In an ever-changing world of trends, a new toy has found itself in the center of attention: the NeeDoh. If you haven’t yet witnessed the craze, NeeDohs are handheld stress toys that come in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. The toy has been around for years, but gained massive popularity in recent months, causing stores to sell out and parents to spend hours searching for the coveted fidget toys.
All About NEeDoh
The parent company of NeeDoh, Schylling, invented the 70s-inspired toy to be a stress-reliever for all ages. Schylling launched NeeDoh in 2017 when fidgets, slime, and squishies were really popular. The brand is committed to quality and safety, and uses no toxic materials in its products. NeeDohs come in endless shapes, sizes, and colors fit for school, work, or home. The original NeeDoh is the Groovy Glob, a handheld squishy ball filled with a mysterious substance. Other popular products include the Nice Cube, Gumdrop, and Dream Drop. The Nice Cube is one of the most popular products, a square-shaped squishy that resembles an ice cube.
The NeeDoh Resurgence
While the toy was released in 2017, its recent surge in popularity seems to have begun when the NeeDoh advent calendar came out over the holiday season, which contained a variety of fun NeeDohs. Nothing sells out a product like a viral video, and since NeeDoh’s breakthrough, the company has been unable to keep up with the demand. The sudden popularity caused the brand to sell eight months of NeeDoh inventory by mid-February this year. To keep up, Schylling had to make new molds for the products, but can’t seem to increase its production fast enough. The company has also started capping orders in an attempt to ration products fairly among distributors. Despite the difficulties in maintaining stock, the NeeDoh surge has massively boosted sales. Schylling’s 2025 sales were double the 2024 sales, and the numbers continue to grow.
Experiments Gone Wrong
NeeDohs are a fun and seemingly harmless toy, but their extensive popularity has led to some unfortunate situations. Curiosity has got the best of many NeeDoh lovers, who have experimented with the toy by freezing it, microwaving it, and cutting it open to see what’s inside. Freezing NeeDohs simply makes them rock solid, losing all ability to function as a fidget toy. However, heating NeeDohs has caused some unexpected troubles. Although there are labels warning users not to heat their NeeDohs, some have ignored them and put it in the microwave in an attempt to make the toy more pliable. Unsurprisingly, NeeDohs explode when heated up, and a few kids have been hospitalized with burns. These experiments have caused concern for parents, who did not expect such a mundane toy to become dangerous. Clearly, it’s best to follow the warnings on the packaging.
Empty Shelves Everywhere
The rapid spread of NeeDoh popularity has made it the latest cool toy, and the craze goes beyond young kids. Many moms have been seen waiting in long lines before stores open to purchase NeeDohs at every restock, but teens and college students have also fallen victim. A rising trend on TikTok is “NeeDoh hunting,” where a person drives to every store in their area in an attempt to find NeeDohs, sometimes traveling hours away. However, much of this searching is in vain, because stores sell out of the toys within days of restocking. Part of the NeeDoh appeal is its low price, as many of the toys are less than $10, which means many fans are able to buy multiple at once. Retailers have started putting limits on the number of NeeDohs a customer can purchase, but the caps have done little to combat continuous sell-outs. NeeDoh fans have declared a national shortage as the company tries to keep up with demand, and stores receive endless calls asking whether the toy is in stock.
Knockoffs and Alternatives
While it may be a challenge to find a NeeDoh on any store shelves right now, fans have turned to other stress toys, and fake NeeDohs have begun circulating online. Similar to the rise of knockoff Labubus after the collectible’s sudden popularity, fake NeeDohs are the newest knockoff to watch out for. Despite the low price of Needohs, online sellers of fakes deceive those desperate for the stress-relieving toy by marking up the prices. To ensure you get a genuine product, the company has recommended only buying in person, particularly from local toy stores.
Considering how impossible NeeDohs are to find right now, many fidget toy fans have found other squishy toys to indulge in. Dumpling squishies have become popular in tandem with NeeDohs, particularly the mystery box dumpling sold in little steamer baskets. Similar to the Labubu craze, consumers post unboxing videos, hoping to reveal the infamous glitter dumpling. Other squishy toys in the shapes of butter and cheese have also gone viral. Fans have found a NeeDoh “dupe” in the gel stress balls from the brand Speks, which are similar to the NeeDoh Nice Cube.
Every few months, a new toy rises to unimaginable popularity, causing stock issues and uproar from customers. Labubus and Jellycats are a thing of the past now as NeeDohs take a turn in the spotlight, and who knows what hidden toy will take its place once the NeeDoh craze dies down?