South Florida has never been known for its robust toy manufacturing sector. But it's home to one of the largest toy companies in the world: Jazwares.

And while the company may have flown under the radar of most local residents, Jazwares' toys have not.

In a warehouse just off Interstate 75 in Sunrise, hundreds of Jazwares workers design toys licensed for global brands including Pokémon, Spider-Man, Roblox and Fortnite. The company also owns Squishmallows, a line of plush toys – and a social media sensation – that are among the hottest-selling toys on the market.

Berkshire Hathaway acquired the company in October 2022 as part of its $11.5 billion purchase of Alleghany Corp. In May, Jazwares presented Warren Buffett with his likeness in Squishmallow form at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.

At the time, Buffett told Reuters: "Jazwares is a gem."

For the toy company's founder and CEO, Judd A. Zebersky, building Jazwares was far from an overnight success. It took decades of hard work and learning the ropes of the highly competitive industry.

But the former lawyer is not complaining because, for him, business and fun are finally one and the same.

"I really love what I do, and I love coming to work every single day," he says

Expansion plans

Jazwares employs more than 1,200 people worldwide, up from 800 workers two years ago. That includes about 400 employees in Broward County. And the company is set to grow its local footprint, as it recently leased a 135,000-square-foot office at 7850 S.W. Sixth Court in Plantation. It will consolidate most of its local workforce in that building, with plenty of room left to expand. The goal is to ultimately house 500 to 600 employees in the new building.

"We could have grown much quicker," Zebersky says. "We started slowing the hiring process because we don't have the desks. We are one of the fastest-growing toy companies in the world."

Having Jazwares in Broward County has been "great for the local economy," says Todd Holt, VP of business development at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, which has been working with the company on its expansion plans for about four years.

A big reason why the toy company is here is the quality of South Florida's workforce and its ability to recruit people to the area, Holt added. Its location in the middle of Broward grants easy access to both the most luxurious neighborhoods for C-level executives and more affordable communities.

An American in China

Zebersky, who earned a law degree from the University of Miami, was four years into a career practicing law. But his heart wasn't in the legal profession. So, one day he closed his practice and headed to China to learn everything he could about the toy business.

"I grew up loving pop culture, comic books and toys, so I decided to pursue my dream and start a toy company." he says. "Everybody thought I was nuts, including my family. But it wasn't about money. I wanted to build something that would stand the test of time."

Over an eight-year period, Zebersky spent about 200 days a year in China, traveling to factory towns and learning from plant owners the ins and outs of making toys. Jazwares, which plays off his initials, JAZ, was founded in 1997.

Zebersky bought injection molding machines early on to create the first model toys himself.

"I did hands-on design," he says. "It was the best learning experience ever."

His wife, Laura, left her own law practice and joined the company in 2005. She now serves as president and chief commercial officer.

The first product Jazwares produced was a character cup modeled after WWE star Stone Cold Steve Austin with a straw coming out of his head. Zebersky says WWE already had licensing agreements for toys, but not for branded drinks and housewares. Since he always loved professional wrestling, that was a great fit for Zebersky. Plus, his background as an attorney came in handy when negotiating licensing deals.

Today, Jazwares produces action figures for AEW Wrestling. Licensing popular brands from around the world has been key to its strategy. Most of the toys are manufactured in China. That includes not only those based on TV shows and movies, but popular video games. For example, toys based on Minecraft were a big hit for the company in 2013. Recent deals include becoming the exclusive producer of Marvel and Star Wars costumes for mass retail; producing a toy line inspired by Hello Kitty; and for manufacturing products including collectible figures, plush toys and costumes for anime series such as Attack on Titan, Chainsaw Man and My Hero Academia.

"Judd and Laura Zebersky are two of the most intelligent people in the toy industry," says Richard Gottlieb, CEO of Global Toy Experts and publisher of Global Toy News. "They are adept at seeing trends before others do. It allows them to pick off licenses and products before bigger competitors become aware."

Jazwares has offices in dozens of countries because it needs to deal with local regulations to import toys, and it's often on the hunt for new licensing deals with brands popular in foreign nations, Zebersky says. For instance, it makes Danger Mouse toys for the U.K.

He credits his co-workers' curiosity and creativity for the company's success, and says it's key to winning licensing deals for new toys.

"[Oftentimes,] when you hit the top of the mountain, you lose grit, determination and drive, and, most importantly, your curiosity," he says. "When you lose your curiosity, you can't make cutting-edge toys."

Many of the toys Jazwares produces are collectors' items. The company has a massive vault in its Sunrise office where it keeps first editions. Pokémon fans are known to pay big bucks for rare toys, and certain Squishmallows can sell for thousands of dollars. That's pretty impressive for a line of plush toys that first came out in 2017.

"Squishmallows have that combination of size, softness and cuteness that made them a hit," Global Toy News' Gottlieb says. "The pandemic, with its anxiety-producing quarantines, marked the perfect time for a substantial product to give a high-quality hug back to anyone who embraced them – child or adult."

The birth of Squishmallows

Squishmallows plush toys took Jazwares to new heights by reaching customers who aren't typical toy buyers. Squishmallows was created by Kellytoy, which Jazwares partnered with in 2019, then acquired in 2020.

"We felt we could build it into a mass-market brand and push the brand to be bigger," Zebersky says. "During Covid, a lot of influencers fell in love with the product."

Normally, Jazwares runs advertising campaigns for its toys, but that wasn't necessary with Squishmallows.

The company didn't need to spend a cent on marketing because of the organic social media buzz, he says. For example, celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Lady Gaga posted videos with Squishmallows that went viral. According to the company, Squishmallows has garnered over 11 billion social impressions on TikTok.

While the toy appeals to children, the average Squishmallows fan is in their mid-20s, an age group most toy companies can't reach, Zebersky says. The plush toys, which are typically priced from $5.99 to $39,99, are sold by retailers nationwide. In the March 2023 Circana toy sales report, Squishmallows accounted for seven of the Top 10 best-selling toys. To date, the company has sold more than 200 million Squishmallows worldwide.

Zebersky said sales of Squishmallows took off during the lockdown months of the early pandemic because people were lonely and felt the cuddly toys were beneficial for their mental health during that stressful time.

"We always want children to play with them, and I don't think that will ever change," he says. "Playing on their digital devices is vastly different than playing with things that they can hold and they can feel."

Overcoming the pandemic

But while the pandemic created opportunities for Jazwares, it also presented challenges. Delivering its products to customers was harder than ever because of supply chain bottlenecks.

Moving toys from the factories in China to retailers in North America was a herculean task, Zebersky says. Shipping containers that previously cost $1,800 were going for $25,000 during the height of the pandemic. More consumers wanted toys, as they needed something to entertain their kids during containment, but it was hard for Jazwares to deliver them with ports backed up on the West Coast.

"Everybody thinks the toy industry is easy," he says. "It's not easy."

Jazwares responded by taking greater control of its warehouses near points of delivery, and looking at manufacturers in other countries. While China remains an important source for manufacturing, Jazwares also works with manufacturers in Vietnam, and it's starting to tap factories in Cambodia and Indonesia. In some cases, the Southeast Asia factories are run by Chinese nationals who operate factories in their homeland too, so Zebersky can count on them to make quality products.

"It's about versatility," he says. "It provides us the right pricing, the right quality and the right shipment times."

Looking ahead, Jazwares will move into its office in Plantation early next year after it completes renovations. The office was previously occupied by the IRS, so it lacks a playful feel. Zebersky says he likes Plantation because it's centrally located and there are more restaurants there than by his Sunrise office/warehouse, where he will keep some operations because the company owns the building. Most important? Jazwares currently houses employees across multiple offices in Sunrise, so the headquarters team will finally be in one place.

"You need to keep everything under one roof for a headquarters," he says. "We all collaborate, and you can't collaborate if you are disjointed. Everybody has to speak to each department to be great at their jobs and be versatile."

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