The reports of Jellycat’s success have poured in over recent months, with news outlets such as Fortune and the BBC dedicating lengthy coverage to what has driven the brand’s growth. With a revenue of $250 million in 2023, and year on year growth of 41% in the US (while stuffed animal sales rose by only 2%), Jellycat is indeed a worthy brand case study.
Many of the reports attribute Jellycat’s good fortune to the pandemic, with lonely adults seeking comfort, as well as the popularity of the brand among GenZ. A ripe market, coupled with a marketing strategy focused on collectable designs, clever positioning as an ideal child’s toy, engaging social media assets powered by user-generated content, and strategic partnerships are some of the ingredients making Jellycat one of the most celebrated brands in culture today.
Cultural influence: New generation of comfort food
Jellycat’s innovation strategy has clearly understood the cultural manifestations of our times. As the world has become heavier, people are looking to find comfort as a form of self-care. Leaning into coziness and optimism with little treats is one way to do this, creating micro moments of joy that offer big emotional returns and instant hits of dopamine.
Another route to self care is seeking emotional safety through the familiar and nostalgic. With people reconnecting with their childhood and embracing light-hearted fun, Jellycat has fulfilled the need for nostalgia and cozy cuteness, becoming the ultimate symbol of ‘Kidulting’.
How is Jellycat present in people’s hearts and minds?
To try to understand what it is about Jellycat that people love and can’t get enough of, we looked into search interest. This is, after all, a timely barometer of trends in culture - providing real-time, authentic, and unprompted data to understand the needs and intent behind trends.
In today's fast-paced digital world, the top social media platforms change and vary across different regions, demographics and interest groups. However, search data remains an evergreen and consistent source for brands to gain valuable insights into the popularity and relevance of their products and services. This enables brands to make smart, data-driven decisions that fuel growth and allows them to stay relevant to the market. In the context of brand power, search demand is also an indicator of strong Meaningful Difference.
Think of search data as a weather vane for demand. The volume of searches often reflects key real-world measures such as product sales, brand market share, brand salience and media coverage.
But that's not all - search data has predictive power too. By analysing historical search trends, we can forecast future consumer behaviour and market dynamics. This ability to predict allows brands to anticipate changes, adapt their strategies, and stay competitive in an ever-evolving landscape.
Jellycat's flight to new heights
To understand Jellycat’s brand strength and cultural impact, we analysed search volumes in the UK over the past four years. This showed that interest in Jellycat started outperforming competitor brands in 2020 and extended its leadership into 2024.
Source: Google Trends. Lines highlighting UK 5 key Soft Toy brands (Jellycat, Aurora World, Hamleys, Squishmallows, Steiff) between January 2020 - February 2025 in the UK
Source: Kantar Digital Analytics. Line highlighting Jellycat UK, covering 2741 search terms between March 2021 - February 2025.
Search volume for Jellycat-related terms increased by +95% over the past 12 months year on year, reaching a record-high volume of 4.3 million searches per month as of December 2024 in the UK. This indicates the brand is currently benefitting from accelerating growth.
Further deep-diving into how people search for Jellycat, we identified what it was about Jellycat that captured people’s imaginations which has contributed to the brand’s success:
- Strong association with gifting occasions: Jellycat's search volume peaks in the golden quarter in December in the past few years, highlighting its salience with gifting occasions.
- Better brand experience: In July 2024, the Jellycat Fish and Chips pop-up at Selfridges London boosted the brand's popularity by offering a unique, immersive experience. Customers engaged with exclusive collections and interactive displays, creating memorable moments that enhanced brand loyalty, search interest, and social media buzz.
- Rise of ‘jellycat near me’: A 338% growth in search volume for ‘Jellycat near me’ year on year highlights increased brand awareness driven by social media trends and celebrity endorsements. Consumers value in-store purchases to experience the toys first-hand, and are looking to buy them in person, in convenient locations. Also, Jellycat's strategic retail presence and pop-up events may have boosted local interest and foot traffic.
- Animal category fuelled by social buzz: Jellycat’s animals are the most searched category, a trend largely driven by social media and TikTok. Particularly, the Bartholomew Bear stars in several videos featuring Jellycat plushies, which in turn has contributed to its tremendous growth in interest: nine-fold year on year.
Source: Kantar Digital Analytics. Timeframe: Mar 2021 - Feb 2025
Rising ‘Jellyfood’
Whilst Jellycat’s animals are the most searched category, it is their food category that tops growth in search, becoming a new type of ‘comfort food’. Jellyfood interest is mostly driven by peach, cake, and patisserie items.
Source: Kantar Digital Analytics. Timeframe: Mar 2021 - Feb 2025
Conclusion
In the digital age, search data offers marketers reliable and invaluable insights into consumer demand, brand salience, consumer behaviours, preferences, and trends. By analysing search queries, marketers can uncover emerging categories and consumer interests, helping brands stay competitive by understanding what demand exists for them and in what aspects they are salient with consumers.
Jellycat's search trajectory shows how studying search data helps to unpack drivers of brand strength and cultural impact.
Contact claudia.oshea@kantar.com to learn how your brand can craft marketing and product strategies that will help Predispose your brand to more people, Be More Present at the right touchpoints, and tap into New Space to make your brand Meaningfully Different.