TikTok may become an entry point for overseas toy content explosion

With the continuous changes in consumer demographics and consumption concepts, more and more adults have joined the ranks of plush toy collectors. Originally targeted mainly at children, plush toys are now widely shared on social media and empowered through IP attributes. The category is becoming increasingly diversified, attracting more buyers and injecting new vitality into the market.

Tuke’s main user base is relatively young and highly overlaps with the user group for toy products. Tuke is expected to become the gateway for explosive overseas toy content.

(2022 TOTY Creative Toy of the Year and Toy of the Year Award)

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Squishmallows, which have become hugely popular in the US market in recent years, have received hundreds of millions of orders through Tuke operations

Unlike ordinary plush toys, Squishmallows have launched more than 1,000 characters to date. Each character has its own name and storyline, helping consumers establish a deep emotional connection with them.

@squishmallows posted its first video in October 2021. Currently, the account has 300,000 followers and 1.7 million likes on Tuke. The official bio invites everyone to post their own toy videos under the #squishmallowsquad tag.

Currently, the #squishmallowsquad tag has become one of the hottest tags on Tuke, with 660 million views. The content under this tag is all shared by users who have purchased Squishmallows toys, showcasing their preferences and experiences on Tuke. Some users even create fun short videos, making Squishmallows toys more lively and interesting.

Many users have gained a lot of attention by sharing Squishmallows videos, with many videos reaching tens of millions of views, even turning creators into social media celebrities.

This video was posted by Tuke creator @infamousbutterfly on 2022/11/19. In the video, the creator organizes and stores a large number of Squishmallows plush toys, making many viewers envious. Since its release, the video has received 18.7 million views, 1.8 million likes, 66,000 shares, and 24,000 comments.

(Screenshot of inquiries in the comments section)

In the comments section of this video, users actively discuss and ask how to get the same products.

In addition to Tuke fans, the Squishmallows brand also has nearly a million followers on other social platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, with 685,000 followers on Instagram.

From toilet flushing toys and bubble tea plush toys to LightPong party light toys and blooming elves, Tuke has continuously popularized waves of “internet-famous toys,” with many Chinese toy companies playing an important role in this trend.

(Tuke nickname: Cool Airplane Factory)

China has long been known as the “world’s toy factory,” supplying 70%~80% of global toy production needs, but has lacked influence in upstream original design and downstream brand marketing.

With the rise of Tuke overseas, the entertainment attributes of toys are highly compatible with the platform, providing new channels for user interaction. Toy exports have ushered in new opportunities for low-cost, easy operation, and branding, helping to shed the label of “low-end manufacturing.”

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Trendy toy IPs have exploded in the domestic market with low unit prices, high repurchase rates, and highly stimulating “blind box” formats. The listing of Pop Mart in 2020 further ignited enthusiasm in the capital market.

If brands want to enhance their influence through media channels and social platforms, they must pay more attention to local cultural characteristics, user preferences, and KOLs, and content presentation needs to be customized.

Overseas social media marketing combined with localized marketing.

On one hand, Pop Mart adopts different promotion strategies for different markets based on the cultural backgrounds of various regions, creating different regional matrix accounts.

Pop Mart maintains a stable posting frequency, with content focused on topics of interest to target market users and a high interaction rate.

On the other hand, Pop Mart attaches great importance to overseas influencer marketing, continuously deepening users’ impression of the brand, widely spreading brand content to more user groups, and further enhancing its influence on overseas social platforms.

In addition, due to the special nature of the product (blind boxes), Pop Mart consumers often spontaneously share related content on social media. This behavior not only promotes the spread of UGC content, but also reflects community interaction.

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Looking at the entire toy export chain, the functions carried by Chinese toy companies have evolved from single processing and production to R&D innovation, IP marketing, and business model innovation, making them important participants in the global toy market.

In summary, The wide reach of the Tuke platform has accelerated the process of toy exports, becoming the gateway for explosive overseas toy content. The fun, readability, and uniqueness of toy products showcased on Tuke allow more users to discover and purchase these products.

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