“Kidulting” Trend – Grown-Ups Wanting Nostalgic Fun

This Sherwood News article, “The ‘kidulting’ economy is still booming as more grown-ups yearn for playtime,” (September 24, 2025),  highlights the surging success of brands like Build-A-Bear, LEGO, Jellycat, and Squishmallows due to the rise of kidulting—adults purchasing toys, collectibles, and experiences traditionally designed for children. Build-A-Bear’s stock has skyrocketed by over 2,000% in five years, outpacing tech giants like Nvidia and Microsoft. Around 40% of its customers are now adults, and this nostalgic trend extends across the toy industry, with LEGO’s adult-themed Botanicals and F1 sets, Barbie collectibles, and even theme park visits offering grown-ups an emotional escape.

For marketing instructors, this trend provides a short case study relevant to consumer behavior, segmentation, and value creation. Companies are leveraging emotional branding and nostalgia as strategic tools to foster lifetime customer relationships. The shift reflects a broader self-care movement—where stress-weary adults find solace and identity in playful experiences. These consumer insights align well with textbook concepts such as positioning, product development, and psychographics.

Note: A related trend that may be worth mentioning is described in “Young People Are Falling in Love With Old Technology,” (Wall Street Journal, October 6, 2025). You might find it fun to introduce this idea after a discussion of kidulting.

Relevant Textbook Chapters

• Chapter 4 – Focusing Marketing Strategy with Segmentation and Positioning. Shows how brands have repositioned products to target adults without alienating traditional customers .
• Chapter 5 – Final Consumers and Their Buying Behavior. Considers why adults are drawn to nostalgic products (psychographics, emotional decision-making).
• Chapter 9 – Product Management and New-Product Development. Connects with how companies like LEGO develop and adapt products to new adult markets.
• Chapter 12 – Retailers, Wholesalers, and Their Strategy Planning. Discusses how store experiences (like Build-A-Bear’s workshops) are part of strategic retailing.

Class Discussion Ideas

In-Class Activities

• Segmentation Simulation (ties to Chapter 4, segmentation and targeting).
  • Students create personas for different “kidult” segments (e.g., nostalgic millennials, Gen Z collectors, wellness-focused professionals). Then, they design marketing mix recommendations.
• Nostalgia Audit:
  • Ask students to analyze their own purchases in the past year—have they bought anything for nostalgic reasons? Use findings to discuss how emotions influence buying.
• Retail Experience Redesign:
  • In teams, students reimagine a traditional toy store layout to appeal to adult buyers (lighting, music, product curation, digital experiences).
  • How can this be done without alienating a traditional “kid” target market?

Discussion Questions (with Answer Ideas)

1. What motivates adult consumers to buy products traditionally meant for children? (Chapter 5 – Consumer Behavior)
   • Emotional comfort, nostalgia, escapism, stress relief, social connection, self-expression.
2. How have companies like LEGO and Build-A-Bear repositioned themselves to reach new market segments? (Chapter 4 – Segmentation and Positioning)
   • LEGO created sophisticated sets (e.g., Botanicals), while Build-A-Bear leaned into personalized gifting and online content targeting adults.
   • Suggest students search for additional examples beyond the article.
3. How can nostalgia be a source of competitive advantage? (Chapter 9 – Product Management
   • It creates brand loyalty and emotional attachment that is hard to replicate or compete against.
4. What risks might companies face when targeting adults with child-oriented products? (Chapter 5 – Consumer Attitudes and Beliefs)
   • Alienating core kid segments, brand confusion, or being perceived as gimmicky or insincere.
   • Follow up by asking students what brands can do to avoid or minimize these potential downsides.
5. Why is the in-store experience critical for brands like Build-A-Bear in this trend? (Chapter 12 – Retail Strategy)
   • It fosters emotional engagement, offers personalization, and becomes a form of entertainment.
6. What marketing strategies help justify higher prices for nostalgic products? (Chapter 2, may apply to any of the 4 Ps chapters as value may be created across any of them).
   • Premium packaging, emotional storytelling, scarcity (limited editions), and community marketing.

ChatGPT was used to generate an initial draft and the image used in this blog post.