Why soft toys are the new Pokémon cards

From people physically fighting in supermarkets over Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot toys to £20,000 worth of Jellycats being stolen just last month, it’s clear Gen Z’s soft toy craze isn’t a passing fad; it’s a full-blown cultural movement says Herman Dias, senior creative, NewGen.

Plushies, for those out of the loop, are cuddly collectibles sought-after by older demographics. TikTok hashtags have played a big role in their popularity as retailers such as Selfridges host pop-up shops featuring brands like Jellycat and Squishmallows.

As a Millennial, I can’t quite wrap my head around it. After all, isn’t it just a cuddly toy? Something to sit on a shelf or a bed and maybe gather dust?

While I might not understand the appeal, for Gen Z, plushies clearly represent something far deeper. 

They're not just toys, they're physical manifestations of their favourite brands. 

In a world that lives online, it’s their internet culture made tangible, personified and brought to life in plush form.

Where we had posters and band merch, they have Jellycats and Froggos. It’s emotional and, above all, it’s incredibly marketable.

Pepsi is the latest brand to jump on the craze with its latest launch, the Pepsi Plushie. 

And once again, while I’m not necessarily a fan of soft toys myself, I’ve seen countless Gen Zers go absolutely mad for them. In conclusion, as a Millennial, there are simply some things I may never fully understand—but perhaps that’s the point. 

Each generation finds its own symbols of comfort, connection, and identity. For Gen Z, it happens to come in the form of soft, wide-eyed plushies that feel like extensions of their digital lives. And maybe that’s not so strange after all.