Build-A-Bear Expands Popular 'After Dark' Valentine's Day Collection with Cuddly Cougar Gift Sets

Company's 18+ Age-Gated Microsite Features Exclusive Selections for Growing 'Kidulting" Market, Blending Humor and Heart

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Forget chocolates and flowers—this Valentine's (and Galentine's) Day, Build-A-Bear is turning up the heat with a bold twist on gift-giving. Meet The Cuddly Cougar, featured in four unique gift sets, available exclusively online in the brand's popular "Bear Cave", an 18+ age-gated microsite that launched in 2019. Part of the limited-edition "After Dark" Valentine's Day Collection, The Cuddly Cougar gift sets are the unexpected gift you didn't know you needed—for a significant other, best friend, or Galentine—making this year's celebration anything but tame.

Tapping into the rising "kidulting" trend—where adults embrace nostalgia and playful self-expression—this year's lineup delivers unique, memorable gifting experiences designed with grown-ups in mind.

Each Cuddly Cougar gift set brings a flirty charm, showcasing multiple purrsonalities. Dressed to impress, The Cuddly Cougar is ready to bring the purrfect look to life.

• Cuddly Cougar Stuffed Animal Signature Faux Fur Coat.  This cute cougar plush looks fierce and fashionable dressed in her black outfit complete with a faux fur leopard print coat.
• Cuddly Cougar Stuffed Animal Sparkly Pink Sequence. Cuddly Cougar is on the prowl for the nearest dancefloor in this fab stuffed animal gift set! This fierce cougar plush looks extra fashionable dressed in her sparkly pink sequin dress complete with silver heels on her paws.
• Cuddly Cougar Stuffed Animal 'On the Prowl.'  This fiercely fun cougar plush comes dressed in her own "On the Prowl" tee complete with flared denim jeans, black boots and a black handbag on her paw.
• Cuddly Cougar Stuffed Animal Romantasy Book Club. Will you let this wildly cute cougar plush join your pack of Romantasy readers? The cougar stuffed animal includes its "Romantasy Book Club" outfit complete with a plush caBEARnet wine and glass set in its paws (because book club is fun even if you don't actually finish the book!).

For an extra-special touch, there is a Record Your Voice sound chip in the plush that allows you to add a custom message, making these plush gift sets truly unforgettable.

The After Dark Collection also features 11 additional Valentine's Day plush gift sets and a variety of exclusive accessories that take gifting to a whole new level. From the fan favorite Lovable Lion decked out in the viral "Zaddy" t-shirt, which has garnered over two million views on Build-A-Bear's social media—to the Jennifur Cat Plush Red Dress Gift Set. Add sweet plush extras like chocolate-covered strawberries, red roses, a kitten heel, and a custom voice message to create a personalized gift as bold, sentimental, or unique as the person receiving it.

The Build-A-Bear After Dark collection is available exclusively online through the brand's 18+ age-gated microsite, which launched in 2019. To shop the After Dark collection, visit https://www.buildabear.com/the-bear-cave/after-dark.

For more information about Build-A-Bear's broader Valentine's Day collection, deals and same-day Uber deliveries of select furry friends and gifts visit www.buildabear.com or follow @buildabear on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

For product images click here.

About Build-A-Bear^®
Since its beginning in 1997, Build-A-Bear has evolved to become a beloved multi-generational brand focused on its mission to "add a little more heart to life" where guests of all ages make their own "furry friends" in celebration and commemoration of life moments. Guests create their own stuffed animals by participating in the stuffing, dressing, accessorizing, and naming of their own teddy bears and other plush toys based on the Company's own intellectual property and in conjunction with a variety of best-in-class licenses. The hands-on and interactive nature of our more than 500 company-owned, partner-operated and franchise experience locations around the world, combined with Build-A-Bear's pop-culture appeal, often fosters a lasting and emotional brand connection with consumers, and has enabled the Company to expand beyond its retail stores to include e-commerce sales on www.buildabear.com and non-plush branded consumer categories via out-bound licensing agreements with leading manufacturers, as well as the creation of engaging content via Build-A-Bear Entertainment (a subsidiary of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.). The brand's newest communications campaign, "The Stuff You Love," commemorates more than a quarter-century of creating cherished memories worldwide. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE: BBW) posted consolidated total revenues of $486.1 million for fiscal 2023. For more information, visit the Investor Relations section of buildabear.com.   

SOURCE Build-A-Bear Workshop