Monchhichi mania makes a comeback

Sales more than doubled in the year ending February 2025 to $39.9 million

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When Australian influencer Sam Todd travelled to Tokyo earlier in 2025 to shop the Japanese capital's famed vintage clothing scene, she had a side quest - to find a fuzzy Monchhichi keychain to dangle off one of her many designer handbags.

After some unsuccessful hunting, she finally "hit the Monchhichi jackpot" at a toy store in the touristy Harajuku neighbourhood, capturing the gleeful discovery in a TikTok video, which has since racked up more than 300,000 views.

The store had implemented a purchase limit on the popular plush accessories, but Todd managed to snag double by having her boyfriend stock up too. Sure, the characters are also for sale back home, but for more than twice the price and with far fewer options.

"It was so nice to finally be able to find it," says Todd, 30. "The popularity has just been growing and growing, so everybody wants one."

Shoppers like Todd are breathing new life into Japan's Monchhichi brand, which is undergoing a demand surge rivalling that of the toy's heyday in the 1970s and 1980s.

Sales of Monchhichi - stuffed animals with monkey bodies and childlike faces - more than doubled in the year ending February 2025 to 4.6 billion yen (S$39.9 million), according to the creator and licence owner Sekiguchi.

Overseas sales in the fiscal year grew faster than the domestic market, with international buyers behind about 40 per cent of Monchhichi revenue. The company recently increased its manufacturing capacity in China and is looking into expanding its licensing business.

"We just want to flood the world with Monchhichi," says Sekiguchi's president and chief executive Toshitaka Yoshino.