The basics are still king, but viral stress-relief toys snuck their way into the fastest-growing search terms of the third quarter
Squishies and stress balls made a big splash in 2026. These soft toys—which can be squeezed, stretched, and return to their original shape—became the phenomenon of the year, and have now made their way into the world of corporate gifts, typically in cute shapes that tend to catch the eye of anyone who sees them.
This is shown by data from ASI Research, a firm that tracks what buyers of promotional products are searching for on the ESP platform, one of the most widely used in the industry. Here’s just one example: In the United States, between July and September, searches for “dumpling” increased by 184% compared to the previous quarter, and searches for “fidget” in general rose by 26% compared to the same period in 2025.
This craze has a recent precedent: last year’s Labubu boom. The “dumplings” took a different approach—the element of surprise: you buy them sealed, and no one knows what color they’ll be. Similarly, stress balls featuring hard-to-miss shapes like a piglet or an avocado don’t go unnoticed on an office desk.
The usual suspects on the podium
Despite all the buzz surrounding new products, the top 10 search terms are still dominated by the classics: pens, tote bags, water bottles, and thermoses. Backpacks and mugs made a comeback on the list with the start of back-to-school season and cooler weather.
In this context, one striking statistic emerged: searches for the Stanley brand fell 40% compared to the third quarter of 2025. In other words, the thermos is still part of the conversation, but no longer necessarily in connection with a specific brand; this tells us that shoppers are looking for the product, not the manufacturer’s logo.
From Hot to Cold
With the fourth quarter just around the corner, the peak gift-giving season is kicking off. Searches for hats, scarves, and Christmas decorations doubled compared to the second quarter, and searches for hand warmers rose 40%. Sales of tech organizers also grew (+28%), a product that lends itself well to welcome kits and executive gifts.
And what about the north?
These figures should be interpreted with caution: they reflect trends in the U.S. market, not the Mexican one. Even so, they tend to foreshadow what we later see in our companies, and the similarity to what is being asked for here is evident.
For Embrotex, which supplies medium and large companies in the northern part of the country, the strategy for the end of the year can be summarized as follows: thermoses, backpacks, power banks, and seasonal kits, with squishies serving as a small, lightweight item for promotional events, trade shows, and customer gifts—not as the main item in the package.
We invite you to visit www.embrotex.promo and check out your upcoming gifts for the end of the year.
