🧸 The “kidult” toy takeover

…and Epic Games pays up [Disclosures](   And a little somethin' for yourself (John MacDougall/Getty Images)   Yesterday’s Market Moves   Dow Jones 32,758 (-0.49%) S&P 500 3,818 (-0.90%) Nasdaq 10,546 (-1.49%) Bitcoin $16,473 (+0.20%) Dow Jones 32,758 (-0.49%) S&P 500 3,818 (-0.90%) Nasdaq 10,546 (-1.49%) Bitcoin $16,473 (+0.20%) Hey Snackers, Sugar lovers will appreciate a new take on a cereal classic. Meet the [Big Fruit Loop]( (picture: a single giant loop). But the $20 bite isn't sold by [Kellogg's]( and the breakfast giant says it's trademark infringement. Stocks ticked down yesterday, with the S&P closing at its lowest in over a month. One concern: whether the Fed's likely ongoing rate hikes could tip the US into a recession next year. Play “Kidults” are driving the toy industry as older shoppers splurge on superheroes and building sets Watch out, kids… there's a new demo taking over toy aisles this holiday szn. A recent [report]( said "kidults" (aka people aged 12+) now make up a fourth of all US toy sales and 60% of the industry's dollar growth. FYI: People typically drop off from buying toys in their early teens, but that trend’s shifting. - Adult prices: While US toy sales fell slightly in the first nine months of this year, inflated price tags helped to drive revenue 3% higher. - Childhood dreams: Kidults account for just 5% of global toy sales, but generate $9B in annual revenue. Three-hour checkout line… for an $850 Millennium Falcon Lego set. The pandemic was a boom time for the toy biz, as home-bound adults splurged on board games and 1K piece puzzles. And the popularity looks to have stuck: last year, the global toy market had its best sales in a decade, with the US driving most of the growth. Now toy makers are creating more adult-friendly products to capture grown-ups' inner child (and their wallets). - Lego, the world’s largest toy maker, posted record sales in September as adults splurged on "Harry Potter"- and "Star Wars"-themed sets. - [Build-A-Bear]( says 40% of its sales now come from adults and teens, up from 20% in 2012. - [Hasbro]( and [Mattel]( ramped up marketing for [Disney’s]( Marvel superheroes figurines, and ’90s toy icons like Barbie, Pokémon, and Hot Wheels. THE TAKEAWAY Toy lovers are growing up… and the industry's following suit. Serving kidults is becoming a winning strategy as they’re seen as willing to spend serious $$ on themselves. (Even [McDonald’s]( started selling adult happy meals.) The kidult demo could be extra important for toymakers this holiday szn, as many expect the game-lovin' grown-ups to purchase toys for the kids and fellow adults in their lives. What else we're Snackin' - [Epic]( Epic Games agreed to pay $520M after the FTC said the Fortnite maker illegally collected children's data and tricked players into making purchases. The mega-popular mobile game has 400M+ players. - [Buynance]( Crypto exchange Binance.US agreed to buy the assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager for $1B+. FTX had planned to purchase those same assets in September, before it, too, fell into bankruptcy. - [Metaplace]( The EU's investigating [Meta]( over possible antitrust violations. The concern: the relationship between Facebook and Facebook Marketplace (picture: social-media-powered classified ads) could push out rivals. - [Gloom]( Despite positive signs like slowing inflation, the majority of voters surveyed said they expect the economy to get worse. Last week, Fed Chair Powell said recession predictions are just that — predictions. - [Sale]( Retail stores were deeply discounting inventory ahead of Christmas by as much as 60%. An industry group estimated that, as of early December, shoppers had made only about half of their holiday purchases. 🍪 Thanks for Snacking with us! Want to share the Snacks? Invite your friends to sign up [here](. Snack Fact Of the Day Global coal use is set to hit a record high by year's end [Read more]( Tuesday - November housing starts and building permits - Earnings expected from Nike, General Mills, FedEx, and Blackberry Authors of this Snacks own: shares of Blackberry ID: 2647575 Robinhood Snacks newsletters reflect the opinions of only the authors who are associated persons of Robinhood Financial LLC (Member [SIPC]( and do not reflect the views of Robinhood Markets, Inc. or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. They are for informational purposes only, and are not a recommendation of an investment strategy or to buy or sell any security, digital asset (cryptocurrency, etc) in any account. 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