In order to meet surging demand, organizers have said they would increase the supply, and factories have already resumed work early from the week-long Lunar New Year holiday to ramp up production.

Piao Xuedong, director of the marketing department of the organizing committee, said organizers had prepared a large stock before the opening ceremony, but people's enthusiasm went beyond expectations.

The Games coincided with the Chinese New Year holiday and the manufacture of the silicone gel which makes up the ice shell of the toy is time-consuming and resource-intensive. This explains the scarcity of stock and slow replenishment, he said.