‘Kidult’ Toys Turn Nostalgia Into Viral Growth
‘Kidult’ toy brands are gaining increased popularity, shown not just in their rising profits, but in their online presence and social engagement. Companies such as British toy brand ‘Jellycat’ and Chinese toy brand ‘POP MART’–known best for Labubus–are connecting with adults trying to reconnect with their “inner child” or are feeling a bit nostalgic for childlike playfulness.
‘Kidult’ toys, specifically Labubus, have become a TikTok sensation and status symbol over the last year. A part of POP MART’s “blindboxes”, both adults and children love to “unbox” their new toy on camera, creating this surge of blindbox content. However, Labubus aren’t the only blindbox collectible to reach popularity–Skullpandas and Sonny Angels have also joined Jellycats and Labubus as the new ‘kidult’ collectible fixation.
According to Tubular Labs, in 2024, “Labubu” TikToks got 5.1B views in total. In 2025, that number grew almost five times as much, with 24.1B views to date.
- Volume of TikTok videos even grew, with 53.5k “Labubu” TikTok videos uploaded in 2024 increasing to 360k videos in 2025.
- Engagement rate increased by 71.8% from 2024 to 2025, but views per video decreased by 29.3k.
- “Jellycat” TikTok videos also increased, with 28k videos uploaded in 2024 and 52.3k videos uploaded in 2025.
- “Blindbox” TikTok videos increased by 252% year over year, from 3,380 uploaded in 2024 to 11.9K in 2025. Views also surged from 184M in 2024 to 563M in 2025.
POP MART has even amassed a following in recent years, with their 1.6M cumulative followers on TikTok in 2024 almost doubling, surpassing 2.5M followers as of late. Their Instagram viewership reached a high on Aug 22 of over 1M views, with their top performing post a teaser launch of the new Labubu MONSTERS Big Into Energy Series.
The explosive growth of Labubu and blindbox content highlights how brands like POP MART and Jellycat are winning with social-driven brand building. Their success is not just based on sales, but rather on community engagement and creative, organic content. With each unboxing video comes audience momentum, building a global fanbase of adults searching for that sense of nostalgia.
