Beanie Buddies are a toyline of Ty Inc., introduced on September 30, 1998. Beanie Buddies are large-sized plush toys closer in size to members of the Ty Pillow Pals collection rather than Beanie Babies. They feature a unique, super-soft fabric designed by Ty, called "Tylon". The style or item numbers (the last four numbers of the toy's "barcode") are in the 9300 range for Beanie Buddies, while Beanie Babies' style numbers are in the 4000 range.

History

As some collectors could not afford rare Beanie Babies such as "Peanut the royal blue elephant" and "Humphrey the camel", Ty Warner created Beanie Buddies, which are based on some of the most popular members of the Beanie Babies line.

Original nine

The line debuted with the introduction of nine different designs. They were Beak the Kiwi Bird, Humphrey the Camel, Jake the Mallard Duck, Peanut the royal blue elephant, Quackers the Duck, Rover the red Dog, Stretch the Ostrich, Teddy the Cranberry Bear and Twigs the Giraffe.

Subsequent generations

A second group of Buddies were released on January 1, 1999. A third group of Buddies were announced in April 1999.