Chinese novelties firm looking for different growth path from Pop Mart 中国新潮玩企业探索不同于泡泡玛特的发展路径 In a shopping mall in Hopson One Mall in Yangpu district, Shanghai, hundreds of visitors line up at a popup store. They are drawn by a popular item — squishy cake toys — colorful, foam squeezables designed for stress relief and fashion statements. Unlike ultra-squishy toys, this item has a firmer foam texture, great for office desk decor, party gifts or relieving work and school pressure for both kids and adults alike. 在上海杨浦区合生汇购物中心的一家快闪店外,数百名消费者排队等候。他们被一款热门商品吸引——解压蛋糕玩具。这类色彩鲜艳、柔软可捏的泡沫玩具,既能缓解压力,也成为一种时尚表达。与极度柔软、容易变形的传统解压玩具不同,这款蛋糕玩具采用更具支撑感的泡沫材质,既适合作为办公室桌面装饰,也可作为派对礼物,同时能够帮助儿童和成年人缓解学习与工作压力。 The squishy cake toy comes in a variety of scrumptious shapes — strawberry, cherry, croissant and mushroom. Each of them is priced at around 25 yuan ($3.7). 这些解压蛋糕玩具有多种“美味”造型,包括草莓、樱桃、羊角面包和蘑菇等,每个售价约25元人民币(约合3.7美元)。 “I bought three squishy cake toys today. I like the soft touch of the toys. It is very stress-relieving,” said Zhang Le, a 30-year-old designer in Shanghai. “我今天买了三个解压蛋糕玩具。我喜欢它柔软的触感,真的很能缓解压力。”上海一名30岁的设计师张乐说。 "I took my daughter to the pop-up store here. She likes squishy cake toys very much. She often shares the toys with her classmate. I bought five for her and one for myself. I can put the squishy cake toy on my office desk. It puts me in a good mood," said Cheng Yuqi, a 45-year-old mother in Shanghai. “我带女儿来到这里的快闪店,她非常喜欢这种玩具。她经常和同学分享。我给她买了五个,也给自己买了一个。我可以把它放在办公室桌上,每次看到它都会让我心情变好。”上海45岁的母亲程雨琪说。 Since July, another style of squishy cake toys produced by Shanghai local brand Molynk have gone viral on TikTok. Related videos have already topped 180 million views. The product, priced at 299 yuan, sold out soon after its global debut, with 5,000 units purchased. 自7月以来,上海本土品牌莫尼(Molynk)生产的另一款解压蛋糕玩具在TikTok上迅速走红。相关视频浏览量已超过1.8亿次。这款售价299元的产品在全球首发后很快售罄,共有5000件被抢购一空。 The toys have become so popular that a large number of tourists from Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand are paying special visits to China, dragging their suitcases to offline stores in Shanghai for shopping trips. After these tourists return to their home countries, even if they resell their products at double or even higher prices, the products are still highly sought after by local consumers, as reported by Xinmin.cn. 由于产品热度持续上升,越来越多来自泰国等东南亚国家的游客专程来到中国,拖着行李箱前往上海线下门店购买。据新民网报道,这些游客回国后,即使以两倍甚至更高价格转售,产品依然受到当地消费者追捧。 At a soft rubber toy factory in Zhejiang province's Yiwu, located some 300 kilometers from Shanghai, millions of "freshly baked" bun-shaped decompression toys are about to board a truck bound for Ningbo Zhoushan Port, crossing mountains and waterways to Europe and North America. 在距离上海约300公里的浙江义乌一家软胶玩具工厂内,数百万个“刚出炉”的包子造型解压玩具即将装车,运往宁波舟山港,再跨越山川河流,销往欧洲和北美市场。 The latest data released by the General Administration of Customs of China showed that the total export value of Chinese toys in the first half was $15.6 billion, with some markets showing a recovery trend. 中国海关总署最新数据显示,今年上半年,中国玩具出口总额达到156亿美元,部分市场呈现复苏趋势。 Behind this evolving phenomenon of exports is a synergy of multiple factors, such as "China-Chic" design breakthroughs, mature supply chain support, global layout acceleration and the enduring and increasing appeal of emotional consumption. 这一出口现象背后,是多重因素共同作用的结果,包括“国潮”设计突破、成熟供应链支撑、全球市场布局加速,以及情绪消费持续增长带来的吸引力。 In recent years, the global emotional consumption market has continued to heat up, and stress relieving games and items have formed a billion dollar gold mine. According to the Global Stress Relief Toy Special Report issued by Verified Market Research, the global stress relief toy market is expected to reach $6.26 billion by 2026, and is projected to surpass $8.96 billion by 2030. 近年来,全球情绪消费市场持续升温,解压游戏和相关产品正在形成一个价值数十亿美元的市场。根据市场研究机构Verified Market Research发布的《全球解压玩具特别报告》,预计到2026年,全球解压玩具市场规模将达到62.6亿美元,并有望在2030年超过89.6亿美元。 Li Weiqing, founder and CEO of Molynk — one of the producers of squishy cake toys — said: “Since our establishment, the brand has aimed for a global layout. This may be different from Pop Mart, which was born in China and gradually achieved globalization with later development. When we were founded, we deployed branch offices in the United States, Japan and Spain, with Shanghai as our headquarters.” 莫尼(Molynk)创始人兼首席执行官李伟庆表示:“品牌成立以来,就一直以全球化布局为目标。这一点可能不同于泡泡玛特——后者诞生于中国,并在后期发展过程中逐步走向全球化。而我们在创立之初,就已经在美国、日本和西班牙设立分支机构,总部设在上海。” Li Yun, general manager of Unie Toys in Minhang district, Shanghai, said: “We found the soft, colorful squishy cake toys well-received by consumers, both kids and adults. With the accelerated pace of modern life, people are increasingly placing emphasis on things that offer emotional value.” 上海闵行区优尼玩具公司总经理李云表示:“我们发现,这种柔软、色彩丰富的解压蛋糕玩具受到儿童和成年消费者的共同欢迎。随着现代生活节奏不断加快,人们越来越重视能够提供情绪价值的产品。” Dong Peng, an independent senior analyst, said: "Shanghai squishy cake toys have gone from low-end OEM to cross-border hard currency, essentially completing the cognitive upgrade from 'emotional consumer goods' to 'cultural symbol carriers', no longer relying on simple price differences, but on precise translation and efficient supply of contemporary people's emotional needs." 独立资深分析师董鹏表示:“上海解压蛋糕玩具已经从低端代工产品转变为具有跨境竞争力的产品,本质上完成了从‘情绪消费品’到‘文化符号载体’的认知升级。它们不再依靠简单的价格差异,而是依靠对当代消费者情绪需求的精准理解和高效供应。” squishy /ˈskwɪʃi/ adj.柔软可捏的;有弹性的 novelty /ˈnɒvəlti/ n.新奇产品;新颖事物 go viral /ɡəʊ ˈvaɪrəl/ v.走红;在网络上迅速传播 be well-received /bi wel rɪˈsiːvd/ v.受到欢迎;获得认可 emotional value /ɪˈməʊʃənl ˈvæljuː/ n.情绪价值;情感价值 China-Chic /ˌtʃaɪnə ˈʃiːk/ n.国潮;中国风时尚潮流 global layout /ˈɡləʊbl ˈleɪaʊt/ n.全球布局;国际化布局 resell /ˌriːˈsel/ v.转售;二次销售