Punch the monkey and his stuffed orangutan toy are taking over Etsy, Amazon, and Ikea with merch

There are few things that unite the world like animal videos. There are also few things that are so readily commoditized.

Both have occurred in the case of Punch, a baby monkey at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan. Punch captured hearts around the world after a viral post showed him hugging a stuffed orangutan toy after being rejected by other monkeys.

E-commerce sellers act quickly with monkey merch

Now, the young Japanese macaque and his stuffed friend are available as everything from toys on Etsy to a—decide for yourself if it’s AI—children’s book on Amazon.

There’s also an “official” Punch Monkey store with products like stickers, shirts, and mugs. 

Some of the merchandise even contains hopeful sayings, like “Small, but brave,” alongside imagery of the pair. 

In fact, the original plush orangutan doll is available for $19.99, as it’s one of the Djungelskog soft toys from Ikea. 

The Swedish retailer has gone so far as to make an advertisement based on Punch and shared to its social channels.

In it, a stuffed monkey holds the orangutan while real monkeys appear in the background. The copy reads, “Sometimes, family is who we find along the way.” It then refers to the stuffed toy as “Punch’s comfort orangutan.”

Fast Company has reached out to Ikea for more information on the retailer’s orangutan soft toy sales. We will update this post if we hear back.

Meanwhile, a new video appears to show Punch having made some progress with his fellow monkeys. But the young creature has already reached the same status as its fellow infamous animals like Moo Deng, the pygmy hippo. 

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