Taba Squishy: Another trending Stress Toy?

"Taba Squishy", spotted by RisingTrends.co, is the latest soft, slow-rising squish toy people are keeping on desks and nightstands. It’s palm-sized, brightly colored, and designed to be squeezed on repeat to bleed off tension and low-level anxiety.

How TikTok is turning squeezes into content

Open TikTok and a quick search for "taba squishy" videos shows creators filming:

• First-person desk setups where Taba Squishy sits next to laptops and Stanley cups.
• ASMR-style squeezing clips with close-up audio of the foam slowly expanding.
• Short “before/after” anxiety check-ins where users talk about using the toy during work breaks or study sessions.

Parents and teachers are also sharing classroom hacks and sensory-corner setups where Taba Squishy joins other fidget tools. For neurodivergent communities that already embrace pop-its and fidget cubes, this is another tactile object that’s inexpensive, easy to carry, and socially acceptable to use on camera.

Beyond TikTok: marketplaces and search

While TikTok drives the visuals, commerce and search are catching up:

• On Amazon, a search for "taba squishy" returns a growing cluster of slow-rising foam toys and branded multi-packs.
• On Google Trends, you can track rising search interest around "taba squishy" alongside more generic queries like "stress squishy" and "anxiety squishy toy."
• Etsy search results for "taba squishy" show handmade and custom-painted versions aimed at collectors and gift buyers.

As with past “micro-comfort” products, discoverability follows a familiar path: TikTok clips introduce the object; search and marketplaces document the intent to buy.

Search interest and growth (RisingTrends data)

RisingTrends.co search data shows that interest in "taba squishy" was essentially zero from late 2019 through August 2023. The term first appears meaningfully in September 2023 with around 720 monthly searches, then begins to climb in fits and starts.

• By January 2024, search volume hits roughly 9,900 monthly searches – about 13x higher than September 2023.
• A second jump comes in June 2024 at around 33,100 searches, more than 3x May 2024.
• November 2024 sees a breakout spike to roughly 135,000 monthly searches, again more than 3x October 2024 and nearly 190x the first measurable month in 2023.
• The current peak so far is April–May 2025 at about 201,000 searches per month – roughly 20x January 2024 levels.

After that high, volume cools slightly but stays elevated, with 110,000 searches in October 2025 as the latest data point. In other words, even after the initial TikTok-fueled spike, interest is holding at a level that would have looked impossible just a year earlier – a classic signature of a micro-trend moving from novelty to sustained consumer demand.

Why this resonates now

Three forces make Taba Squishy feel timely rather than random:

1. Ambient anxiety at work and school. Hybrid work, exam stress, and constant notifications keep baseline stress elevated. A small, analog object people can fidget with during calls or study sessions fits into a culture already comfortable with fidget toys.
2. Sensory-friendly wellness. Not everyone wants meditation apps or supplements. Soft, slow-rising foam gives a physical feedback loop that feels more like play than therapy, similar to the role weighted blankets and Loop Earplugs play for sensory management.
3. Camera-friendly design. Taba Squishy toys are bright, stylized, and easy to frame in a vertical video. Slow-rising foam exaggerates motion on camera, making “squeeze and release” loops oddly watchable in 10–15 seconds.

Business implications

1. Brandable desk companion. Like mouse pads and water bottles, Taba Squishy-style toys are becoming a new piece of “desk real estate.” Companies can brand them for swag, subscription boxes, and conference giveaways that people actually keep on their desks instead of in drawers.

2. Bundles with mental-health and productivity products. Wellness apps, therapy platforms, and productivity tools can bundle physical stress toys with digital subscriptions—think “first month + Taba Squishy welcome kit” mailed to new users. This bridges the gap between on-screen coaching and offline habits.

3. Sensory lines for kids and neurodivergent users. Toy brands and education suppliers can treat Taba Squishy as a hero product inside broader sensory kits for classrooms and at-home learning. Bundling it with visual timers, soft lighting, and noise-dampening tools creates higher-priced kits with clearer outcomes.

4. DTC differentiation in a crowded fidget market. The fidget space is noisy, but clear positioning helps: “anxiety squishy,” “phone-scroll replacement,” or “meeting stress toy” are all hooks that can separate Taba Squishy brands from generic squish balls and stress cubes. Storytelling around routines (work, study, sleep) matters as much as colorways.

What to watch next

• Whether large stationery and office-supply retailers begin stocking branded Taba Squishy toys near checkout.
• If TikTok creators start treating Taba Squishy as part of “desk reset” or “study-with-me” rituals, rather than just a novelty toy.
• How quickly copycat brands flood marketplaces with similar shapes, scents, and licensed characters.

For entrepreneurs and product teams, the broader lesson is simple: small, tactile objects can punch above their size when they photograph well and slot into daily rituals. If you want to spot the next Taba Squishy early, study how niche objects start gaining momentum across search, marketplaces, and short-form video. A good place to start is our guide on how to identify market trends.