For those who follow the traditional Chinese calendar, 2024 was the year of the Dragon. For current affairs fanatics, it was the year that two billion people had the opportunity to vote in general elections across the globe. But for anyone with access to the internet, you’ll know that 2024 was also the year that Jellycat achieved world domination. Glimpse estimates that interest in Jellycat rose by 135 per cent last year, whilst the brand’s revenue increased by 37 per cent to £200 million by December 2023.
In 2025, Jellycat mania shows no signs of abating. However, this seemingly sweet trend has revealed the dark underbelly of social media fads.
What’s the Hype?
Founded in 1999 by brothers Thomas and William Gatacre, Jellycat is a brand of premium soft toys sold in some of the most prestigious stores worldwide. With their plush fur, floppy legs and adorable faces, these toys have captured the hearts of children and adults alike. Their unique names and personalities, from ‘Bashful Bunnies’ to ‘Vivacious Vegetables’, enhance their collectibility. When you combine this with the power of social media, it is no wonder that Jellycat mania has taken the world by storm, sweeping predominately grown women up in a wave of cool cuddliness.
When I asked Jellycat’s PR team about the key to the brand’s success, they said it was letting ‘our characters and our fans do the talking for us.’ They’re not wrong. TikTok is inundated with videos of women showing off their extensive collections and harping on about the astronomical prices they’ve paid for rare toys. In-store, Jellycats typically retail for anywhere between £20 and £120, depending on their size and availability. However, to purchase vintage or limited edition characters, such as Jellycat’s recent collaboration with Harrods, some have paid hundreds of pounds for these plush, polyester-stuffed toys.
Innocent Obsession or Hyper-Consumption?
Influencer Megan Goldberger, 27, is one of them. She became obsessed with the plushies in 2024 after witnessing Jellycat’s rise on social media, and now she owns over 150 of them, totalling £4000. Her most expensive purchase was buying a huge ‘Amusable Ice Cream’ for £130 on the popular resale app Vinted.
‘It was originally listed at £490,’ Megan says in a TikTok video.
Her content has drawn both admiration and criticism online, with some calling her addiction ‘sad’ and claiming that the brand is not for adults. But there are worse things in the world than buying soft toys. Let’s be honest, we all have those silly obsessions that we splurge on. I, for one, have a weak spot for lip balms and pastel highlighters. As Goldberger points out, she’s not promoting alcohol or drugs to her audience, and everyone can spend their hard-earned money on whatever they choose.
My gripe is not so much what people like Goldberger spend their money on, but how much. When we shop, whether for Jellycats or not, we release the ‘feel-good’ chemical dopamine. Spending activates a part of our brain associated with pleasure and reward, which is why people who feel low are more likely to spend. According to a 2008 study, ‘sadness increases the amount of money that decision-makers give up to acquire a commodity.’ It’s as though participants try to buy happiness. The situation is similar in real life. When we go through periods of personal or financial stress, we seek the brief high that comes with making a new purchase. By flaunting their enormous Jellycat hauls on social media, influencers are encouraging the most vulnerable in society to spend beyond their means. Does one person really need hundreds of toys, or are TikTokers simply coaxing people into filling the void with cuddly and inanimate objects that leave you with a little (or a lot) less cash?
Shoplifters & Scammers
If influencers are the ones encouraging this type of behaviour amongst super-fans, then resellers are taking advantage of them. The Jellycat craze has once more exposed the dark side of social media fads, whereby people with no interest in the brand descend upon limited edition toys to resell them for a profit. We’ve seen this occur with everything from Taylor Swift concert tickets to Valentine’s Day Stanley cups, where, in some cases, products are being resold for six times their original value. This isn’t illegal, but sellers are preying on people’s desire to achieve their dream collection, no matter the cost. Vinted’s priciest Jellycat is a retired pink heart valued at £1,133* and eBay’s most expensive one — a special edition Bashful Bunny, brand new with tags — is currently up for £2,345*. After seeing these outrageous sums, you can begin to understand why the resale market is extremely profitable.
While the vast majority of these items will be sourced through legitimate means, evidence shows that criminal gangs and one-off thieves are stealing Jellycats to sell online. Garden centres in particular have reported a recent surge in crime. In December alone, Scotsdales in Cambridgeshire had 60 Jellycats stolen from one of its branches, Groves in Dorset tracked down a shoplifter who stole a £59 Jellycat to allegedly sell on her husband’s Vinted account, and a woman from Suffolk pinched £4,000 worth of Jellycats in numerous shoplifting raids. Because of this, businesses are implementing extreme measures to prevent stealing, from security tags to facial recognition cameras. As well as this, Vinted and eBay have both reiterated that the sale of stolen property is prohibited on their sites.
‘It’s absolute madness how quickly Jellycats have increased in popularity and, as a result, are giving thieves and scammers the opportunity to take advantage of Jellycat fans,’ one aficionado told The Guardian.
Maybe I’m just a grouch, immune to the charms of a simple smile plastered on a cuddly loo roll. But Jellycat mania has unearthed the dark underbelly of social media fads, forcing us to confront the growing wave of shoplifting and hyper-consumption as a result. Crazes like this have always sent the world into a tizzy, but never on such an extreme scale. Perhaps we must all reconsider the lengths we’ll go to acquire trendy items, especially those that are equally steeped in criminality as they are in collectibility.
If you’re struggling, Samaritans are available 24 hours a day. Call 116 123.
*Prices were sourced on 23rd January 2025 on popular resale apps.
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