Touching Base

Kids at heart

Toy World asked leading industry experts about the growth of the Kidult category, how suppliers support toy retailers keen to appeal to this demographic and what’s next for the category.

Kelly Philp - Head of Marketing UK, Mattel

The Fan and Collector segment has seen remarkable evolution, becoming the fastest-growing area in the toy industry. To meet this demand, we are consistently growing our Fan and Collector category across our portfolio of brands, offering products that blend premium quality, cultural relevance and iconic branding.

We’ve significantly expanded our Fan and Collector range over the past few years, with standout lines in our Hot Wheels Premium die-cast, Barbie Signature, Monster High Skullector, WWE Elite and Polly Pocket compacts. Exciting recent drops like LeBron James’ ‘Ken’ doll, Hot Wheels Premium Ferrari collaboration and Little People x Beetlejuice collectibles sold out quickly, so we’re ensuring that our retail partners are optimised to meet these consumer demands.

Our Never Too Old to Play branding creates a cohesive umbrella that unites our fan and collector lines. We also develop stand out visual merchandising that uses premium design cues to appeal to adult shoppers. Retailers can count on our team for tailored POS materials and strategic rollout plans to support these high demand moments.

Engagement with our fan and collector audience happens across multiple touchpoints. Social media enables us to build authentic conversations and celebrate fan culture. But we’re also active in real-world fandom spaces. This May, we brought our iconic brands to London Comic Con for the first time, showcasing new launches such as Barbie x Doctor Who and Monster High Skullector Lost Boys dolls and immersive fan experiences for a captive audience.

We have built an intimate community of influencers by curating a toy and franchise programme made up of adult fans, doll collectors, die-cast enthusiasts and lifestyle content creators. These relationships expand our connection to the fan and adult collector market, bringing them a first look at our exclusive launches from influential voices in their communities.

The concept of play is being redefined, not just for children but for adults too; research shows that 51% of adult fans actively play with their purchases, while 32% display them (Forever Young Global Survey 2022). Looking ahead, expect to see even more curated drops, premium experiences and creative collaborations, as fans continue to seek exclusivity, storytelling and self-expression.

The growth of adult fans won’t replace the core children’s market but will elevate the category overall. Expect to see more hybrid activations, cross-category innovation (like our new Mattel Brick Shop) and cultural collaborations that blur the lines between toy, art and lifestyle. At Mattel, with over 80 years of heritage, we’re proud to lead this exciting next chapter.

Will Collinson - General manager, UK & Europe, Zuru

The kidult category has exploded over the last couple of years, driving significant growth to toys through higher price point SKUs and repeat purchases on ranges largely fuelled by the collectability factor. As a company, it’s changed how we market our products to ensure we’re staying ahead when it comes to reaching this audience.

It’s a combination of in-store guidance, smart marketing tactics and audience engagement, with a strong emphasis on visibility, accessibility and FOMO (fear of missing out). First, it’s about reaching the right audience, so they know where to find the product. That means engaging social content tailored to this demographic, influencer campaigns that highlight in-store availability and targeted kidult ads with strong CTAs. We also find that our retail partners build buzz using phrases like ‘online exclusive’ or ‘limited edition’, and by fostering an online community that interacts with the products.

We meet kidult consumers where they’re most active—on online and community-driven platforms. TikTok is No.1 for us, with short-form, trend-based videos that really resonate. By combining eye-catching content, community-led activations and emotionally engaging messaging, we keep kidult consumers excited, engaged and ready for the next drop.

Gavin Lawler - CEO, Innov8 Creative Academy

The Kidult category is becoming an essential part of the toy industry in today’s market. Adults are now spending more than ever before on toys for themselves. I believe kidults are driven by self-expression, fandom culture and collectability. Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram have continued to fuel this new market of collectors by turning creepy-cute, story driven toys into viral must-haves. With Deddy Bears, we have built a loyal community with a very diverse age range, and a large portion of these are kidults. Disruptive innovation is at the forefront of everything we do, and we have tapped into the evolving market of collectors by combining our weird humour, stories, collectability and eye-catching designs. This is how we appeal to a demographic that wants more than just a toy; they want a connection, a character and something that they can resonate with.

Kidult shoppers often look for products that feel different from traditional toys – something collectible, expressive and unexpected. We support retailers by advising on in-store placement that complements other pop culture or collectible ranges, ensuring the products are positioned where they’ll have the most appeal. Deddy Bears come in distinctive coffin-shaped boxes with acetate windows that stand out on the shelf, while Limbz — with their quirky, elongated limbs and poseable design — are equally designed to catch attention and make a great display piece. We provide many different SKU options to appeal to all kidults who may only purchase at different price points. We’ve provided end cap display examples to help retailers create impactful presentations that highlight both collectability and character while maximising visibility.

We market directly to kidults through social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook where we use short form storytelling, character reveals and relatable humorous content to build brand awareness. We interact with our fans online and encourage them to show us their collections, favourite Deddy Bear and fan art - it’s like one big creepy-cute family. We collaborate with influencers, pop culture creators and collectible lovers to organically grow this community online. This creates an authentic fanbase and strong word of mouth momentum, making our products stand out instore as items most consumers already recognise.

Over the next five years, the kidult sector is set to expand further as more consumers look for products that offer nostalgia, self-expression and uniqueness. As more adults embrace the world of collectibles, we expect the demand for products like Deddy Bears and Limbz to grow. This shift will likely push the wider Toys & Games industry to rethink traditional product design, moving away from age-based categories and focusing more on personalisation, storytelling and fandom-driven appeal.

The impact on the industry will be significant. Kidults will become a larger, more integral consumer segment, and brands will increasingly need to create multi-dimensional products that appeal to adult collectors who want more than just toys. Expect more cross-category items, such as collectibles that can be displayed, shared or integrated into personal spaces, reshaping how products are marketed and sold. For retailers, embracing this shift opens up opportunities for year-round sales, with products that appeal not just as toys but as part of a broader collectible and lifestyle market.

Matt Shaw - Marketing manager, Epoch Making Toys

At Epoch Making Toys, we have seen exponential growth in the Kidult category, certainly when it comes to our Sylvanian Families Baby Collectibles, but also with our limited edition and seasonal sets.

The nostalgia the brand offers means those older kidults who had Sylvanian Families when they were younger have remained firm fans, wanting to continue to build their collections into their teens and adulthood. In addition, the characters, especially the babies, meet the demand for all things cute and small.

We’d recommend retailers start with products like our Baby Collectible blind bags, that appeal to both traditional toy customers as well as kidults.

We attended Comic Con with Sylvanian Families for the first time last year and following the overwhelmingly positive reception, we exhibited again in May. The show gives us a chance to engage directly with both new and existing collectors, with plenty of visitors saying it was their first time purchasing Sylvanian Families and that they were looking forward to starting their collections. We also recently launched a dedicated Sylvanian Families TikTok channel, allowing us to reach the huge audience of kidult collectors worldwide.

We predict that the kidult sector will continue to grow and become even more mainstream. We’re already starting to see that crossover now with kidults candidly expressing their passion. The demand will consequently lead to increased opportunities and visibility for toys and games within high street retailers which have traditionally sat outside of the sector, as well as more dedicated sales outlets.

Lee Crocker - Country manager UK & Eire, Cobi

The Kidult category, in my opinion has been around for many years – even hundreds of years. Over my 50+ years, it was the avid collectors of die cast, railways enthusiasts and modellers (planes etc), who many frowned upon within the toy sector. I would say that this particular market is slowly declining, because it’s generational. Although still hugely popular, the market for train sets is not the same as in the “good old days”.

The category has developed now, not just in terms of the product it covers, but also the customer and retailer base. No longer is it exclusive to males or to hobby/toy shops. The internet has driven some growth, and the likes of Red 5, Menkind, IWOOT have opened up the market. Several construction brands have begun producing products more skewed towards women, like the Lego Botanicals range. Companies like Cobi are experiencing tremendous growth because the old-fashioned box of bricks has been replaced with scaled sets tailored to the enthusiast or collector. Technology is also making these type of products more realistic and sophisticated.

We are happy to support toy retailers who want to position our products for the kidult demographic in their store but doesn’t know where to begin. This support will depend on what they are looking to achieve. We of course offer POS like shelf talkers, posters and wobblers. Later this year, we will have LED signage available (orders are being taken now), and for me, the most important factor is display models. These are eye-catching and allow the consumer to appreciate the style and quality of our products.

We don’t market our products to kidults directly. When we do it is in traditional magazines, and word of mouth and our quarterly catalogues, along with our established retailers help drive sales. We produce a monthly newsletter to retailers who in turn send out to their customer base.

I believe this sector will continue to grow for many years to come. This will only have a positive impact on the wider Toys & Games industry, and if retailers embrace the category, they will benefit. Technology means products will become even more realistic, and licensing will continue to be a big factor, along with brands that are prepared to innovate.

Felipe Noriega - Vice president & regional director - Europe, Middle East & Africa, YuMe Toys

Over the past few years, the Kidult category has transformed from a niche subculture into a dynamic growth engine in the toy and collectibles industry, driving serious revenue and innovation - and we are excited to be at the heart of this phenomenon. Pop culture has become lifestyle and nostalgia a form of social currency. This, combined with the strong purchasing power of kidults, has consolidated the Kidult category into an integral component of the retail landscape.

Our mission is not to just to ship products, but to partner with our customers in a way that helps them to also win big in the Kidult category. While I can’t divulge our secret sauce, I am able to share that our support comes in the form of consumer insights, ad-hoc product assortment, merchandising support (with a view to transforming shelves into true pop culture displays), and direct, retailer-specific investment in social media and influencer campaigns to help drive footfall into stores.

The cultural relevance of our products, and the emotional connection this generates in consumers, is what steers how we market them. Evocative story-telling – often positioning our products in the context of nostalgia and self-expression – is how we tap into fan communities. We create content that presents our products in the slick manner that commissioned productions demand, and then we complement this by partnering with influencers and creators that help us add a more human, un-rehearsed touch that helps drive both awareness and conversion. We reach our Kidult consumers on social platforms, in experiential spaces such as fan events, and at collector-focused retail, both bricks & mortar and online. Retail has woken up to the importance of the Kidult category and, in the next five years, I think more space will be dedicated to adult-focused ranges, event-based launches and lifestyle experiences. More and more brands, from tech, décor, luxury and streetwear will enter the space via collaborations, and, as a whole, I think the Toys & Games industry will be shaped by the Kidult sector, becoming increasingly more thoughtful, more collectible and more focused on story-rich properties.

Dave Tree - All The Cool Stuff, Fordingbridge

Personally, I don’t like the term ‘Kidult’; adult toy collectors are what they are. High street retailers have always known they’re there and have always catered to them - there has always been an adult toy collectors' market in every area. In the last decade though, some companies - particularly those that sell direct to consumers – have seen the category grow from a niche segment to their main demographic.

The sector has become low-hanging fruit for many toy companies due to its reduced risk, but I’m seeing less innovation as a result. The lure of nostalgia has been overplayed; there’s only so much consumers can withstand before the well runs dry, and some brands will face a real struggle if they don't start to think about what they’re offering.

However, the number of adults buying Pokémon has rapidly overtaken the number of kids. Lego Botanicals has recruited a huge female following and, for us, now outsells the other Lego sub-brands. Anything cute, adorable and tiny within a pastel colour palette is also proving popular, leveraging current fashions and tastes; Sylvanian Families, Squishmallows and Care Bears, for example.

Engaging and talking directly to customers and keeping an open mind allows independent retailers to keep up to date with what adult collectors are interested in. This goes beyond what they’re buying in store; having insight into what they’re watching, following, listening to etc. is incredibly useful. Understanding the consumer allows retailers to tailor their offering and give adult collectors a reason to come back and buy products.