pond, with sales of licenced toys increasing by 18% for U.S. adults over the age of 18 in the first half of the year, per Circana.

Symonds explained that businesses are tapping into what’s called the “joy economy” in which consumers seek out comfort and nostalgia in products and experiences, especially when faced with economic or political pressures.

“The economy, the wars, everything is really depressing and serious, whereas toys just bring a little bit of joy back into life,” Symonds said. 

Pop Mart and Jellycat have benefitted from that trend. Pop Mart posted a near 400% surge in net profit in the first half of the year, and its revenue jumped 204.4% year on year to 13.88 billion yuan ($1.93 billion).

In 2024, roughly $423 million of the company’s global revenue came from Labubu dolls alone, Pop Mart previously told CNBC Make It.

Meanwhile, Jellycat saw its revenue rise 66% to £333 million in 2024, up from £200 million in 2023. Its profit before tax more than doubled to £139 million, up from £67 million the prior year.

“Seeing the response across multiple generations to our new characters has been wonderful,” Jellycat’s CEO Arnaud Meysselle said in a statement to CNBC.

“It’s been amazing to meet so many adults discovering Jellycat for the first time at our recent experience launches in Beijing, Seoul, and Los Angeles — and to welcome many others into our online communities,” Meysselle said.

Fans of Jellycat, Labubu, and plushies in general span from corporate workers to military personnel who tout the benefits the toys have on their mental health on TikTok, as they grapple with increasingly stressful adult lives.

Circana’s Symonds said that this is a symptom of the “Peter Pan effect” which refers to a psychological syndrome where adults struggle to grow up and take on responsibilities.

“There’s almost this irony that when you’re a kid, you can’t wait to grow up, but then when you’re an adult, you realize that being a kid was the best time of your life,” she said.

“There’s a bit of that Peter Pan effect where they [Gen Z consumers] don’t want to grow up, but I think it’s just holding on to that joy element that brings them happiness.”

Gen Z adults have had it fairly rough as a generation as…