Sylvanian Families toymaker targets ‘kidults' as falling birth rates hit sales
Since launching in 1985, more than 100m Sylvanian Families dolls have been sold, with characters such as its Timbertop Brown Bears and Oakwood Squirrels bringing joy to children all over the world.
But as global birth rates fall, the company behind the felt animal miniatures is now hoping it can broaden its appeal to adults as well.
Epoch, the Japanese toy and gaming company behind Sylvanian Families, is hoping to counter a decline in sales to children by tapping into the expanding 'kidult' market of grown-ups who still collect toys.
The company's British arm has said it wants to sell more dolls to adults after a drop in profits, blaming the UK's declining birth rate and cost of living crisis for a drop in its traditional market.
It comes amid a broader rise in toys marketed to grown-ups.
Examples include the legions of adult Harry Potter fans who are happy to spend their hard-earned cash on replica wands, Hogwarts uniforms and have even been known to host wizard-themed weddings.
There is also an increasing number of adults who build expensive Lego sets in their spare time. The Danish toy company has consciously pivoted towards marketing its models to adults in recent years, launching sets that allow people to recreate monuments such as the Eiffel Tower or the Colosseum in Rome.
Grown-up customers are known as 'Afols' (adult fans of Lego), and regularly attend conventions and meet-ups centred on Lego. A Reddit forum dedicated to adults who collect Lego has more than 33,000 members.
Julia Goldin, Lego's chief product officer, told the Wall Street Journal last year that adults represented 'a much bigger opportunity than we were tapping into' for the company.
Disney, meanwhile, has benefited from the rise of 'Disney Adults' – grown-up superfans of its movies who frequently visit the brand's theme parks, dress up in character outfits and, in some cases, pay thousands of dollars to attend exclusive marketing events held by the company.
Source of comfort
Frédérique Tutt, global toy industry expert at data firm Circana, said: 'Despite continuing to be frugal with everyday purchases, adult consumers are turning to the childhood delights of building sets, games, puzzles, collectables and squishy soft toys for comfort amid a backdrop of war, climate anxiety and economic pressures that now shape daily life.'
The UK toy market contracted by 3pc to £3.4bn in 2024, according to Circana – its third consecutive annual decline. However, sales to adults have been growing and now account for almost a fifth of all purchases.
The UK arm of Sylvanian Families maker Epoch said in its latest accounts: 'In recent years, the traditional toy market has declined has declined due mostly to a combination of cost of living challenges and the longer-term decline in birth rates.
'During the same period, however, the industry has seen a growth in demand from kidult consumers, who may be more isolated from the pressures of the high cost of living.'
The company was hit by a 79pc decline in pre-tax profits in 2024, which fell from £949,000 to £204,000, while revenues dropped by £229,000 to £14.9m.
Plunging birth rates
While the rise of so-called kidults has been written off as largely harmless, some have taken exception to the trend.
Last year Miriam Margolyes, who played Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter film series, said adult fans should 'grow up' and 'get over it'.
She told the New Zealand broadcaster TZNZ: 'It was 25 years ago, and I think it's for children.'
Epoch's appeal to adults comes after birth rates in England and Wales plunged to their lowest point on record.
The fertility rate dropped to 1.44 children per woman in 2023, according to latest data from the Office for National Statistics, with just 591,072 babies born that year. A rate of 2.1 children per woman is needed to maintain a stable population.
The trend has been blamed on rising economic instability, pressure for women to remain in the workplace and challenges in the dating world, as well as a growing number of people who are deciding not to have children at all.
It has sparked a pro-natalist turn among global political parties, particularly those on the Right.
Last week Nigel Farage claimed Britain had lost its 'sense of focus of just how important family is'. He vowed that a Reform-led government would scrap the two-child benefit cap and introduce tax breaks for married couples.
Sir Keir Starmer, conversely, said last year he would not tell people whether or not to have children.
Asked about the issue during a trip to Washington, the Prime Minister said: 'I've spent my whole time saying I'm not going to tell people how to live their lives – I'm not going to start by dictating whether they should or shouldn't have children.'
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