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When the Cabbage Patch Doll was first shown at a US toy fair in February 1983, it generated an overnight following that had rarely been seen before. The company began shipping an estimated one million units to US and UK consumers in June of that year and by October it was at maximum capacity of two million. Even this was not enough to match demand.
The then executive vice president of Coleco, the original distributor of Cabbage Patch Kids, was quoted in Newsweek as saying: "What's the demand? Five million? Eight million? I don't know!"
Part of the problem was that at least half of the demand for the product came from adults, rather than children. So-called 'empty nesters' without children cottoned on to the concept of 'adopting' their own unique Cabbage Patch Kid. It was an issue that wasn't anticipated at launch.
"The following was so incredibly huge that it became clear that it didn't matter what we shipped, we realised that...