Fun-Sized Nostalgia

By Serena Sanchez

Playing with miniature things like Easy Bake Ovens, Polly Pockets, and dollhouses let many children think of what life would be like when they got big. Over time, however, most kids eventually outgrow these little childhood accessories. But not always.

Beginning at some point during 2019, adults on Tik Tok started purchasing tiny food toys from various brands, such as ZURU Mini Brands, Totally Tiny, Shopkins Real Littles, to name just a few, and then began posting ‘unboxings’ on their accounts. Unboxings are when these users would open and reveal their tiny products with as much excitement as if they were opening Christmas presents. Soon enough, there were accounts dedicated exclusively to displaying entire collections of tiny items for the viewing pleasure of their followers.

One of the many Tik Tok accounts whose content is devoted to tiny food toys is minisuperstore, where Ana Garcia ‘pretend plays’ with the hundreds of tiny toys she owns. Stocked onto little, wooden shelves, she has created her own mini grocery store, where people in her comments request specific items for her to ‘shop’ for them. Putting them into her also mini grocery cart, she pushes the cart to the toy cash register, where her doll is standing behind, and she proceeds to drop play money onto the counter.

Garcia’s Tik Tok hobby, which has gained her 1.6 million followers, has bled into her Instagram, where she also has just over 55,000. Not only does she grocery shop for these followers, but she also unboxes new items that add to her already-overflowing collection.

The most popular tiny food toy company, New Zealand-based ZUZU Mini Brands, which sells different mini grocery store staples, was created and introduced to the public in 2019. According to Forbes, the company, distributed in both Target and Walmart, sold

200,000 units during the first week of November 2019. Although meant for children, teenagers and adults were also drawn to tiny products, and popularized the brand by making videos of and collecting them.

“Micro play is both a play pattern for kids and a collectible for adults,” Zahn, deputy editor of the Toy Book and senior editor of the Pop Insider, told Forbes. “It taps into that same mentality like when dollhouses were so popular. People would craft these intricate miniatures that would fit into those worlds.”

While some like Garcia, such as solvilhouse, Marie’s Mini Toys, and littledreamtoys, collect tiny food toys, some have gone a bit further, making it more of a lifestyle. My Miniature Life on Instagram and Youtube, a mother-daughter duo, have created as they say, a miniature life with a cat, food, baby, and house—all fake, save for the food.

Yes, real, but mini, food. Dating back to April 6, 2020, these two have cultivated a small life, after building it for two years, where they have a fully furnished home and family, and manage to cook real food with portions that could fit in the palm of your hand. Some might say it’s being taken a bit far, but it can become addicting to watch and their real appliances are weirdly satisfying.

“I love miniatures,” My Miniature Life said on Reddit. “My daughter and I make mini cooking videos on Youtube. All edible food. It’s so much fun! We love the challenge! It all started with a dream...we are now bringing that dream to life. It’s a labor of love.”

Regardless of whether someone collects small, plastic food that they handle with extra care, or creates a miniature home that they share on the internet, everyone has something that floats their own boat. While some might ask, “Aren’t they a bit old to be playing pretend?,” there continues to be a growing appetite for miniature things, showing that when it comes to nostalgia for the little things in life, size does seem to matter.