This holiday season’s ‘it’ animal? Capybaras

Trendy animals and animal-like creatures aren’t a new retail phenomenon; think the talking Teddy Ruxpin toys of the 1980s or Furby and Beanie Babies a decade later. But industry experts say social media is amplifying which animals are hot – or not.

Richard Derr is a regional manager of speciality toy store chain Learning Express Toys and owns a franchise in Illinois, United States. He said, “It’s really TikTok, Instagram and other social media platforms that allow these characters or animals to blow up like crazy.”

Social media is also speeding up the cycle. Must-buy animals may only last a season before something new captures customers’ imaginations.

Consumers are seeking out increasingly exotic species that they see in online videos, games and films. Highland cows, red pandas and axolotls, a type of salamander native to Mexico, have all popped up in popular culture. According to Google Trends, searches for axolotls shot up in June 2021 after Minecraft added them to its game.

“Nobody knew what an axolotl was in 2020,” Derr said. “Now, everybody knows axolotls.”

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Cassandra Clayton, a Vermont Teddy Bear Company product designer, said rising sales to adults are also fuelling the demand for unique and collectable plush toys.

“Stuffed animals are really becoming an ageless item,” she said. “Especially with the boom of self-care in adults and turning towards comfort objects to help de-stress and relax in your life.”

Clayton expects demand for unusual stuffed animals to continue to grow. Among the oddest she has seen is a stuffed version of a water bear, a type of microorganism known as a moss piglet or a tardigrade.

“It doesn’t necessarily inspire you to cuddle with them, but you’re really seeing the industry start turning towards those characters,” she said. “I think that’s the next trend.”

Figuring out the next “it” animal – or microorganism – is challenging for toymakers.

“You never know exactly when they’re going to hit and how big they’re going to be,” said Sharon Price John, the president and CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop, an American chain of nearly 500 stores that offers an expanding catalogue of animals and characters for customers to customise, including capybaras and axolotls.

John said the Missouri-based company watches social media and gets ideas from talking to store employees and patrons. She said it usually takes Build-A-Bear up to a year to introduce a new stuffed toy, but the company can move faster if it spots a trend. It sometimes tests a small batch online to make sure a trend is sticking, John said.

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Annual trade shows in Asia, Germany and elsewhere are another place to spot new trends. Punirunes – digital, interactive pets that also come in plush varieties – are big in Japan right now and is likely to take off in the US, toy store owner Derr said.

“Here, I can’t give them away. They’re too new. But give it a year or two,” he said.

Companies can kick off their trends too. Build-A-Bear’s Spring Green Frog, introduced in 2020, was an immediate hit thanks to videos posted by customers. It remains popular, with nearly 2 million sold, John said.

John suspects people are drawn to friendly, slow-moving capybaras because watching videos of them is relaxing.

But shoppers who want one need to act fast. A Build-A-Bear holiday capybara with red and green sprinkles on its fur – dubbed a “cookiebara” – has already sold out, she said.