Kidults: A New Hope for Marketers?

While Argos’ most recent campaign from T&P insists it’s “not just for toys,” a different retail battle is underway - one where toys are very much the focus. Only this time, the target audience isn’t children, but adults.

According to market research company Circana, the so-called “kidult” market - individuals aged 12 and above - accounted for almost 30 per cent of toy sales in 2024, worth over £1bn. Across Europe, the segment has grown by 2.5 per cent since 2022, bucking the wider trend: the UK toy market overall shrank by 3.7 per cent last year.

The growth areas are telling. Building sets, 'plush' (soft) toys, and collectible cards all cut across age groups, while 'pocket money toys' - items under £10 - are thriving thanks to impulse buys from both teens and adults. Collectibles alone now make up 23 per cent of toys sold by volume, with an average price of £6.92.

Toy maker Jellycat is the poster child for this surge. With products ranging from £11 to more than £700, it more than doubled annual profits in 2024 and announced a £110m dividend payout.

Funko, which licenses and produces limited edition pop culture collectible figures, has built its empire on 'kidults' since forming in the late 90s. The company celebrated the sale of its 1 billionth 'POP' figure at the end of September.

Escapism, Nostalgia - and the Search for Self

So what’s behind this phenomenon? Is Britain drowning in infantilism, or are we merely stuck in a collective doom-loop of arrested development? Not quite.

“Kidulting isn’t really about toys,” says Ben Essen, global chief strategy officer at Iris. “It’s about escapism, nostalgia and identity in a world that feels permanently on fire. It’s about analogue and tactile in a screen-based age. Real-world social currency for a generation who Covid robbed of social skills. And at a time when one in three women feel guilty about spending time on an indulgent hobby (like gaming) it’s also about embracing the freedom to be frivolous.”

Rachel Hughes, head of cultural strategy at Weber Shandwick, agrees that the shift is deeper than simple escapism. “Ongoing omni-crisis, digital saturation and the breakdown of traditional stable social anchors mean young adults today are having to build their own versions of adulthood brick by brick - sometimes literally, with Lego,” she says. “Part of the reason is that we don’t hold fixed identities like we used to. The old static ‘adult’ has become ‘adulting’ - something we switch into when we’re doing ‘grown-up’ stuff like paying bills. We can be in boss mode at work then switch to goblin mode once we’re home. We can have a soft boy summer and then lock into a winter arc – our identities are always in flux, moving through many modes in a day and eras in a year."

Stuck in a Nostalgia Loop

The motivations span nostalgia, fandom, stress relief, and self-expression - not simply play. Essen argues the opportunity extends well beyond toy brands. “Self-care has moved beyond gym memberships and motivational Instagram quotes. It now incorporates play, nostalgia and purposeless pursuits. You can see it in the cartoonification of beer brands. The return of Nik Naks. Or even the response to the BotBoard we created recently for World ID. Cute, weird, anthropomorphised? The unanimous reaction has been: ‘I want one!’”.

That nostalgia loop, Hughes adds, is constantly being refreshed by online culture.

“Without a clear path ahead of us, it’s comforting to look back,” she explains. “Online culture keeps the past omnipresent – keeping us in a never-ending nostalgia loop. Online trends rehash old symbols but give them new meaning in the current context – take the now-famed 'Sylvanian Drama' TikTok account, which uses innocent toys to tell soap-opera-worthy stories, bringing an ’80s toy into unhinged internet culture. The manufacturer Epoch has even pivoted to the adult market, but their legal battle with the creator of 'Sylvanian Drama' shows the challenges that come with this.”

Lego and the Mindful Builders

No brand has leaned into this more successfully than Lego. With 18+ gift sets costing up to £730, the company now courts grown-ups as actively as children.

“Adults are a very important audience to the Lego Group, not just as parents, but as passionate fans and consumers in their own right,” says Genevieve Capa Cruz, Lego’s head of adult consumer group and franchises. “Kids will always be our focus, but we engage with adult fans through dedicated 18+ products and marketing that reflects their diverse interests and passions, from art and architecture to pop culture and nostalgia.”

The company has even positioned building as a mindful, stress-relieving pastime. “Sets like the Lego Botanicals Collection offer a contained and mindful building experience, with specific build techniques and calming themes to promote mindfulness,” Capa Cruz adds. “This approach has had a great reaction from fans, creating many more adult builders, including those who may not have engaged with the brand since childhood.”

Hughes notes that satire and irony often make this adult engagement feel safer. “Using toys for satirical content feels more socially acceptable for adults than just the wholesome love of a toy or brand – but ultimately that is what’s at the heart of this movement. Take Disney adults: they wear their genuine love for Disney on their sleeves and are open about the joy it brings them. In a post-ironic world, embracing joy and whimsy isn’t naive escapism – it’s an informed and even rebellious act.”

The Retailers Missing Out

But while Lego has seized the opportunity, most toy retailers have yet to follow. Droga5 Dublin’s recent campaign for Smyths targeted parents and children, not adult consumers.

Similarly, adam&eveDDB's debut campaign for toy chain The Entertainer last Christmas explicitly was aimed at people buying toys for children.

It featured the character of Ray, a once much-loved stuffed toy who is now feeling a bit lost as his owner has since turned her attention towards a remote-control monster truck.

This, says Rachel Porter, influence creative strategy lead at Ogilvy PR, may be a missed trick. “The rise of the kidult market is fundamentally reshaping how toy and collectible brands must approach their audience. With social content becoming less segmented than traditional media channels - a stark contrast to the days of dedicated children’s TV slots - adults are now organically exposed to, and engaging with, content around brands and products once exclusively aimed at children.”

She points to adult influencers as key drivers of virality. “You only have to look at the Labubu, Squishmallow or Sylvanian Families craze in the last few years alone where social media influencers have been the catalyst - think of the hyper-viral Sylvanian Drama account, or the surge in Labubu popularity after BLACKPINK’s Lisa posted the toy to her Instagram Stories.”

From TikTok to the Real World

Looking ahead, Hughes believes this digital enthusiasm will translate into real-world gatherings. “These fandoms grow online, but increasingly we’re seeing a desire for community spaces and experiences IRL - from adult ball pits to brick-building conventions. As these communities become more visible and mainstream, the desire for this will only keep growing, and these movements will become ever more normalised.”

Christmas, Porter believes, could be a watershed moment. “Many kidults feel they need ‘permission’ to indulge in products perceived as childish, so frequently wait until they have children of their own. By deploying social content that uses authentic adult voices, brands can give them that validation.”

So don’t expect Geoffrey the Giraffe to be resurrected to lure adults back into Toys R Us, or festive ads filled with middle-aged shoppers gawping at Sylvanian Families figures.

Why We All Need a Little Play

The psychological need for play, nostalgia, and stress relief is real, and far bigger than toys.

As Essen concludes: “The question for every brand this Christmas needs to be: how do I give people a little moment of shared childlike joy? Because, as kidulting shows, boy, we’re all craving it.”