What is so Needoh about squishy toys? What can we learn from the trend?
What is Needoh? We asked the 1123 staff…
- Ann, our Accountant: “Is it related to Play-Doh?”
- Keely, our Digital Advertising Specialist: “I have heard the term NeeDoh in a TikTok – it was being thrown around with other generic Gen Z or Gen Alpha trends and buzz words with no additional context.”
- Dave, our Chief Creative Officer: “A long time ago I was short on cash. That’s really when you NeeDoh.”
- Shana, our CEO: “A dog toy?”
- Jun, our Media Coordinator: “It’s trending on TikTok.”
Well, that clears things up, Jun!
“80’s kid here. We had slime, Play-Doh, and stress balls. It’s basically a rebranded versions of products developed years ago” quipped Tracy Koeneke, our Media Director at 1123.
Needoh is a squishy toy brand. And Tracy is right, squishy toys aren’t new. But neither is Needoh. The product, owned by Schylling, launched in 2017. So why are they such a hit now? And more importantly, what can we learn from the social sensation?
Jump on TikTok and search Needoh. The brand, and squishy toys as a category, have an entire subculture beneath the products. You will find creators hunting for them, standing in line for them, selling them, trends and challenges featuring them, and warnings NOT to do the trends or challenges. Move over to Meta and you are sure to find moms trying to track them down!
Count Stephanie, our COO, as a hunter, “I think the hunt for them is what makes them desirable. My kids are obsessed with finding them, so I have helped them hunt!”
The phenomenon isn’t really about the product as much as it is about behavior. It isn’t nostalgia as much as participation. It’s not demand, it’s discovery, scarcity, and content loops. NeeDoh is built for social media algorithms. Squeeze them, pop them, stretch them, repeat. In today’s world, if it doesn’t show up in content, it might not show up at all.
NeeDoh isn’t winning because it’s new. It’s winning because it’s shareable. The brands breaking through right now aren’t just creating products, they’re creating behaviors. Built for discovery. Built for participation. Built for repetition.
“My daughter is in 5th grade, and a large majority of her hangouts with friends right now are based around NeeDoh’s. They show them off, trade them, and hop on their scooters to hunt them,” said Ryan, Account Executive and Internal Marketing Director at 1123.
And that’s the real takeaway. Don’t just be something people want to buy. Be something people want to show. That’s when a product becomes behavior.