In 2025, the global consumer market continues to witness a business phenomenon sparked by "toy consumption." Represented by China’s trendy toy company Pop Mart and the UK’s plush toy brand Jellycat, the "adult toy economy" has not only led to soaring profits but also reflects deeper shifts in the consumer mentality and societal structural changes in the new era.

Explosive Performance: Profit Growth Far Exceeds Industry Average

According to the latest financial reports: Pop Mart’s net profit in the first half of 2025 surged nearly 400%, with revenue reaching approximately 13.88 billion RMB (about 1.93 billion USD), more than doubling compared to the same period last year. The core character Labubu series alone contributed about 423 million USD to global revenue in 2024. Jellycat’s annual revenue in 2024 increased by 66% to approximately 333 million GBP (about 3.2 billion RMB), and its pre-tax profit doubled from 67 million GBP to 139 million GBP.

Not only was the scale of growth impressive, but gross margin performance was equally remarkable: Jellycat’s gross margin reached nearly 70%, comparable to that of high-end consumer goods, far surpassing the traditional toy industry average.

These figures suggest that compared to traditional enterprises that rely solely on utility consumption, brands focusing on emotional and community experiences are enjoying near-explosive growth dividends.

Consumer Trend: From "Buying Toys" to "Buying Emotions"

The explosive performance of Pop Mart and Jellycat first reflects a shift in consumer demand. In recent years, against the backdrop of rising macroeconomic uncertainty and increasing pressures on young people’s lives, consumer demands have gradually shifted from functional and cost-effective products to emotional value and psychological returns. Toys are no longer just for children; they have been imbued with meanings of companionship, healing, and self-expression, becoming a core component of the "happiness economy" and emotional consumption.

At the same time, this type of consumption has a clear social attribute. Pop Mart strengthens collecting and sharing behavior through blind box mechanisms and IP serialization, while Jellycat, with its unique design and tactile experience, generates high viral content on social media platforms. For many young consumers, purchasing trendy toys or plush toys is not only a form of emotional release but also a way to enter a specific social circle and gain a sense of belonging.

Business Model Innovation and Global Expansion

From a business perspective, the profit growth of Pop Mart and Jellycat is not simply based on expanding sales but is built on clear business models. Pop Mart has established a stable repurchase mechanism through IP incubation, limited releases, and periodic new product launches, allowing a single IP to continue contributing revenue and effectively raising overall gross margins.

Jellycat, on the other hand, elevates plush toys from traditional low-price categories by using high-quality fabrics and differentiated designs, creating a premium space. Despite fluctuations in raw material and logistics costs, Jellycat has maintained high profitability, demonstrating its enhanced brand pricing power. The continued expansion of both companies in overseas markets has further amplified the scale effect, providing new sources of incremental profit growth.

Social Phenomenon Reflection: The Intersection of Emotional Compensation and Consumption Upgrading

From a broader perspective, the rise of Pop Mart and Jellycat reflects that emotional compensation consumption is becoming a common phenomenon. As traditional long-term goals like home ownership and marriage are increasingly delayed, young people are more inclined to seek immediate satisfaction and psychological stability through small, low-cost, and highly certain purchases.

The trendy toys and plush toys no longer just carry the product itself; they have become emotional symbols and cultural expressions. The rapid growth of this consumption suggests that consumption upgrading is transitioning from "material improvement" to a competition stage focused on "mental and emotional value," also providing brands with higher-value imagination space.

The Consumption Shift Behind the Profit Surge

The profit surge of Pop Mart and Jellycat is not merely an impressive performance indicator but a microcosm of global consumption trends and social psychological changes. It reflects the immediate satisfaction demands of young consumers under economic pressure, and showcases the deep influence of emotional economics, community culture, and brand IP value on the new era of consumption.

In the future, whether this phenomenon will extend to other product categories, and how to continuously build emotional value and brand loyalty, will be topics worth关注 by the industry in the next phase.