Move Over, Unicorns. Llamas Rule the Toy Business Now.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/parenting/llamas-hot-toys.html

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At this year’s American International Toy Fair, which took place at the Javits Center in New York in mid-February, hundreds of buyers came in search of products to feed the fleeting desires of children all around the world. As they strolled up and down the aisles, perusing wares from hundreds of vendors, a clear theme emerged: llamas.

Booth after booth, llamas — and their smaller cousins, alpacas — poked up their long necks, their soulful eyes begging for attention. There were squishy llamas. Plush llamas. Sequined llamas. Knit llamas. There were llama diaries, llama lip balm, llama puzzles, llama backpacks, llama pool floats, llama rockers, llama teethers and llama mobiles.

“The toy industry has historically thrived off of mainstream animals like cats, Pound Puppies, bunnies and bears, but now it’s time for the llama to have its turn under the sun,” said Richard Gottlieb, the founder and principal of the consultancy firm Global Toy Group. “We tend to like cute animals that are soft and sweet. But llamas are kind of funny-looking, aren’t they?”

Some venerable brands have already jumped on the trend. Slinky, which originally debuted in the 1940s, unveiled a llama edition for 2020. Even Lego, the evergreen building toy, has added llamas to its stock, and will debut a play cube this year with a tiny accompanying llama.

“We heard it from kids, from grandparents: They love llama toys,” said Janis Van Tine, vice president of the communications firm GennComm. She beamed while the toy from a company she was representing — Boppi, the Booty Shakin’ Llama, from Pets Alive — twerked its purple furry bottom. “They make you happy, they make you laugh.”

In 2020, llama toys fart and poop glitter.

“We’ve seen hedgehogs and narwhals come and go, and now llamas are what’s emerging,” Michael McNally, Lego’s senior director of brand relations, said. “People have seen dragon and dinosaur Lego, but never llamas! If it’s a hit, we’ll have more.”

Parents who are spending a lot more time with their children these days — which is just about everyone, because of the coronavirus pandemic — might have noticed the peculiar trend.

The influence of llamas extends far beyond the toy industry; in home décor, where sites like Etsy sell llama wall decals and llama duvet covers; to the teenage VSCO girl, who places llama stickers on her Hydro Flask; in Fortnite, where the game’s loot boxes are purple piñata llamas; and on TikTok, where clips of llamas frolicking freely and hanging out in living rooms are racking up tens of millions of views.

Kitschy catchphrases like “Save the drama for your llama,” “No prob-llama,” “Alpaca my bags” and the holiday-themed “Fa la la la llama” are pervasive across fashion.

To some toy industry experts, the prevalence of llamas signals a possible death knell for the unicorn, the mythical and stubbornly immortal toy that pillaged the industry and beyond circa 2017. On Etsy, searches for unicorn items are down 37 percent over the last 12 months, while inquiries for llama nursery products are up 36 percent, according to data provided by the site.

Not everyone is convinced, though, that the llama has fully unseated the unicorn. “Unicorns are evergreen, and we sell just about one unicorn item every day,” said Rick Derr, the owner of the toy store Learning Express, in Lake Zurich, Ill. Regardless, the toy industry seems to be enjoying the opportunity to profit off of the new rivalry — for example, the Unicorns Vs. Llamas Monopoly board game, which came out in December.

It’s hard to pinpoint what, exactly, caused the llama to prance onto the toy scene some 20 months ago. Popular references like the best-selling 2005 kids book “Llama Llama Red Pajama” and Disney’s 2000 film “The Emperor’s New Groove” had been around for quite some time.

Stephen Berman, the co-founder and chief executive of the toy company JAKKS Pacific, which hopped on the trend in 2019 with the creation of the Who’s Your Llama collectible toy line, said his company’s trend experts identified that the animal was a best seller in Japan.

“Unicorns are magical, but llamas are real and relatable,” Berman said. “They have different character attributes that kids can relate to: They blink, they grin, they spit. That translates well to the collectible phenomenon.”

As Instagram has spurred the rise of a spare, bohemian design aesthetic, llamas have become the perfect toy for homes decorated with fancy succulents, macramé hangers and kilim rugs.

“Southwestern has basically turned into the starting point of inspiration, so it’s easy to see why the trend has trickled down for kids,” said Dayna Isom Johnson, an in-house trend expert at Etsy. “I think parents want to stray away from fantasy toys like mermaids and unicorns.”

Sylvana Ward Durrett, co-founder of the children’s luxury boutique Maisonette, noted that millennial parents curating their kids’ arsenal of toys are often doing it with Instagram in mind.

“It speaks to a shift in how parents are shopping for their children today,” Ward Durrett said. “Ten years ago, the decision came down to what was affordable. Today, it’s more complex: Is it chic? Does it fit in with the aesthetic of our family? Would I put it in my living room? We are buying for ourselves as much as we are for our kids.”

Toys in the llama family, Ward Durrett added, tend to be more gender-neutral than unicorns — a theme more parents are getting behind. And while unicorns still excite children, it’s easy to understand why parents might opt to splurge on a $60 stuffed llama, like the one Maisonette sells, over a kitschy unicorn.

“The unicorn is not a chic or elevated item for your living room,” Ward Durrett said. “You will not want to keep it once your kid grows out of it. But a plush llama toy is something you can feel good about because it can also have your stamp of style.”

Even Chrissy Teigen — the poster child for millennial moms — shills for llamas, having designed llama-themed diapers in 2018 for Pampers. (“Before I was a mom, I would have never known the fascination with llamas” or “anything with floppy ears or anything with a squishy nose,” she told Refinery29.)

Keen observers of the toy industry are quick to note that, like all trends, llamas are soon to hit their expiration date. Isaac Larian, the mastermind behind the ubiquitous L.O.L. Surprise! dolls, said he believed llamas were already on their way out.

What will be the next animal trend? Robin Sydney, the president of toy wholesaler Zorbitz, has her money on other nonstereotypically “cute” animals, like porcupines. At the Javits Center toy fair, brands were betting their money on flamingos (“Justice for big noses!” one toy marketer mused) and even the humble pigeon.

In the meantime, while the llama still reigns supreme, industry professionals like Sydney see the trend as being about something deeper than just Instagram fodder. The shift of kids’ desire from unicorns to llamas, to Sydney, is about society finally coming around to accepting a beauty that isn’t just picture-perfect.

“Llamas are not the most beautiful animal you’ve seen, but they make you happy, with their silly expressions and their funny teeth. It’s not a perfect looking dog: It’s perfect because it’s weird and funny,” Sydney said. “There’s something happening in society today that’s making us gravitate to not-cute-cute animals and appreciate nonconventional beauty.”

Chavie Lieber is a journalist living in New York City who covers fashion, business and tech.