Squishmallows are a new trend to come to the market. They are soft, and almost marshmallow feeling, plushies—hence the name. Squishmallows have been discussed in over 11 billion videos on TikTok. The rise of Squishmallows is often compared to the rise in popularity of Beanie Babies.
In research done by Circana, a market research company, it stated that Squishmallows have been placed in popularity next to Lego, Barbie and Hot Wheels. The quick growth is not because of a clever marketing campaign. Jazwares, the company that owns Squishmallows, never did an advertisement campaign for Squishmallows. The popularity of Squishmallows came naturally. Influencers on TikTok talked about these plushes and the buyers came.
The brand began at KellyToy, the brand that created Squishmallows. They were later bought by Jazwares. Sunny Cho, who was a designer at KellyToy, was coming up with designs for the new fabric she had found. She wanted to make a “Japanese-style” plush. The first “squad” of Squishmallows was released in 2017. People immediately clicked with Squishmallows. James Zahn, who is the Editor In Chief of the trade publication the “Toy Book”, said, “part of the initial appeal of Squishmallows was the fact that they were a little harder to get.”
A pandemic can be stressful—many kids felt anxious and scared. Squishmallows blew up during the pandemic because kids found them calming, and parents were willing to buy them because of their reasonable prices. A 7-8 inch Squishmallow costs around 5-8 dollars. Zahn said, “it’s not uncommon for toy sales to do well during economic and social turmoil.”
However, unlike other plush brands, Squishmallows have an adult fanbase, as well as a young clientele. People in their 20s and 30s are buying Squishmallows because they feel good when they have a Squishmallow. A 27 year old named Nick, whose last name was not revealed for career purposes, said “It’s similar to the feeling of winning at a slot machine.” Nancy Ferrell was gifted a couple Squishmallows when she was recovering from a surgery. Her and her wife now have about 200 Squishmallows. Ferrell said, “it brings joy.”
Squishmallows each have their own name and a bio. One example of this is Aligail, the Cupcake. Her bio is, “Aligail helps ‘Mallows with all their vacation needs! She’s a longtime travel agent who loves to personalize every trip, and even prepares a special booklet of important info every ‘Mallow needs while traveling. Be sure to stop by Aligail’s office around a holiday – she dresses up for the occasion all week!” Some Squishmallows are appealing simply because of their bios. Nadia Lindstrom bought a “sort of sad-looking” Squishmallow merely because of its bio. Lindstrom recalled when she saw the Squishmallow, named Shep, she said “okay, he’s coming home with me.”
Carter Kench is an influencer that has content which solely surrounds Squishmallows. He has about 430 Squishmallows. While the want for rare Squishmallows are present in die-hard fans, they are also very helpful to other fans who are trying to find similar Squishmallows. Kench remarked, that the Squishmallow community was a welcoming and friendly, a “special love.”
In research done by Circana, a market research company, it stated that Squishmallows have been placed in popularity next to Lego, Barbie and Hot Wheels. The quick growth is not because of a clever marketing campaign. Jazwares, the company that owns Squishmallows, never did an advertisement campaign for Squishmallows. The popularity of Squishmallows came naturally. Influencers on TikTok talked about these plushes and the buyers came.
The brand began at KellyToy, the brand that created Squishmallows. They were later bought by Jazwares. Sunny Cho, who was a designer at KellyToy, was coming up with designs for the new fabric she had found. She wanted to make a “Japanese-style” plush. The first “squad” of Squishmallows was released in 2017. People immediately clicked with Squishmallows. James Zahn, who is the Editor In Chief of the trade publication the “Toy Book”, said, “part of the initial appeal of Squishmallows was the fact that they were a little harder to get.”
A pandemic can be stressful—many kids felt anxious and scared. Squishmallows blew up during the pandemic because kids found them calming, and parents were willing to buy them because of their reasonable prices. A 7-8 inch Squishmallow costs around 5-8 dollars. Zahn said, “it’s not uncommon for toy sales to do well during economic and social turmoil.”
However, unlike other plush brands, Squishmallows have an adult fanbase, as well as a young clientele. People in their 20s and 30s are buying Squishmallows because they feel good when they have a Squishmallow. A 27 year old named Nick, whose last name was not revealed for career purposes, said “It’s similar to the feeling of winning at a slot machine.” Nancy Ferrell was gifted a couple Squishmallows when she was recovering from a surgery. Her and her wife now have about 200 Squishmallows. Ferrell said, “it brings joy.”
Squishmallows each have their own name and a bio. One example of this is Aligail, the Cupcake. Her bio is, “Aligail helps ‘Mallows with all their vacation needs! She’s a longtime travel agent who loves to personalize every trip, and even prepares a special booklet of important info every ‘Mallow needs while traveling. Be sure to stop by Aligail’s office around a holiday – she dresses up for the occasion all week!” Some Squishmallows are appealing simply because of their bios. Nadia Lindstrom bought a “sort of sad-looking” Squishmallow merely because of its bio. Lindstrom recalled when she saw the Squishmallow, named Shep, she said “okay, he’s coming home with me.”
Carter Kench is an influencer that has content which solely surrounds Squishmallows. He has about 430 Squishmallows. While the want for rare Squishmallows are present in die-hard fans, they are also very helpful to other fans who are trying to find similar Squishmallows. Kench remarked, that the Squishmallow community was a welcoming and friendly, a “special love.”
