Sophie the Giraffe (in French : Sophie la Girafe) is a teether – a toy for teething babies to chew on – in the form of a 7-inch-high hevea rubber giraffe.[1]
The toy has been made in France since 1961, first in Asnières-sur-Oise, near Paris, by Delacoste company then from 1991 by Vulli company located in Rumilly in the French Alps. Its name refers to its launch on 25 May 1961, the day associated with the name Sophie. It has achieved national icon status in France, according to Slate, with more sold each year (816,000 in 2010) than babies are born (796,000).
Sophie is also popular in the United States, where the toy has been available for decades and even appeared in the movie Three Men and a Baby (1984), and where it has become the best-selling baby product offered by Amazon.com.[1] Launched in California in the trendy Hollywood area,[2] it became popular through word of mouth, especially on Amazon.com since 2008. The reasons proposed for this success are that it is marketed as its eco-friendly[1] and a growing consumer mistrust of the security and health standards of products made in China since 2007.[3]
In 2009, Sophie was recognized as Product of the Year by the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association.