About Beanie Babies

Invented

• Beanie Babies are the brainchild of Ty Inc., which is part of the Ty Warner Corporation. The company wanted to create a fun, collectible item for kids. Through excellent marketing strategies, it not only achieved this, but brought adults into the picture as well. The company focused on Beanie Baby products for some time and made sure to be aware of other popular culture trends so it could implement them in its line of teddy bears. It also invented an offshoot of miniature Beanie Babies by teaming with McDonald's.

History of

• When Beanie Babies were first produced and sold, they were popular among kids--though many adults quickly became fond of them as well. It didn't take long for the product to become so popular that Beanie Babies became highly sought collectibles. In 1995, there was a fear that people were losing interest, but demand increased and made Ty Warner $250 million the next year. Beanie Babies continued to sell and McDonald's jumped on the trend by introducing smaller Beanie Babies in their kid's meals, called Teenie Beanie Babies. In 1999, Beanie Babies were planned to end production, but consumers protested and kept the factories open. Beanie Babies still sell today, though their popularity as a collectible item has significantly decreased.

Significance

• Beanie Babies are important because they show a nearly perfect marketing plan that was able to make Ty Warner upwards of $6 billion. Each Beanie Baby that was produced had a limited number made, which instantly grabbed consumers and turned them into a collectible item. By only selling them in small stores and by keeping new lines of Beanie Babies a secret, collectors would have to seek the product out because they were excited to see new additions each month. This plan made Beanie Babies into one of the most highly collected fads in the 1990s.

Type

• Each Beanie Baby is essentially a different animal with a unique name. While, for example, there may be more than one dog in the Beanie Baby line, the dogs are all different breeds. The only exception to the rule is in the line of Beanie Baby bears. These were so popular that the same bear was reproduced in different colors and designs, each with a different name. Many of these bears were introduced to commemorate holidays or important people, such as the Princess Diana Bear.

Features

• Beanie Babies are small, stuffed animals made of a soft fabric that has been dyed to a desired color and fitted with round plastic parts for the eyes. What makes them unique among other stuffed animals is their stuffing. While other manufacturers use cotton or a similar soft substance, Ty Inc manufactured Beanie Babies with plastic pellets inside. This not only gives them their name, but also makes the toys more flexible than most other stuffed animals.