Plush toys have become a long-standing local industry in Yangzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, with businesses in the sector exploring new overseas markets and building their own brands in recent years.
Among the toymakers is the Yangzhou Step Toys and Gifts company that has established its own brand with original products.
"The Glitter Unicorn is our original IP and a key part of the CozyWorld brand. Its unique design, featuring special sequins that flip to reveal a different color, helped it take off across social media platforms in no time," said Tang Lili, product manager of the company.
Beyond the core Unicorn series, which has been a massive hit in China, the Yangzhou City IP collection -- blending elements of Yangzhou's culture and cuisine -- has also taken off as an 'emotional collectible' among young people.
Riding this wave of success at home, the company launched the 'Squarepals' line last April, marking the official start of the brand's expansion into overseas markets.
"The real reason behind our company's transformation comes down to control, or rather, the lack of it. As long as we were manufacturing for other people's IP, we had no leverage. If a client decided to take their business elsewhere, we'd be left with nothing. That vulnerability made one thing clear, from both a business and industry standpoint, building our own brand and developing original IP was the only way forward," said Tang.
Building an original IP is never easy, but Squarepal seems to be writing a different narrative， thanks to the region's well-developed manufacturing cluster, as well as people's affection for those cute designs.
Within just a month of launch, the feedback was already overwhelmingly positive.
"When we first launched this Squarepal brand in Guangdong Canton Fair, customers come to our booth and say, 'what is that?' We just introduced him 'this is our own brand called Squarepal and we just launched this one month.' And he was very interested in our brand and he said he never see a brand like that. After the fair, he orders like 16,800 of Squarepals. That's really a big order. And after that, actually, he gives us the second order and it's a bigger quantity," said Lucy Lu, a trade specialist at the company.
The company expects its annual sales to exceed 60 million yuan, or about 8.7 million U.S. dollars, with most exports going to Southeast Asia.
Local authorities are also stepping in to support the industry by introducing new policies to help transform the plush toy industry and support global expansion.
Yangzhou plush toy makers shift focus to overseas markets, brand building
