Chinese novelties firm looking for different growth path from Pop Mart
In a shopping mall in Hopson One Mall in Yangpu district, Shanghai, hundreds of visitors line up at a popup store. They are drawn by a popular item — squishy cake toys — colorful, foam squeezables designed for stress relief and fashion statements. Unlike ultra-squishy toys, this item has a firmer foam texture, great for office desk decor, party gifts or relieving work and school pressure for both kids and adults alike.
The squishy cake toy comes in a variety of scrumptious shapes — strawberry, cherry, croissant and mushroom. Each of them is priced at around 25 yuan ($3.7).
"I bought three squishy cake toys today. I like the soft touch of the toys. It is very stress-relieving," said Zhang Le, a 30-year-old designer in Shanghai.
"I took my daughter to the pop-up store here. She likes squishy cake toys very much. She often shares the toys with her classmate. I bought five for her and one for myself. I can put the squishy cake toy on my office desk. It puts me in a good mood," said Cheng Yuqi, a 45-year-old mother in Shanghai.
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Since July, another style of squishy cake toys produced by Shanghai local brand Molynk have gone viral on TikTok. Related videos have already topped 180 million views. The product, priced at 299 yuan, sold out soon after its global debut, with 5,000 units purchased.
The toys have become so popular that a large number of tourists from Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand are paying special visits to China, dragging their suitcases to offline stores in Shanghai for shopping trips. After these tourists return to their home countries, even if they resell their products at double or even higher prices, the products are still highly sought after by local consumers, as reported by Xinmin.cn.
At a soft rubber toy factory in Zhejiang province's Yiwu, located some 300 kilometers from Shanghai, millions of "freshly baked" bun-shaped decompression toys are about to board a truck bound for Ningbo Zhoushan Port, crossing mountains and waterways to Europe and North America.
The latest data released by the General Administration of Customs of China showed that the total export value of Chinese toys in the first half was $15.6 billion, with some markets showing a recovery trend.
Behind this evolving phenomenon of exports is a synergy of multiple factors, such as "China-Chic" design breakthroughs, mature supply chain support, global layout acceleration and the enduring and increasing appeal of emotional consumption.
In recent years, the global emotional consumption market has continued to heat up, and stress relieving games and items have formed a billion dollar gold mine. According to the Global Stress Relief Toy Special Report issued by Verified Market Research, the global stress relief toy market is expected to reach $6.26 billion by 2026, and is projected to surpass $8.96 billion by 2030.
Li Weiqing, founder and CEO of Molynk — one of the producers of squishy cake toys — said: "Since our establishment, the brand has aimed for a global layout. This may be different from Pop Mart, which was born in China and gradually achieved globalization with later development. When we were founded, we deployed branch offices in the United States, Japan and Spain, with Shanghai as our headquarters."
Li Yun, general manager of Unie Toys in Minhang district, Shanghai, said: "We found the soft, colorful squishy cake toys well-received by consumers, both kids and adults. With the accelerated pace of modern life, people are increasingly placing emphasis on things that offer emotional value."
Dong Peng, an independent senior analyst, said: "Shanghai squishy cake toys have gone from low-end OEM to cross-border hard currency, essentially completing the cognitive upgrade from 'emotional consumer goods' to 'cultural symbol carriers', no longer relying on simple price differences, but on precise translation and efficient supply of contemporary people's emotional needs."
Contact the writers at zhengyiran@chinadaily.com.cn
