Squishmallows have been around since 2017 but they’ve exploded in demand since the beginning of the pandemic. During an anxiety-filled time, everyone turned to things that bring them comfort and little bits of joy—and Squishmallows’ popularity skyrocketed as Gen Z and Millennials alike found joy in buying and collecting (and hugging) the soft, squeezable toys made by Kellytoy. The brand has now sold over 100M squishy friends, and only continues to release new characters to collect and love. The “huggable, collectible plush toys,” which usually come in the sizes of eight, 12, and 16 inches as well as the larger, pillow-like 20 and 24 inches, have grown from just eight unique characters to more than 1K, and are sold in 40 countries. Hunting for rare ones has become a popular pastime among Gen Z collectors: They’ve become the Webkinz or Beanie Babies of this generation, growing a huge fandom of young consumers. On TikTok, the hashtag #Squishmallows has 4.9B views, while #Squishtok has 1.4B of its own. Meanwhile, the...
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