Beanie Babies entered the market in 1993 and were stuffed animals that were filled with plastic pellets (or beans), rather than the traditional stuffing. This made the Beanie Babies feel flexible and different than other stuffed animals.
The popular stuffed animals are made by Ty Warner Inc., which was later renamed as Ty Inc. Beanie Babies have two identifying tags: a heart-shaped “swing tag” at the top, and a fabric “tush tag” at the bottom.
When Beanie Babies entered the market 1993, there were only nine original Beanie Babies: Legs the Frog, Squealer the Pig, Spot the Dog, Flash the Dolphin, Splash the Whale, Chocolate the Moose, Patti the Platypus, Brownie the Bear (later renamed “Cubbie”), and Pinchers the Lobster.
The Beanie Baby craze got so big that everyone began to believe that these stuffed toys would become valuable one day, especially when Ty Inc. started to retire certain designs. Beanie Babies took on the status of collectable items in 1995. People literally had hundreds of these stuffed toys. And the company debuted many more designs in addition to the original nine. ‘Princess the bear’ was a notable one and was designed after Diana, Princess of Whales died on August 31, 1997. The Beanie Baby Princess was in honor of Princess Diana and the proceeds were donated the the Diana, Princess of Whales Memorial Fund.
Some may say Beanie Babies were just a fad, and a silly trend, but no-one can deny the mass following Beanie Babies had and how kids during the 90s most likely had a few of these little stuffed animals.