News & Press
WHAT THE HECK ARE SQUISHMALLOWS—AND WHY IS EVERYONE BUYING THEM?
“Have you ever seen a panda pegathorn do muay thai?” I certainly haven’t. But so reads the quirky intro on the tag of a Squishmallow, the insanely popular plush toys that exploded in fall of 2020. (In fact, between January and March of 2021, the volume and frequency of searches for “Squishmallows” outpaced searches for “Selena Gomez” a few times.) I’ve run across the puffy plush animals on TikTok on a handful of occasions, but I didn’t pay them any mind until I went shopping at Costco and saw a giant bin of mega-sized Squishmallows right after walking through the door. And when you see a brand on TikTok and at the very front of Costco, you know it’s kind of a big deal. Which got me wondering, what exactly is it about these toys that captured the collective adoration of millions? Read the full article here.
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Get Ready to Freak Out Over the New Pokémon Squishmallows Revealed at SDCC
“Choose it or lose it” is one phrase that applies to both Pokémon and Squishmallows fans alike, always on the hunt for their favorite characters. The two brands are teaming up to give fans the ultimate plush collaboration, exclusively revealed at Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC). The Squishmallows x Pokémon collection is a collaboration between Jazwares and The Pokémon Co., giving Electric-type Pokémon Pikachu and Ghost- and Poison-type Pokémon Gengar a Squishmallows makeover that will appeal to collectors of both brands. The plush characters are currently on display at Jazwares’ Booth No. 3513 at SDCC, and will launch this fall on pokemoncenter.com. The popularity of Squishmallows has skyrocketed since its debut in 2017. There are now more than 1,500 Squishmallows to collect, ranging from 2-24 inches in size, each with its own personality. Most of the original characters have collectible hangtags with birthdates (AKA “squishdates”) and bios as well. The plush line has multiple extensions, including Flip-A-Mallows, HugMees, Squish-Doos, Stackables, Squishville, and other consumer products, such as apparel, accessories, home decor, pool floats, and more. Read original article here
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GROWING FAM - Kim Kardashian adds ‘five new babies’
Kim Kardashian adds ‘five new babies’ to her family as she shows off daughter North’s massive Squishmallows collection The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star recently appeared in her oldest daughter’s TikTok video as the pair modeled a series of earrings. Kim, 41, took to her Instagram stories on Wednesday night to share an announcement regarding North’s Squishmallow collection. The reality star filmed over the giant pile of pillow toys, including ones created to look like Disney characters, animals, food items, and mystical creatures. The TV personality spoke over the clip, saying: “Added five new babies today to the mix.” North, eight, then chimed in to explain: “Squishamellows.” MOTHER-DAUGHTER BONDING Kim’s video followed her eldest daughter’s most recent TikTok upload as she showed off her brand new set of braces and blonde braids. The pair took to the platform on Wednesday to post a new clip together as they played dress-up. Read full article here
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KHLOE KARDASHIAN Happy 4th Birthday, True …HOPE YOUR BIG BASH IS CAT-TASTIC!!!
Khloe Kardashian pulled out all the stops for her daughter’s 4th birthday — and the theme this year is quite clear … it would appear the kid likes kitty cats, so the party’s purrrfect. Mama Bear has been documenting the festivities all day … and just like any other Kardashian shindig for their children, this one’s no different in how above and beyond Khloe went to make True‘s day special. Seriously … their pad’s totally decked out with decorations. Indeed … it would appear Khloe and co. went with a feline feeling to ring in the big day — and True’s loving it. Some of these vids of her soaking it all in are pretty heart-warming. Not only are there a ton of cat party favors all over the place, but some actual kittens have been brought in as well … so True and all of her cousins/friends have more than enough to keep themselves occupied, on top of all the other activities around. There’s a trampoline, a face painter, a ball pit with stuffed animals and prizes, a jump house/slide — and there’s even some kind of anime cat animal character in costume who’s all set to boogie … and which True is willing to help with as well. The girl gets down! Oh, and her actual birthday cake was something behold too — multi-layered, and intricately designed. Also, very on theme for what’s going on around them. Like we said … it’s kind of the M.O. for the Kardashian moms — they go all out for their kids, and Khloe is no exception. These are just a handful of snapshots of the scene, but if you peep her IG Story … you’ll see the full scope. The place is like a kid wonderland out there. It looks like some of Kim’s children are also on hand … including North — who gets a little mouthy with her aunt about her thoughts on age 4 — plus Dream and other little ones who are all running around and having a blast. There’s toys, there’s games, there’s attractions, there’s music … what else could a 4-year-old want in this day and age??? Absolutely nothing as far as we can tell. Seems her mother’s checked all the boxes and then some. And True’s enjoying every minute of it, as she should. Happy birthday!Read full Article here
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Jessica Simpson’s Daughter Maxwell Celebrates 10th Birthday with BFF North West
Time to party! Jessica Simpson‘s daughter, Maxwell Drew, celebrated her 10th birthday with her BFF, Kim Kardashian‘s daughter North. In a series of photos shared to her Instagram stories Wednesday, Simpson, 41, showed Maxwell and North, 8½, in the back of a cozy, decorated pickup truck for a drive-in movie. Maxwell is pictured opening a decadent present from North: a pair of cream-colored Nike shoes. North’s cousin, Penelope, 9, was also pictured in Simpson’s stories. The daughter of Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick appeared to join in on the birthday extravaganza. Simpson’s husband Eric Johnson coaches Maxwell’s basketball team, where she plays alongside Kardashian and Kanye West‘s daughter. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE‘s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Read original article here
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JAZWARES DEBUTS NEW SQUISHMALLOWS LICENSEES AT LICENSING EXPO
Squishmallows-themed puzzle (left) and Monopoly (right) from The Op/USAopoly | Source: Jazwares/the Toy Book They’ve taken over the plush category, and now they’re ready to take on … pretty much every other consumer products category. Jazwares has made its Licensing Expo debut this year with its Squishmallows plush brand, the No. 2 toy property and No. 1 plush property, according to Jazwares and The NPD Group‘s April 2022 report. The mass appeal for consumers of all ages has led to a cross-category program, including beauty, games, apparel, home decor, and more. “As Squishmallows continues its evolution as a pre-eminent global lifestyle brand, we’re opening the door for big-sky opportunities setting the stage for meaningful fan first product extensions,” says Judd Karofsky, executive vice president, Jazwares. “Demand for Squishmallows is skyrocketing so we’re more than ready for millions of people around the world to enjoy their favorite Squishmallows characters via a wide array of growing product categories and experiences.” RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: THE MULTI-GENERATIONAL POWER OF JAZWARES’ PLUSH TOYS BRING JOY TO ALL Jazwares created the Squishmallows global licensing program last fall with licensees including Bioworld, BigMouth, BBC International, Franco., Fashion Angels Enterprises, Primary Colors, and HarperCollins Publishers. At Licensing Expo, Jazwares debuted new licensees at its Booth No. 0241, including Taste Beauty for lip, nail, cosmetic, and bath and body products; The Op | USAopoly for puzzles and a custom Squishmallows Monopoly game; and Kurt Adler for ornaments and stockings. The company plans to announce more licensees for bath and beauty, swimwear and apparel, bedding, and more. More than 125 million Squishmallows have been sold since the brand debuted in 2017. There are more than 1,000 characters ranging from 2-24 inches in size. The brand has nearly 6.5 billion views on TikTok, and @squishmallows and its related hashtags have been tagged in more than 1 million Instagram posts. Squishmallows on Roblox has become the No. 1 toy game on the platform with 1.5 million monthly users. Read original article here
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Diving Headfirst Into Squishmallows at VidCon
After taking over TikTok, Squishmallows have conquered a new horizon: VidCon. The Kellytoy brand, which has formed one of the largest fandoms on the social-media platform, offers a wide range of stuffed animals that come in a variety of shapes — each marked with its own personality. Since the inception of Squishmallows in 2017, more than 125 million toys have sold (with 1000 variations). Squishmallows are currently the No. 2 toy, according to the NPD Group’s market research. (I only have one Squish, Wendy the Frog, who loves to play basketball and study chemistry.) The obsession with these colorful creatures made them VidCon 2022’s biggest attraction, ushering them into ’90s Beanie Babies–phenomenon territory. At one of more than 100 attractions across four days at VidCon, fans waited for more than four hours to participate in a “human claw machine,” where they had 20 seconds to grab all the Squishmallows they could — including some rare and unreleased toys. Collectors, content creators, kids with their parents, and adults with friends they’d met in the Squish community all shared the same amount of excitement when it was their turn at the claw. Lucky collectors hit the Squish jackpot by finding rare items like Jack the Cat, which is sold on StockX for $700. (Yes, the same StockX where your high-school friends buy their Yeezys.) Longtime Squish fans like Kalei Glozier, a 25-year-old who came from Michigan and has a collection of more than 500 Squish, were impressed by the selection at the booth. Some even took home a Hectico the Cobra Snake, which holds an estimated value of $125 on the Squishmarket. While most of the crowd seemed like organic traffic and genuine fans of the plush product, a few people were paid to participate. This is a creators’ event after all! BuzzFeed News reporter Kelsey Weekman, who attended VidCon, said she was blown away by the popularity of the Squishmallows booth. “I know creators like Logan Paul and Tana Mongeau have created chaos in the past at VidCon, but I can’t think of any brand-run exhibit that had that kind of impact,” Weekman said. While some creators had hundreds of fans waiting to see them — MrBeast’s panel, “YouTube’s Algorithm, Explained,” was packed and turned away more than 200 people — no one matched the hype at the claw. Bret Ingraham, director of PR at Jazwares, the parent company of Squishmallows, confirmed that more than 10,000 Squish were given away to fans at VidCon — a total that could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars on the resale market. This won’t be the company’s only event this year: Squishmallows will be at San Diego Comic-Con next month with a new game and rare toys for sale. Unfortunately, the human claw machine will not be present. At a time when former VidCon king David Dobrik — who was nowhere to be seen this year — faces a $10 million lawsuit brought by collaborator Jeff Wittek for a near-fatal excavator accident, this (lucrative) internet minority isn’t hustling to pull Vlog Squad pranks or start an influencer collective. They’re cuddled up at home with a pink axolotl named Archie. Read original article here
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Squishful thinking at Jazwares
Jazwares senior vice president, Europe, Jonny Taylor & MD of UK & Nordics, Holly Oldham give Toy World the lowdown on the company. Jazwares enjoyed a recordbreaking year in 2021, fuelled by its phenomenal portfolio of brands and with a host of new launches in the pipeline, another bumper year is on the cards for 2022. As the company looks forward to celebrating its 25th anniversary and the 10th year of its UK office, Jonny and Holly chat about the year ahead, the runaway successes of Squishmallows, direct distribution of the Pokémon range and further European expansion. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, increased sales and expansion of the UK office have seen the Jazwares team nearly double in size. Bringing in resources to support the growth, which will continue as the range carries on expanding, has been a huge focus for the company. Holly Oldham attributes Jazwares’ success to “having the right brands with some great products.” She adds that much of the company’s growth in recent years has come from acquisitions made by the company. “A real highlight for us has been growing the business every year in the UK over the last nine years, and we are confident, based on the product portfolio we have, and traction at retail, that next year will be our 10th growth year in a row,” adds Jonny. “The thing that I’m probably most proud of is the quality of product that Jazwares has been making – and the product is getting stronger and stronger.” The company has an enviable licensing portfolio which is performing well and is investing heavily in developing its own private IPs, working on broader IP propositions. Jazwares will also be launching a number of licensed collaborations for Squishmallows in 2022 and says more will be revealed at Toy Fair. Jonny enthused: “Overall, we are confident of being in a position to have a really successful and enjoyable year. There really is a lot more to come over the next 12 months and beyond.” To hear more about Jazwares successes with brands such as Roblox, Fortnite, Pokémon, Spidey & His Amazing Friends, Squishmallows and brand extension Squishville, and hear about the company’s exciting plans going forward, read the full article, which appeared in the January edition of Toy World, here. Read original article here
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