When Labubu made it big in America this summer, it wasn’t just because it caught on with kids. The fuzzy little demon toys, made by Chinese company Pop Mart, also became the hottest accessory for adults, prominently displayed on designer handbags, showed off on TikTok, and spotted on many a favorite celeb. That cultural pizzazz has helped more than double the company’s revenue, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Pop Mart isn’t the first to tap into the American “kidult” audience, and it’s not likely to be the last. Brands like Barbie and Hot Wheels from toy giant Mattel have long catered to an adult audience of toy appreciators and nostalgia-seekers, and other brands are jumping in: In 2023, doll company Bratz introduced an animated series that particularly pleased grown-up fans, while Trixie Mattel’s Trixie Cosmetics debuted a campaign and makeup collection with the Teletubbies in May. The customer that possesses both childlike wonder and grown-up spending power is a key target for many brands, and it’s a market that’s poised to keep going, Juli Lennett, VP and toys industry advisor at research firm Circana, told us. “Ever since the pandemic, the adult market for toys has been the growth area for the toy industry,” Lennett said. “When there are times of stress, which it feels like we’re getting into that even now, consumers do tend to lean into when they were children and lean into toys.”
In the first quarter of 2025, toy sales for adults aged 18 or older increased 12% compared to the same time period in 2024, making them the fastest-growing age demographic for the toy industry, according to Circana. But kidults aren’t strictly aged 18+, according to Lennett. Rather, she said, Circana defines the kidult market as anyone 12 and up “who buys toys for themselves or receives toys.” This definition allows it to also examine the behavior of the 12–17 age demographic, which tends to engage with toys differently than both younger children and the 18-and-older crowd. In the case of Labubu, the appeal seems to be cross-generational, albeit for different reasons. While younger kids might attach their little furry guys to school backpacks and rely on their parents to keep track of product drops, older customers are clipping their creepy keyrings to designer bags and keeping tabs on Pop Mart’s website themselves.