At the peak of their popularity, the dolls were a must-have toy for Christmas. Parents across the United States flocked to stores to try to obtain one of the Cabbage Patch Kids for their children, with fights occasionally erupting between parents over the hard-to-find dolls. In later years, Coleco introduced variants on the original Cabbage Patch Kids, and derivatives of the original line of dolls continued to be marketed. In 1986, Coleco introduced an ALF plush doll based on the furry alien character who had his own television series at the time, as well as a "Wisecracking ALF" talking version and a cassette-playing "Storytelling ALF" doll.
After Coleco went bankrupt, the Cabbage Patch Kids were later mass produced by other companies, including Hasbro, Mattel, Toys R Us, and currently Play Along. Mattel started producing them after cancelling production of My Child dolls. While sales of the dolls and other licensed products declined precipitously after the sale, the dolls have become a mainstay of the toy industry, and one of the few long-running doll brands.
