British woman are forking out thousands of pounds on a cuddly toy trend that has swept the internet.
Jellycats, a British toy company, was founded by brothers Thomas and William Gatacre in 1999 – around the same time as American businessman Ty Warner introduced the world to Beanie Babies that became the world’s first Internet sensation.
Nearly three decades later, videos of women finding, unboxing, and cherishing their pricey Jellycats – available in a dizzying array of shapes, characters, and objects – are flooding TikTok, making these plush toys the world’s most recent online fad.
‘Sometimes you just need a giant Jellycat,’ one TikTok user captioned a video of her dancing with a Silver Bashful Bunny – estimated to be worth £225.
Multiple creators have posted their hauls, or shared clips of themselves unwrapping these plushies on social media – with hundreds of thousands of posts under the hashtag #Jellycat on TikTok and Instagram.
A Jellycat could, in fact, represent one of many things. From food and drink items such as the ‘Toastie Vivacious Red Aubergine’ and ‘Sassy Sushi Egg’, to farm yard animals like the ‘Cluny Cockerel’, fantastical creatures like the ‘Lavender Dragon’, and everyday objects like coffee cups and salt and pepper shakers.
Their creators breathe life into these Jellycats by giving them personality traits, such as ‘Amuseable’ or ‘Bashful’, or quirky names like ‘Fergus Frog’ or ‘Isobel Chihuahua’.
And, at the time of writing, most Jellycats – typically priced between £12 and £200 – are out of stock.
Beanie Babies may soon be dethroned as the world’s most collectible stuffed toy against the rise of the Jellycat. One TikTok user shows off her collection in a still from one of her posts above
Nearly three decades since Jellycat started making its signature toys, videos of women finding, unboxing, and cherishing their pricey plushies – available in a dizzying array of shapes, characters, and objects – are flooding TikTok
Sales of Jellycats at Selfridges are up 215 per cent, according to The Telegraph
Over the past two years, the popularity of Jellycats has surged among millennials and GenZ buyers, with Glimpse estimating a whopping 135 per cent increase in interest about the brand in 2024.
According to Jellycat’s latest filing with Companies House, revenue rose 37 per cent to £200 million in the 12 months to 31 December 2023 – with pre-tax profit up 24 per cent to £67 million.
In addition to the high quality of its luxury products, Jellycat’s market value has also been bolstered by its celebrity clientele – including Princess Charlotte, who is the proud owner of a Fuddlewuddle dog, Kylie Jenner, who endorsed the brand and its line of ‘Vivacious’ vegetable toys in 2020, and ‘big, big Jellycat customer’ Bill Nighy.
The surge in demand has translated into crazed auctions on resale websites like eBay with where resellers list rare, limited-edition plushies that have since been retired by the toymaker for eyewatering sums running into the thousands.
The brand’s limited edition, three-piece Harrod’s collaboration, comprising the Cheryl Cherry Cake, Seb Teacup and Vicky Teapot, is advertised for £239.99 ‘or the best offer’ on the site at the time of writing.
The three-tiered cake plushie originally retailed for £44.95, according to London World, and quickly went out of stock.
A special edition of one of Jellycat’s most popular releases, the Bashful Bunny, has been listed for £2,350.
As a justification for the extortionate price tag, its advertiser writes: ‘Dixie was part of the 2014 ‘Safari sensation’ limited edition and now it is a retired highly desired collectable. Never been played with it, only displayed.
One TikTok creator revealed she found a discontinued Jellycat for £490 on a resale website
‘The bunny itself is in excellent condition and still has both the original paper tags attached to it’s ears. Extremely rare and hard to find in this condition.’
‘This Jellycat was £490,’ one TikTok creator, who goes by the name @meggoldberger, tells her followers in a video titled ‘The most expensive Jellycat I’ve bought (to date)’ – indicating she has no plans to stop collecting rare Jellycats.
‘It was originally listed at £490, including postage and packaging,’ she continues, while holding a toy wrapped in a pink cover.
The creator then reveals how she waited for the seller to drop the price to £1430 until she could afford her latest Jellycat, before adding she paid for it using her earnings on Vinted – the internet’s favourite online ‘thrift shop’.
She finally unveils her latest acquisition as the ‘Amuseable Ice Cream’ Jellycat ‘in size huge’ that features a squishy waffle cone and and an ‘ice cream hat’ layered with strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate flavours.
One Jellycat collector told The Telegraph ‘these scalping prices are a joke’, while commenting on resellers buying up Jellycat stock to capitalise on the brand’s massive popularity.
Speaking to the newspaper, Kent-based toy store owner Nicola Kent said: ‘Jellycat keeps supply really tight as well, and die-hard fans know that if they don’t buy lines as they launch, they may not get a second chance.
‘Sadly, there are customers who take advantage of the scarcity and buy to resell at massively inflated prices on auction sites.’
A range of Jellycats on display
The burgeoning resale market for Jellycats is ‘rubbing people a lot of people up the wrong way’, an enthusiast added – speaking specifically about how quickly the Harrod’s Cheryl Cherry Cake disappeared from shelves following its launch.
The Times’ Money Mentor recently evaluated whether Jellycats are worth investing in, with the outlet noting that ‘their popularity as a collector’s item means that if you pick the right toy – and treat it well – you could end up selling them for far more than you bought them for’.
Much like the Beanie Babies – a kid’s toy that found popularity among people of all ages – with some variants like the Princess Diana bear beanie baby and the cockatoo beanie baby named Ty earning six-figure price tags on auction sites.
In an interview with The Sun, toy and games expert Peter Jenkinson picked out the Jellycats he thinks will see the greatest return-on-investment in the years to come.
He chose the Snowdragon, Sandcastle, Fish and Chips, and the Bartholomew Bear Backpack as the designs most likely to fetch a decent return, adding: ‘It’s always best to keep on the tag if you want to maintain any value.’
But for a large number of the brand’s grown-up consumers, a Jellycat is so much more than just a piggybank.
For some, it is a source of comfort or an antidote to their anxieties, while other grown-ups seek out high-quality stuffed toys for their aesthetic value.
Dorset-based collector Nell Richards, 40, who owns 23 Jellycats, told The Guardian she suffers from severe anxiety after getting out of an abusive relationship.
The brand’s limited edition, three-piece Harrod’s collaboration, comprising the Cheryl Cherry Cake, Seb Teacup and Vicky Teapot, is advertised for £239.99 ‘or the best offer’ on the site at the time of writing
Richards, who has been left paralysed on one side after having two strokes, told the newspaper: ‘They help with my anxiety. If I’m anxious, I’ll sit on my bed with them. I like stroking the rabbit’s ears – it takes the edge off things.’
Reflecting on their appeal in a recent article, the Financial Times’ columnist and owner of 100 Jellycats, Freya Rogers wrote: ‘It seems that no matter the location, Jellycat exudes a sort of magic that keeps us coming back for more; could that magic lie in something as simple as joy?’
Others have suggested the newfound popularity of the Jellycat is down to ‘good quality, super soft fur, and pleasing designs’.
One Reddit user also highlighted the growing Jellycat community as another big draw, writing: ‘I love being part of it and sharing my thoughts, photos with people. Seeing their joy.’
Others have taken to X, formerly called Twitter, to express their love of the toys.
One said: ‘Girlhood is looking at the Jellycat website together.’
A second added: ‘For therapy I will scroll through the entire Jellycat website and screenshot the ones I like.’
A third wrote: ‘cannot stop thinking about starting a Jellycat collection.’
A fourth said: ‘Me needing the Jellycat burger is about the only thing I am sure of in life atm.’