Yandex patented Zhuzha the Hedgehog toy amid explosive demand for soft hedgehogs

The Yandex Factory press service confirmed the registration of the trademark.

“In fact, Yandex Factory has registered the trademark “Zhuzha the Hedgehog.” It refers to an image of a stuffed animal of the same name from the Plushville series. “We plan to further develop the Plushville plush line, so we are registering trademarks for the characters and toponyms of this toy universe,” the company told RB.RU.

The company added that during 2024 they have already protected three Plushville trademarks: “Lappi”, “Puhlya” and “Lola”.

“Zhuzha Hedgehogs” are sold in Russian markets under Yandex’s own brand, Junion. The description of the hedgehog says that it was invented in Yandex by “real parents.” The cost of the toy is around 1,000 rubles. You can join the hedgehog with his friends, the fluffy residents of Plushville.

According to estimates by the Moneyplay analytics service (part of the Kontur.Focus ecosystem), Russians have spent 7 million rubles on Wildberries and 20 million rubles on Ozon on soft hedgehogs (not just Zhuzhu) over the past 12 months. Analysts noted an increase in demand and cost of toys.

Thus, in November of this year, in 20 days, soft hedgehogs were already sold for 114 thousand rubles more than in all of November 2023. As Moneyplace analyst Anastasia Romanova explained, in October 2024, compared to October 2023 , sales of soft hedgehogs increased 2.5 times, and the average price of purchased toys increased by 18%.

“Peak sales usually occur in December; Maybe you want to celebrate the New Year with soft hedgehogs. Another peak occurs in February-March, associated with gender holidays. Most of the time, soft hedgehogs are bought as a cuddling toy, a sleeping toy, or an anti-stress toy,” concludes the expert Romanova.

According to data from the Mayak service, the popularity of “Zhuzhi the Hedgehog” in the Wildberries market is also growing. In November, the seller managed to sell 247 hedgehogs for 295 thousand rubles.

The patent lawyer of the company Online Patents, Alina Sidorova, said that registering a hedgehog gives Yandex the right to raise funds for counterfeits.

“First, marketing a brand through licensing can increase sales. Secondly, registration helps protect the brand against counterfeit products. “Yandex can now stop the illegal distribution of similar toys, even going so far as to charge violators compensation of between 10,000 and 5 million rubles,” Sidorova said.

Protecting toys as trademarks is common practice. For example, Soyuzmultfilm has registered the image of Cheburashka, including for class 28 of the ICTU, and actively uses the trademark to combat the sale of fakes, including in markets. Hundreds of cases are being processed in Russian courts, most of which end in sanctions for sellers of counterfeit Cheburashkas, according to data from arbitration case files.