![\"Melbourne](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/46b82893f2ec1def6d3be1c3159933edfbeb4c7a.jpeg\")
Melbourne sisters Vanessa (left) and Audrey are obsessed with squishies. Eddie Jim<\/p>\nAustralia\u2019s Border Force has been asked to seize fake NeeDoh toys, as its manufacturer takes extraordinary steps to stop a barrage of dupes copying the global children\u2019s squishy toy craze from flooding the local market.<\/p>\n
The gel-like cubes, dumplings and assorted fruit \u2013 all \u201csquishies\u201d, which kicked off from the original and most popular brand, NeeDoh \u2013 have children obsessed. Parents are baffled. But with viral popularity comes increasing scrutiny. What\u2019s in the toys? Are they safe?<\/p>\n
Melbourne sisters Vanessa (left) and Audrey are obsessed with squishies. Eddie Jim<\/p>\n
Several children globally, including a 10-year-old Australian girl, have reported serious injuries from squishies exploding and burning them, and now NeeDoh\u2019s manufacturer is facing a US class action alleging it failed to warn consumers about the risks of the toys when exposed to heat.<\/p>\n
This masthead can reveal that Schylling, the US company that manufactures NeeDoh, and its licensed Australian distributor, William Valentine, have approached Australian Border Force, raided factories in China and issued cease-and-desist letters to retailers selling fakes as they try to stop an influx of fake squishies coming in \u201cthick and fast\u201d.<\/p>\n
Schylling\u2019s ultimate owner, listed US-based private equity company Gladstone Investment Corporation, also invests in an American defence company that says: \u201cThe United States and its allies must be ready to fight and win \u2013 anywhere, anytime.\u201d<\/p>\n
They went \u2018absolutely mental\u2019<\/p>\n
Squishies have probably been around since humans learnt to work with the sap of the rubber tree. In a simpler age, kids filled balloons with rice to make malleable balls. Now, thanks to the modern chemical industry, squishies come in all shapes and varieties: blue, green, soap, chicken. Schylling, the 51-year-old Massachusetts-based toy maker, launched NeeDoh in 2017<\/a>, and the toy sold reasonably well.<\/p>\n Then, in January, \u201cit just went absolutely mental,\u201d recalls Adele Dyson, owner of Adventure Awaits in the northern Victorian town of Numurkah. \u201cWe sold a thousand units in like two days.\u201d<\/p>\n In early 2026, Schylling released an advent-calendar-style multipack<\/a> \u2013 and the toys suddenly became viral hits.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cEveryone is just obsessed with them,\u201d says Katie Hennessey, a Brisbane-based 18-year-old who has amassed more than 200,000 followers on TikTok with posts showing her unboxing squishies. \u201cI don\u2019t know why \u2013 they come in so many fun textures, shapes and colours. You want to collect all the different textures \u2026 which just makes it really fun.\u201d<\/p>\n Dyson says \u201cevery single primary-aged kid or teenager, they want one, and they are harassing their parents, the stores, the staff to get one. It is next level. Some of the messages we have received have been out of control \u2013 begging for NeeDohs.\u201d She\u2019s had people come to her shop from as far as Darwin trying to get NeeDohs.<\/p>\n Schylling has been struggling to get new stock out to retailers. A pop-up on its website says it has closed its own online store. \u201cDemand for NeeDoh and our other products is exceptionally high right now, so we\u2019re taking a short pause on new orders.\u201d<\/p>\n Jumping on the trend, other brands produce squishies too, including Smooshos Mystery Dumplings and Mushykinz Jelleez, which are also popular.<\/p>\n Google search volume for NeeDoh is up 2800 per cent on 2025, and \u201csquishie\u201d is up 5000 per cent. Some schools have had to ban the toys because kids were spending too long trading them, says Hennessey.<\/p>\n And when a pallet last arrived at Dyson\u2019s shop, it sold out online in four minutes, despite a limit of one per customer.<\/p>\n \u201dWe got a whole barrage of emails from parents saying \u2018I\u2019ve got three kids \u2026 my daughter is dying of cancer, send me NeeDohs\u2019,\u201d says Dyson. \u201cOne kid sent me 50 messages in one day: \u2018give me NeeDoh. I have to have it\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n While NeeDohs remain elusive, Schylling and its Australian distributor, William Valentine, have gone to great lengths to halt dupes from undercutting their brand and sales.<\/p>\n An email sent in June to retailers stocking NeeDoh, seen by this masthead, said: \u201cCounterfeit product and websites are coming through thick and fast for NeeDoh.\u201d<\/p>\n Business owners were told Schylling and William Valentine are \u201crunning a three-pronged approach\u201d to stop the flood of dupes.<\/p>\n \u201cSchylling is working closely with their Chinese trademark attorney and the Chinese consulate to do factory raids on any offenders,\u201d the email states.<\/p>\n \u201cLast month they conducted raids on 11 counterfeit factories in unison, confiscating millions of fake units, machines, cash and in turn shutting down the factory in the process.<\/p>\n \u201cThis one is obviously a game of whack-a-mole due to the sheer scale of factories in China.\u201d<\/p>\n As well, retailers were told a \u201cnotice of objection form\u201d is being lodged with Australian Border Force.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m currently lodging documentation with Australian Customs which allows them to seize goods at the Australian border for any importer other than us,\u201d the email states. \u201cThis should also drastically slow down any of this product reaching the stores.\u201d<\/p>\n There are also plans to send \u201ccease-and-desist\u201d letters to stop retailers from selling fake NeeDoh products, and Schylling has urged business owners to dob in any outlets doing do.<\/p>\n At Mint My Desk in Parramatta, in Sydney\u2019s west, worker Kai Takakura said squishies have become popular due to TikTok.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of younger people come here and ask me about the squishies, and then recently dumpling squishies are really popular,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a blind box, so \u2026 let\u2019s say, [the] customer wants to get pink, but when they open it, it\u2019s not pink, so they want to buy more until they get a pink one.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a similar story in Preston, in Melbourne\u2019s north, where Kid Stuff employee Emily Oppedisano said the squishies craze started at the end of last year.<\/p>\n \u201c[NeeDoh products] were constantly selling out. They were selling out within two hours when we got them in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She said there is a limit of one or two squishies per person, as children come through the doors and ask when stocks will be replenished.<\/p>\n Alexander Mazniovski, 11, was buying a squishy from Toyworld at Northland shopping centre in Preston with his dad Tony Mazniovski this week. \u201cThey are fun to play with when you\u2019re bored. They are all over social media,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n His dad said the toys are also a \u201ccalming tool\u201d, particularly for his other son, who has autism. \u201cThey serve more than one purpose,\u201d Mazniovski said. \u201cThey serve him well when he is overloaded with different emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n Toyworld moved to place the bulk of their squishy stock behind the counter, due to the swarms of kids coming in wanting to touch and play with them. Instead, they have installed a \u201cdemo box\u201d in front of the counter.<\/p>\n Melbourne mother of two, Elena, said her daughters Audrey, 9, and Vanessa, 6, have both requested squishies for their birthdays in October and November. \u201cThey are taking over my household,\u201d said Elena, who requested her last name remain private. Her elder daughter trades them with her cousin, so they can play with new shapes.<\/p>\n Elena says she is conscious of safety when it comes to the toys, and has paid for the more expensive squishies in the hope that they are not toxic. She also insists on buying the branded toys.<\/p>\n \u201cWe try to get the premium dumpling [squishies]. We have ordered a mega dumpling from an Australian store in Queensland, on the understanding it is the real deal. I\u2019m not comfortable with buying them on Amazon,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Seven-year-old Hinata Morris loves squishies \u2013 she already has nine and is hoping to get more \u2013 but there\u2019s been a recent change that has made her and her parents cautious about purchasing the viral toys: a strong chemical smell.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a little bit of fear of all the soft ones, so now we\u2019re always smelling things before we buy,\u201d Hinata\u2019s father, Brendan Morris, said.<\/p>\n The family, who lives in Cobbitty in Sydney\u2019s south-west, said they\u2019ve noticed an increase in fake squishies being sold across Sydney at places like market stands and at the front of petrol stations. Morris said he once bought a squishy toy for Hinata and, on his way out of the store, squeezed it and it immediately popped.<\/p>\n \u201cIt can be really easy to buy one and then be really nervous later that it doesn\u2019t smell right,\u201d he said. \u201cIt just makes us really aware of where we buy them from and, where possible, buying the better brands just to have a bit more peace of mind.\u201d<\/p>\n In June, 10-year-old Gold Coaster Violet Zerbst placed her NeeDoh Nice Cube in the microwave for a few seconds. She pulled the warm cube out, gave it a squish \u2013 and then it exploded in her hands, covering her face with red-hot goo.<\/p>\n Violet spent a week in hospital with superficial burns across her face. \u201cIt\u2019s a toffee-like substance, it was scolding and sticky and it stuck to her face,\u201d her father Jody Zerbst told The Gold Coast Bulletin<\/a>. \u201cAll the skin had sort of peeled off \u2013 it was really gruesome.\u201d<\/p>\n Violet is one of several children globally injured by hot, exploding squish-toys.<\/p>\n US-based Consumer Reports in 2025 found some squishies reached almost 95 degrees Celsius and exploded<\/a> after just 15 seconds in a microwave.<\/p>\n Schylling now warns on its website against heating or microwaving NeeDoh. But a NeeDoh Nice Cube obtained by this masthead only warns against leaving the product in the car or direct sun.<\/p>\n NeeDoh is no longer the only player. As the toys have exploded in popularity, counterfeits and knock-offs have followed.<\/p>\n In a shop in Parramatta, squishy fan Girlie Agaran points out which of the toys in front of her are fake and real. When asked how she can spot the difference, she shrugs and says it can be hard to tell. The fake toys are more affordable, and now more available, than the real ones, Agaran said.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of my squishies are from Shein, it\u2019s quite cheap there \u2026 but there\u2019s a lot of places like malls. They put up pop-up shops and they just sell NeeDoh\u2019s for $10, $5,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n In 2018, Denmark\u2019s Environmental Protection Agency tested eight \u201csquishie\u201d toys, finding about 100 different chemicals in each, mostly a range of plastics and fragrances. Several of these were at high enough concentrations that prolonged exposure \u2013 like sleeping with a squishie, or keeping a large number in a small room \u2013 could cause irritation, the agency found.<\/p>\n Australian testing by consumer protection agencies in South Australia and Western Australia found much lower levels of chemicals, and they were \u201cunlikely to pose a risk\u201d, spokespeople told this masthead.<\/p>\n Still, Kidsafe advises parents to sniff their squishies. \u201cAvoid any squishy toy that exhibits a strong chemical odour, an oily residue, or visible damage such as cracks, punctures, or leaks,\u201d said Kidsafe Victoria chief executive Sarah Sexton.<\/p>\n This masthead purchased a range of squishies from Northland shopping centre. Some came in boxes with warnings not to leave them in direct sun. Some came with choking-hazard warnings. A squishable Jumbo Duck came in a plastic bag with only a warning about being given to children under three. None, other than the NeeDoh, declared what they were made of.<\/p>\n \u201cThat one most definitely smells like chemicals. It smells like you\u2019re at a petrol station,\u201d said Professor Blair Kuys, a consultant toy designer and executive dean of Swinburne University\u2019s School of Design and Architecture, upon getting a whiff of the Jumbo Duck.<\/p>\n When this masthead sliced off Jumbo Duck\u2019s head with a knife, a thick white cream smelling strongly of petrol came oozing out. \u201cLooks gross,\u201d said Kuys. \u201cIt may be some type of gel that, I doubt, would comply with safety standards.\u201d<\/p>\n The warning labels on the boxes were so small that Kuys struggled to read them. Jumbo Duck has almost no warning labels at all, and comes in \u201ca plastic bag you can choke on\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t feel good about the production quality,\u201d he said. \u201cMy biggest concern is a young kid stretching it open, bursting it, and eating it.\u201d<\/p>\n The makers of NeeDoh argue those concerns don\u2019t apply to their products, which are made of a thermoplastic rubber skin encasing <\/a>different fillings, including polyvinyl alcohol (a type of plastic), maltose (a sugar), or cornstarch.<\/p>\n \u201cI have no idea what malt extract is doing in plastic toys,\u201d said Adelaide University molecular pharmacologist Dr Ian Musgrave. \u201cIt\u2019s a food, generally recognised as safe. It\u2019s basically concentrated sugar syrup. I wouldn\u2019t eat if it leaked out, though.\u201d<\/p>\n A class action<\/p>\n NeeDoh toys are manufactured by US toy company Schylling. Schylling\u2019s parent is also US-based private equity investment company Gladstone Investment Corporation.<\/p>\n Gladstone Investment Corporation is listed on the NASDAQ, and acquired Schylling in 2013 in a deal that saw it partner with another private equity company Crofton Capital.<\/p>\n According to the latest full-year results for Gladstone in the year to March 31, Schylling is one of the company\u2019s key investments.<\/p>\n Related Video<\/p>\n Gladstone\u2019s investment portfolio is made up of 29 companies with an aggregate value of $US1.3 billion ($1.83 billion). It is also invested in other industries like defence. In 2024, Gladstone acquired Detroit Defense, an engineering and logistics provider that \u201cempower(s) the warfighter\u201d.<\/p>\n It does not explicitly say it is a weapons manufacturer, but says it provides \u201csystems engineering, systems integration, and integrated logistics services to the US Department of Defense and its allies\u201d.<\/p>\n Schylling is listed as one of five of Gladstone\u2019s \u201clargest portfolio investments\u201d. Collectively, they comprise $US582.6 million, or 44.5 per cent, of the company\u2019s total investment portfolio at fair value as of March 31, 2026, their latest results reported.<\/p>\n According to its latest results, Gladstone valued its stake in Schylling at $US66.4 million in equity in the year to March 31. It\u2019s up from $US20.5 million in the previous year to March 31, 2025.<\/p>\n Despite Schylling\u2019s positive financial results \u2013 probably buoyed by the viral NeeDoh products \u2013 the company was hit with a class action in the US in late July.<\/p>\n Lead plaintiff Cristiana Mendoza alleged a NeeDoh Nice Cube exploded when she squeezed it and expelled \u201cextremely hot inside filler\u201d onto her leg.<\/p>\n \u201cThe NeeDoh did not feel hot to touch, but exploded when she squeezed it and expelled extremely hot inside filler onto plaintiff\u2019s leg, burning her and causing blistering, painful red skin and irritation,\u201d she alleged in her lawsuit filed in the northern district of California.<\/p>\n![\"Not](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/0e75f1f899e1e8312c56b1b6a539ba785cf0d5c7.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Viral](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a19106aca1ff70ec3e5583addb26b7708d7c942d.jpeg\")
Viral videos of children unboxing their squishies have made them a phenomenon. Sitthixay Ditthavong<\/p>\n![\"Counterfeit](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4a04adaf74f305c92fbd9d67d0a7c62b063d2977.jpeg\")
Counterfeit NeeDoh products are flooding the market.Matt WillisShopping centre mania<\/p>\n![\"Kids](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8eea1ca446141596841a34d40d51a2c9279d45f4.jpeg\")
Kids Stuff workers Shivani Kalra (left) and Emily Oppedisano (right) report NeeDoh stocks have been sold out for two months. Ruby Alexander<\/p>\n![\"Alexander](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/e48efd36d3437269d7c154180ad88c8bfe1627df.jpeg\")
Alexander Mazniovski, 11, buys a squishy from Toyworld with his dad Tony, who says the toys can be used as \u201ccalming\u201d tools.
\nRuby Alexander<\/p>\n![\"Vanessa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/de08f88150584ca7a739db52467c7983a589cfa1.jpeg\")
Vanessa and Audrey\u2019s parents take care to buy branded squishies, and avoid the cheaper models. Eddie JimAre they safe?<\/p>\n![\"Hinata](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/e138713768f363bc013e6591d881a4496a5f77be.jpeg\")
Hinata Morris\u2019 parents have noticed an increase in fake squishies being sold at places like market stalls or service stations. Sitthixay Ditthavong<\/p>\n![\"Squishy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/628d3dc49376d46ceb2f64e8e3235923795a6395.jpeg\")
Squishy fan Girlie Agaran says it can be hard to pick the real thing from the fakes. Sitthixay Ditthavong<\/p>\n![\"Warnings](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2e2d106752ea869fd7b4e6f4860cf2e1441bd4f6.jpeg\")
Warnings listed on squishy products. Ruby Alexander<\/p>\n
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