Squishy Toys hit The Olive Branch

Children’s toys have always had favourites, fads, trends… There’s always something the kids are desperate to get their hands on and the parents perhaps even more so! Julie and the team discuss what they think is behind the “Squishy Mania” trend and how it has influenced us here in the shop and beyond.

What is the Squishy Toy trend?

Squishy toys are not new. The humble stress ball has been around for years and yet why the sudden craze? Would you believe that we have had the bestselling Nee Doh Toys, made by Schylling, in the shop for four years?! They have always been popular but we would never have dreamt it would take off like this. We used to have an entire stand full of different varieties from the classic Nice Cube to textured Gum Drops and seasonal classics. Now, we are waiting on deliveries, constantly replying to stock questions and limiting their sales when they finally arrive! Squishy toys have entered the building and their popularity seems to be enduring.

What is Nee Doh?

There are multiple brands of squishy toy out there, but the one we love the best is Nee Doh. These “groovy globs” of playful fun are carefully designed to be squish-tastically satisfying, durable and safe. Nee Doh are made by award winning company, Schylling and supplied to us by Bigjigs Toys. To read more about them, check out this handy and helpful Blog directly on the Bigjigs website.

Why have Squishy Toys become so popular?

“What’s not to love about them?!” comments Julie! It’s difficult to attribute their success just to one origin. There’s lots of things in the mix here. Perhaps it goes back to lockdown – we all spent a lot of time isolating, at home, in work or school “bubbles”. It was a very challenging set of circumstances. A lot of positive conversations began to emerge about addressing mental health and how we might better support each other and take care of ourselves, in mind as well as in body. We noticed a lot more of our customers looking for sensory toys: black and white baby books, toys with texture and sound, books explaining emotions, endless imaginative play rather than toys with a prescriptive outcomes.

Simultaneously, there’s been some massive leaps forward in our understanding of SEND in recent years, recognition that our brains are programmed in different ways, with unique super-powers and individual nuances. We are all making progress in understanding how we learn, concentrate and operate and recognising what helps and what hinders us.

You can understand how these squishy and multi-sensory toys have filled a really large gap in the market. Children are using sensory aids to help them in school environments, adults at their desks during work calls. We’ve even had some excellent feedback from some of our senior VIP customers using squishy toys to help relieve arthritic wrists and aid finger strength and mobility. Add in the mix a few viral social media posts and “voila” – a new trend is born.

Are Squishy Toys safe?

We’ve all seen some extremely alarming news stories regarding unsafe use of squishy toys and squishy toys that are quite simply unsafe. Sadly, we are hearing more and more about counterfeit Nee Doh products on the market. These items may not have been through the same rigorous testing as genuine ones. We wish to take this opportunity to reassure our customers that ALL of our toys come from UK suppliers and stockists, with rigorous safety testing procedures. The best advice we can give to our customers is to always buy from trusted bricks-and-mortar stores where you can see the products themselves before buying, check the items for safely labels and relevant warnings, and look for anything that looks wrong – unusual packaging, strange smell and so on. With regards to Nee Doh, this Blog from Bigjigs gives some really helpful advice on how to spot a fake Nee Doh from a genuine product.

In addition, please make sure that any toy you purchase is used responsibly. Never put a squishy toy in the microwave. The filling can become extremely hot, causing the toy to burst and potentially result in serious burns. It’s best to keep them out of direct heat, including strong sunshine in cars and conservatories. And if a squishy toy does burst or split at all, please remember that whilst the filling inside a genuine Nee Doh is non-toxic, it can be very sticky and may cause mild skin or eye irritation. Wash hands thoroughly and avoid contact with the eyes.

How have Squishy Toys influenced The Olive Branch?

“This is a great question!” ponders Julie. It’s absolutely had a massive impact. We’ve spent a lot more of our time and efforts on sensory toys and also products for older children and adults generally. It’s really helped us to widen our audience and keep young people returning to our shop for much longer. In turn, that’s inspired us to find other brands and interests that appeal to our slightly older customers including Smart Games, TOPModel and Legami Stationery. “Yes, we’ve even had to change the layout of the shop to create a more welcoming area for our older children and more space for squishies!” comments Kirsty.

The popularity of Nee Doh has been a wonderful thing for small independent toy shops in general. More customers are finding us in their quest to search out Nee Doh products. And we can offer a personalised service in a way that the bigger high street stores can’t. Whilst we don’t like having to put buying limits on Nee Doh products, we’ve received an overwhelmingly positive response from people thanking us for sharing our stock responsibly and enabling them to be able to purchase one of these highly desired items. It’s great for all small indies, we’re getting seen, known and appreciated for our hard work. We just hope these new customers will continue to support us going forward and do their Christmas shopping with us!

Any last comments…?

There’s no greater privilege for us than witnessing your genuine joy and delight in finding that greatly coveted, gold-dust item. It really is magical and keeps us inspired to work hard to get them for you. The Nee Doh / squishy / sensory trend is evolving (who would have thought the kids would go mad for a squishy block of butter?) but it is holding strong for the moment. We are hoping to receive larger deliveries of popular Nee Doh lines, including some of the brand new releases, in the not too distant future. We will always share news of deliveries on our socials and promise to do out best to share these trending items as fairly as we can, so that as many customers as possible can share the Nee Doh joy! Follow us to be first to know…!