From Hot Wheels to Funko Pops: Why India's adults are collecting toys to buy back their childhood

"To infinity... and beyond!"

It was in 1995 that animated cinema's favourite space ranger, Buzz Lightyear, first uttered these words in Toy Story, introducing audiences to him and his loyal friend Woody. More than three decades later, when Toy Story 5 released last month, it was not just kids who were waiting to reunite with the gang. The Washington Post recently noted that the franchise belongs as much to the adults who grew up with it. For adults, the movies are a story of memory, change and the people they once were.

Toys, it turns out, stir these sentiments in grown-ups-on screen and off.


Also read: Indian toy market holds strong growth potential: China Toy Association Chair

In the real-life toy story, adults, across the world, are building Hot Wheels heavens, Lego lands, superhero sanctuaries and Funko Pop fantasies. For some, it's about fulfilling a childhood dream that money once put out of reach. For others, it's fandom, community, or simply the thrill of the hunt.

Childhood... and beyond

For Paresh Dhilla, it's about reliving the joy he felt the first time he held a miniature car. The 61-year-old Bengaluru-based businessperson grew up in Mumbai dreaming of owning a collection of toy cars, but there wasn't enough money for it. Years later, while buying miniature cars for a young relative, he rediscovered that fascination. Today, his toy garage houses around 300 die-cast cars, including nearly 200 Matchbox models. On a trip to US two years ago, he returned with 100 Matchbox cars, many of which are difficult to find in India.

Unlike many collectors, Dhilla isn't possessive. "I enjoy sharing this hobby. I often give the cars away to younger relatives and acquaintances," he says. For him, collecting isn't about ownership-it's about passing on the sheer delight.

Dhilla is not an exception. Working Gen Zs, millennials and boomers are using adult money to buy the toys they could once only admire through shop windows, fuelling a booming global kidult economy. According to American market research firm Circana, adults aged 18 and above are among the fastest-growing consumer groups in the global toy industry.

From premium Lego sets and die-cast cars to Funko Pops, designer art toys and collectible statues, these purchases are destined not for playrooms but for office desks, display cabinets and carefully curated shelves, where they serve as markers of identity, fandom and nostalgia as much as objects of play.

Jatin Varma, founder of Comic Con India, who is also a collector, says people collect out of passion, not as an investment-even though he knows of collections worth crores. "Millennials are driving much of the market because they now have disposable income and their own space," he says. "As people get into their 30s, collecting really picks up."

Sunil Kumar, founder of Chennai-based toy manufacturing company Kid In U, says the kidult segment has become a major growth driver in India. Globally, in 2025, consumers aged 15 and above accounted for around 20% of global toy sales, according to the Circana report. "In India, the trend is being powered by nostalgia for Marvel, DC and Japanese anime, along with rising incomes and a growing acceptance of licensed collectibles," he says.

Even as domestic manufacturing gathers pace, premium figurines and collectibles are still largely imported. "That import dependency is part of what keeps the category aspirational," says Kumar. Collectors often wait longer, pay more and hunt harder for the pieces they want.

Not kidding

For Rahul Dhiman, 49, a Gurgaon-based consultant who designs casino games for international markets, the wait has been worth it. Over the past five years, he has built a collection of around 150 high-end figurines, most of them superheroes. While unopened boxes command a premium in the market, he has unboxed them all. These are proudly displayed in custom-made shelves in his man cave. "After all, they are meant to be enjoyed, not locked away in boxes. On difficult days, I take out a figurine or photograph it. For a while, it takes me back to my childhood."

In Navi Mumbai, IT consultant Sayali Sameer Sen, 38, has started building a collection of plushies. She owns six and plans to add to it every few months. "I have always loved them. I couldn't have a lot of them when I was a kid, so I'm spending adult money to have small joys."

Mental health experts say the reasons adults buy toys are emotional first and financial later. Delhi-based psychologist and behaviour consultant Nandini Sehgal says a hobby can be a healthy outlet. "Collecting childhood toys, miniature cars, anime and superhero figurines can be a healthy way of coping with modern-day pressures. These toys act like emotional anchors, tapping into a sense of comfort and nostalgia," she says. "Collecting also helps adults find a community of people who share the same fandom or interest."

Collectors and Community

Community, in fact, is changing the way adults engage with toys. Social media, WhatsApp groups and Facebook communities have made collecting more public, more convenient and far more competitive. Amit Sundra, fifth-generation owner of Ram Chander & Sons, India's oldest toy store in Connaught Place, Delhi, has seen demand for collectibles more than double since the pandemic, with much of the growth coming from working professionals in their early 20s. "For them, toys have become an extension of personality and fandom. Categories such as action figures and die-cast cars are now markers of identity," he says. "Social media intensifies the trend, with Instagram, YouTube and creators fuelling awareness, hype and FOMO (fear of missing out)."

Brijraj Rathore, a 20-something psychology graduate in Ahmedabad, built his collection largely thanks to WhatsApp groups from where he sourced it. In 2020, he bought 650 Funko Pops, eventually growing the collection to over 1,220 figures. At its peak, he says, his collection was worth nearly $38,000. "Certain distributors and sellers, who import in bulk, have been running these groups post-Covid. They have also built communities that help the hobby surge in India," he says. Much of Rathore's collection came from Australia, UK and US. Vaulted or discontinued pieces are often found through Facebook groups or on eBay.

Just as collections are built over years, so are the communities around them. Vineet Singh Bakshi, 57, a Gurgaon-based creative professional and automotive journalist, has spent decades in shaping India's die-cast and Hot Wheels collector community. He worked closely with Mattel to help the company better understand the Indian collectors market and expand beyond the '89 cars into premium products priced up to '899. "When we launched India's first Hot Wheels Collectors Facebook group in 2013, only 100 people joined," he says. Today, the group has close to a million members.

Playing along

Companies are noticing the change. Disney Consumer Products is seeing strong demand for products targeted at those aged 14 and above. "Fandom in India is moving beyond what people wear to what they collect and incorporate into their lifestyles," says Tan Wee, executive director, brand commercialisation, Disney Consumer Products. The bestsellers? Construction toys, building sets, vinyl figures, collectible plushies and digital accessories.

Also read: Digital content is driving demand for physical toys in India, says Mattel

Warner Bros Discovery says its young adult portfolio now accounts for about 65% of its overall consumer products business. Anand Singh, senior director, South Asia, Warner Bros Discovery Global Consumer Products, attributes the growth to a clear behavioural shift, with young adults becoming increasingly comfortable expressing their fandom publicly. He says, "A few years ago, wearing or displaying fandom-related merchandise was often perceived as childish."

What is also driving the trend is the search for ways to switch off from modern life, says Claus Kristensen, senior vice-president, Asia-Pacific, Lego. "Many adults choose sets tied to cars, music, gaming, or popular culture, which turns the hobby into a purposeful and long-lasting experience rather than a fleeting purchase," he says. "That's why the category has moved well beyond childhood."

Companies are actively feeding this appetite through collaborations that tap into popular fandoms. Lego, for instance, has partnered with Warner Bros and Disney to create Harry Potter and Avengers sets, respectively.

Objects of their affection

While brands broaden their offerings, collectors are becoming more discerning about what they buy. For the new generation of grown-up toy buyers, the object itself matters as much as the nostalgia attached to it. Hot Toys, for instance, is a premium category of highly detailed collectible figures based on pop-culture characters and designed primarily for display. The point is no longer to simply own a toy but to curate a collection that reflects one's identity. Custom-built display cabinets, mood lighting and dedicated collector rooms have become part of that experience.

For Rachit Sharma, 47, a Delhi-based banking professional who is a fan of DC Comics and Batman, unboxing is as enjoyable as owning a collectible. Collecting Hot Toys for over a decade, he owns more than 300 collectibles, including about 50 one-fourth-scale statues and around 200 smaller resin statues. He has also completed the entire 100-piece DC Collectibles Batman Black & White line-a project that took him 10 years, with some statues already 15-20 years old and sourced from the resale market.

"The hobby has become significantly more expensive," he says. Figurines that retailed for $200-250 a decade ago now cost around $850. But that hasn't deterred him. For Sharma, it's more than a collection-it's his happy place. Moral of the toy story: childhood may not last forever, but for a growing tribe of collectors, toys certainly do.

pratishtha.bagai@timesofindia.com