By Petra Strobl, Germany Managing Director for Licensing International

Nearly 40% of adult consumers across Europe reported purchasing toys for themselves or another adult in 2025, according to Circana. With this growing focus on nostalgia, kidults have evolved from a cultural curiosity into a structural societal shift—one that is fundamentally reshaping the licensing business.

The impact is undeniable. In 2025, the global toy market grew by 7%, with licensed toy sales surging 15% to reach a record 37% market share—the highest level ever recorded by Circana. Collectibles (which are particularly popular with adult consumers) were up 32%, now accounting for nearly 19% of global toy revenue.

This is not a blip. This is a new baseline.

What makes the kidult phenomenon particularly significant for the licensing industry is its economic backbone: Generation X. Born between 1965 and 1980, Gen X is the most underestimated, and most powerful, consumer cohort in the world. According to a 2025 NielsenIQ and World Data Lab report, Gen X spending reached $15.2 trillion globally in 2025 and is projected to grow to $23 trillion by 2035. If Gen X were a country, it would be the world’s second-largest consumer market behind only the United States and roughly double the size of China’s total consumer spending.

These are the consumers who grew up with the IPs that now drive billion-dollar licensing programmes. Their emotional connection to brands runs deep and their wallets are open.

And the kidult economy extends far beyond the toy aisle. In fashion, nostalgic IPs and the kidcore aesthetic have moved from subculture to the runways of luxury houses. In location-based entertainment, brand experience worlds and theme parks are booming. The industry has responded with permanent structural changes, including dedicated adult divisions and 18+ product lines that are no longer experiments—they are established business units.

For the German market, specifically, the opportunity is particularly compelling.

Nearly 50% of the German population is aged 50 or older, and single- and two-person households are now the dominant household type. This creates a large, growing consumer base with significant disposable income.

Detlef Arnold, Founder of G50Unleashed and an expert on the 50+ demographic, challenges the idea that older consumers are somehow less connected to pop culture or technology than Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

“Today’s 50+ generation did not grow up outside of pop culture—they helped build it. Modern pop culture, fandom, and youth cultural identity were shaped by this very generation. Yet they are still too often perceived as backward-looking and digitally disengaged,” Arnold said. “The reality is quite the opposite: people over 50 are significantly more open to innovation, more digitally active, and more engaged than commonly assumed.”

The data from the latest representative G50PERSONAS study backs this up. In fact, 75% of older consumers regularly try new products and brands. Additionally, 74% are online daily,  67% use messenger services daily, and 37% have consciously changed something in their lives in the past six months.

“Where adulthood was once defined by conformity, role expectations, and sacrifice, many people over 50 today define themselves through personality, interests, and self-expression,” Arnold said. “This opens up entirely new cultural touchpoints around pop culture, fandom, nostalgia, community, and emotional brand worlds.”

For the licensing industry, this represents one of the most significant growth opportunities of the decade. The question is no longer whether kidults matter but whether brands are ready to tap into their massive potential.