China Explained: Why are adults crazy about toys?

A Chinese animation film 'Ne Zha 2' has made international headlines during the Chinese New Year in early 2025. By raking in over $1.2 billion within two weeks, the film has become the highest-grossing film ever in China.

The 'Ne Zha' frenzy has blazed all the way to Pop Mart, a Chinese designer toy company, and a set of Ne Zha toys based on the characters in the film sold out days after being released. It was another boost to Pop Mart's already burgeoning business.

The Chinese company is now a $10 billion business, with over 500 stores and about 2,300 vending machines across the world. As of the first half of 2024, Pop Mart's annual revenue exceeded $580 million, with an impressive 62 percent year-on-year surge. Their overseas revenue increased by 259.6 percent in the first half of 2024.

How does a toy company create such a commercial miracle?

Pop Mart was founded by Chinese millennial Wang Ning in 2010. It started with a single store in Beijing. In 2016, Wang met someone who changed his life forever: Molly. The blue-eyed girl with a permanent pout was created by artist Kenny Wong.

Molly became the first IP that went viral across China. The designing of the figurines, along with the stories and emotions they carry, have echoed with the younger generations' requirement of self-expression. But that's only part of the story.

Pop Mart's success was also closely related to its 'blind box strategy'. Customers can choose any box from the stores, but they can only tear it open after making the payment. It may need a bit of luck, but it brings huge joy. 

The blind box boosted the company's growth together with Molly. Within two years, revenue jumped from $21 million in 2017 to $234 million in 2019. The Molly collection contributed to one quarter of that growth.

After the success of Molly, Pop Mart started its strategy to cooperate with more artists to expand their IP collections. And Labubu is the next successful story.

Toys bring the world together

Pop Mart remained cautious of expanding globally even with its huge success of Molly, until their next IP, Labubu, became the most popular toy in the overseas market.

The fluffy little elf has become a sensation in Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand. It was invited by the Thai Tourism Authority to visit the country. Upon its arrival, Labubu was welcomed by crowds of young people waiting at the airport. The Labubu toys triggered panic purchasing as well, with its price rising nearly 23 times at its peak. They almost equal 'social currency' for the young people around the world. Global consumers  have been chasing from store to store, just to get a Labubu.

Back in China, the enthusiastic consumers started to embrace exported toys as well. Jellycat captures millions of hearts. The company launched in London in 1999 has seen its sales grow eight-fold.

Searching on China's lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu, or widely known as Rednote, the total views of posts related to Jellycat surpassed 749 million.

Meanwhile, other toy brands such as Disney, have also seen booms during recent years in China.

According to a report by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, by the year 2026, the turnover of designer toys is predicted to reach $15.62 billion. In 2015, the number was only $890 million. Globally, from 2015 to 2024, the world's designer toy market expanded from $8.7 billion to $44.8 billion.

Behind the toys: Kidulting and beyond

The boom of the designer toys brands, be it Pop Mart, Jellycat or Lina Bell, are of course related to their strategies, but the global phenomenon of "kidulting" is an important reason as well.

In its report "The Rise of Kidulting", the economics refers to the concept of kidulting as "an escape from a bleak world", saying that when the "world feels bleak, the appeal of distraction is stronger. Meanwhile, millennials and Generation Z have found that growing up is not so easy to do."

Globally speaking, anxiety levels have surged among young adults as compared to their parents' generation. Surveys done by Gallup shows that the younger generation have been bothered by record-high negative emotions, such as stress, sadness and anger. Data released by China’s National Statistics Bureau also shows that during the first half of 2023, the unemployment rate of people aged between 16 and 24 surged to over 20 percent.

But again, kidulting is not only about anxiety. The younger generation is more willing to spend for their emotional relief as well. During the "Single's Day" online shopping frenzy, China's version of the Black Friday, nearly 40 percent of Gen-Z shoppers have spent on goods of "emotional soothing". Sales related to emotions hit $140 million within seven minutes. 

Culture matters

Meanwhile, China's cultural sector, especially the business related to innovation and IPs have been growing rapidly in recent years.

China's video game "Black Myth: Wukong" won the 2024 Game of the Year at Golden Joysticks, while the animation film "Ne Zha 2" was among the top 7 highest-grossing films of the world. Pop Mart has become one of the most successful designer toy brands.

According to a report by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, when a country's per capita GDP exceeded $10,000, the cultural sector is very likely to see a boom. That's the case with Hollywood's golden era and the booming of the Japanese animation industry. It's now happening in China.

The country's beefing up in its IP protection laws and regulations have also boosted industries related to innovation, culture, science and technology. Data by China's National Intellectual Property Administration shows that in 2023, patent-intensive industries have added at least $2 trillion to China's economy, accounting for around 13 percent of GDP.

If we go back to the Pop Mart story, innovation is always the inner source for the whole thing.

So why are adults so crazy about toys? Maybe because toys bring us comfort in a world that feels evermore confusing. They spark creativity, and build communities of people driven by the same passion.

Above all, they remind us to dream big, just like we did when we were little.

Supervisor: Mei Yan

Chief Editor: Qian Fang, Duncan Hooper

Executive Producer: Gleb Burashov

Producer: Ai Yan

Presenter: Michael Marillier

Cameraman: Benjie Croce, Tom Triebel

Video Editing: Li Ningning, Tom Triebel, Ai Yan

Motion Graphics: Ilze Juhnevica, Alexander Shields