Dumplings are a little bit bigger but collectible,” said Silva. “They’re also affordable and not overly complicated for kids to figure out.” Plus, the soft squishy texture of the dumpling and the popping out of their body also cleverly plays into the current bubble fidget poppers toy craze. Wiseman is thrilled with the dumplings popularity overall, and especially of Dart’s, which WowWee only produced 100,000 pieces of as a very limited character. She said Dart holds a special meaning for the WowWee team. “He’s named after a dear friend of ours at WowWee, Art Janis, who recently passed away,” she said. Caught in the global supply chain mess is The Elf on the Shelf, a popular holiday-time product. Courtesy The Lumistella Company

Dumplings Toy - Etsy UK Dumplings Toy - Etsy UK

The squishy dumplings are the brainchild of Sydney Wiseman, vice president of brand development and creative strategy for WowWee. She came up with the idea for them 18 moths ago. “I wanted to do a toy based on a dumpling for a long time,” she said. And she wanted the dumpling characters to be in a band. That aspect is infused in their look and the accessories they wear.WowWee is trying to navigate the serious supply chain issues to ensure it has enough inventory overall of its dumplings to satisfy strong demand through to Christmas. The dumplings, like most toys sold in the United States, are made in China.