A new kids’ jewelry product has twanged and snapped its way into a genuine youth fad. Rubber band bracelets, known collectively as “bandz,” are the latest hot craze to pique the interest of the 12-and-under set — although there are reports of high schoolers and even college kids getting in on the action. The bracelets are not really rubber bands at all, but silicone loops molded into a variety of shapes, from animals to musical instruments to bathing suits and many more. When worn — by both girls and boys — they look like bumpy bracelets, but they revert into shape when taken off.
Just since mid-April, the media buzz around the fad has exploded, with articles in The Philadelphia Inquirer; the Staten Island, N.Y., Advance; The Greenville, N.C., Daily Reflector; the Aiken, S.C., Standard; The Charlotte, N.C., Observer; and The New York Times. Based on media coverage so far, it seems that the craze started in the Mid-Atlantic states and still has room to spread.
At the end of April, at this writing, eight of the top ten bestselling toy products at Amazon were bandz. One variety has spent 72 days in the Top 100.
“This thing is like a hot fad that’s incredibly hot,” says wholesaler Jeff Sokolof, president of Novelty Gift. “As soon as we get a shipment, every week or ten days, it’s just gone in a matter of a day or two. We think it will last for the whole year, for Christmas.”
Sokolos says that bandz came out in November and December of last year. It took about two months for the product to catch on. “Now they trade them like trading cards. It’s working out to be a really strong item.”
Bandz come in every color, including neon hues, with versions that are scented, that sparkle, and (the most coveted) glow in the dark. Sokolof says more varieties are on the way. “In July they are coming out with licensed bracelets,” he says. “There are Disney ones coming out. There’s Toy Story 3, there’s Princess, there’s Cars.”
Photo Credit: MG Shelton