Southeast Asia’s toy boom — more than child’s play

This past August, while Singaporeans waved flags and sang the national anthem, another kind of patriotic celebration quietly unfolded—not on the streets, but on store shelves.

Plush kopi cups and kaya butter toast toys disappeared faster than NDP funpacks, while Milo plushies earlier this year had already sparked supermarket chaos, and this isn’t about kids fighting over trinkets. It’s adults—millennials, Gen Z, and “kidults” with wallets wide open—lining up for collectables, blind boxes, and plushies. In Southeast Asia, toys have grown into more than playthings; they’ve become mirrors of identity, culture, and nostalgia.

From playthings to cultural currency

Once, toys were simply for children. Now, they sit in glass cases, coveted and collected like art. According to Euromonitor, Southeast Asia is the fastest-growing market for toys, with a projected annual growth of 5.4%. Pop Mart—the Chinese brand behind the fanged bunny Labubu—saw its revenue in the region jump 400% in just six months.

The secret? Scarcity. Limited editions and blind boxes turn vinyl figures into a kind of playful currency. There’s the excitement and adventure of finding an exceptional or not-so-ordinary design, the silent pleasure of posting it before anyone else does, and the approval and appreciation from fellow collectors. In reality, these toys aren’t about play—they’re about individuality. They are emblems, signalling a sense of taste, legacy, and being in the right place.

Nostalgia wrapped in local flavour

A Merlion sculpted from recycled bottles hits differently than another Hello Kitty; motifs like kopi, kaya, and Milo evoke home, childhood, and shared memories. Adults aren’t just buying toys—they’re buying tangible pieces of their past. Lego’s Game Boy set, for example, lets you hold nostalgia in your hands.

Events such as Singapore’s Pop Toy Show capture this change. Its 2023 unveiling was unique, and the next edition drew more than 300,000 guests and 500 artists. The collectors weren’t just rushing for a Labubu—they lined up for figures that merge Southeast Asian traditional stories and urban myths with international pop culture. Consumption becomes creation, and toys become storytelling paraphernalia.

Collectables as a new economy

For younger consumers, this digital theatre feels more authentic than a sterile retail shelf. Buying has become interactive; collecting is performance.

Homegrown success stories like Mighty Jaxx show what’s possible. From a one-man operation in 2012, it now distributes to over 60 countries and has raised US$40 million (S$51.9 million) in investment.

Toys as identity and belonging

Southeast Asia’s real opportunity isn’t in importing global icons—it’s in creating toys rooted in our myths, our rituals, our daily life. A kopi-o plushie tells a story about home that foreign imports never could.

These figurines have become cultural gauges—frisky, yes, but also radical, demonstrating who expresses taste, who earns, and how individuality is articulated. And that is because behind every Milo plushie and Labubu grin lies a larger reality: toys are no longer just toys—they are the new language of belonging.