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Austin Zhang

What is a Jellycat and why are people queuing up, for hours at a time, to buy one?
Founded in 1999 in London, England, Jellycat is a soft-toy company that produces plush toys, or plushies, ranging from animals like cats to food items such as croissants to objects like cassette tapes.
People young and old are falling in love with the cute and fun designs, even though they do not come cheap. In Hong Kong, for example, a selection of Jellycats at a pop-up store in the Lane Crawford department store in Causeway Bay cost HK$265-HK$2,265 (US$34-US$290).
Still, there is no shortage of demand for these cuddly toys, with some fans treating them as a form of investment – especially the rarer ones.

What makes a Jellycat soft toy so special?
Comments left on social media platforms suggest many appreciate the therapeutic value of Jellycat soft toys.
One poster on Xiaohongshu, China’s Instagram-like platform, wrote: “When I buy a Jellycat toy and feel comforted when I hug it and touch it, the value it brings to me far exceeds its price.”
One user of social news website Reddit wrote: “Huge range of different kind of plushies. Literally, animals, mushrooms. Super cute. Full of personality – it is VERY important for me. Different, high quality fabrics. Such a feeling of comfort, when I hug them.”
“There is so much emotional value they can provide,” said a user of Chinese microblogging site Weibo. “Besides that, I did not have the opportunity to buy those cute plushies when I was a kid, and now I think I’m just giving back to my childhood.”

The company has its own theories about the Jellycat toys’ popularity. “Perhaps it is the way they sit in your hand, the expression that speaks a thousand words or the feeling of holding one close to you. The answer is different for everyone,” says the company on its website.
Jellycats’ popularity has been growing steadily in Asia. According to Chinese consumer e-commerce platform Tmall, Jellycat was its bestselling soft toy sales during its Singles’ Day shopping campaign on November 11.
Jellycat pop-up store, until February 2025. Lane Crawford, Shop 211 – 212, Times Square, 1 Matheson Street, Causeway Bay


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Retailing

Why are Jellycat plushies so popular? ‘I’m just giving back to my childhood,’ says one fan

Jellycat soft toys at a pop-up store in Lane Crawford’s Causeway Bay store in Hong Kong. What makes Jellycat toys so universally loved? Photo: Austin Zhang

A Jellycat pop-up store in the Lane Crawford store in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Photo: Austin Zhang

Jellycat soft toys at its pop-up store in the Lane Crawford store in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. People young and old have fallen in love with the cute and fun designs. Photo: Austin Zhang

Pop-up grocery sells Hong Kong specialities, from instant noodles to an exclusive beer

Kowloon Flour Mills, the only surviving flour mill in the city, celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. Photo: Handout

More than 20 Hong Kong brands are featured at the Kellett Island Grocery pop-up store in Hysan Place, Causeway Bay. Photo: Kellett Island Grocery

Fred Cheng is the driving force behind Kellett Island Grocery, which sells local speciality products. Photo: Handout

Wing Lok Noodle Factory, which has been around since 1976, has transformed traditional noodle-making by infusing soup directly into the noodles. Photo: Handout

Young Master’s limited edition beer Luna, named after the previous head brewer’s daughter, is now sold exclusively at the pop-up with a redesigned label by local artist Katol Lo. Photo: Handout

Kowloon Flour Mills, the only surviving flour mill in the city, celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. Its products are sold in the grocery pop-up. Photo: Handout

New collecting craze goes viral in China. It involves mushrooms, with Yunnan the hotspot

A woman poses with her mushroom collection in a forest near Beijing. Mushroom foraging has become a new viral hobby in China. Photo: Xiaohongshu

A Xiaohongshu post shows the user with the mushrooms they have found. Photo: Xiaohongshu

Posts on Xiaohongshu see people asking “Can I eat this?”. Photo: Xiaohongshu

What’s with the Stanley cup craze? Trendy water bottles from the Hydro Flask to the Owala, and what your choice says about you

The water bottle you carry around with you says a lot about you – at least, according to social media. Photo: TNS

Kimora Johnson with a Stanley cup outside her high school in California. Photo: TNS

Leslie Compean shows off her Hydro Flask. Photo: TNS

Compean’s bottle was a gift from her sister for the holidays. Photo: TNS

Priscilla Ramirez packs a Hydrapeak water bottle she bought because it keeps her water cold. Photo: TNS

Why is everyone buying New Balance sneakers? The ‘dad shoe’ is right on trend, has had high-profile collaborations and was worn at the Fifa World Cup

Young sneakerheads have been drawn of late to New Balance sneakers, such as its 580 model (above), belying its image as a “dad shoe” brand. 

A New Balance 550 shoe. Sneaker resale site StockX reported that New Balance was among the top five bestselling brands on Black Friday last year.

New Balance 580 sneakers. The history of New Balance dates back to 1906.

New Balance 550 sneakers. The 550 was created for basketball players.

Apple founder Steve Jobs at an event in San Francisco in 2010. Jobs was often spotted wearing New Balance sneakers. Photo: Getty Images

A pair of New Balance 550s. Subcultures such as gorpcore and normcore have helped New Balance become trendy.

New Balance’s Aimé Leon Dore x 550 sneakers.

The New Balance 1906R shoe.

A collaboration with Italian menswear brand Stone Island has seen New Balance release a football boot worn at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

A pair of New Balance 808 sneakers.

New Balance 650 kicks. There has been a more than 800 per cent year-on-year increase in searches for the silhouette.

Lifestyle

Entertainment

They are squishy, cuddly – and pricey – and come in all different shapes and sizes. What makes a Jellycat plush toy so universally loved?
