Mahjong Goes From Garage Startup to $40M as Brands Race to Restock

Oh My Mahjong grew from $1 million in sales in 2023 to $40 million in 2025 — and has already passed that figure in 2026, according to founder and CEO Megan Trottier. The Dallas-based brand, started in Trottier's garage in 2022, is one of the clearest signals that mahjong has become big business.

Google searches for "mahjong" are up 70% year over year in the U.S. and up 50% globally since 2021, per Google Trends. The tile game, which blends luck and skill, originated in China during the 1800s and spread to the U.S. and Europe in the 1900s. Today it's drawing young people looking for tactile, offline experiences, alongside vinyl collecting and crocheting.

"I think we live in such a digital world that people crave connection," Trottier told Modern Retail. "[Mahjong] forces you to put your phone down. It forces you to find three people to play with. It forces you to use your brain. You can't drink too much [because you need to concentrate]. All these trends that people are craving, [mahjong] brings together, at one table."

How big is the retail footprint?

Oh My Mahjong now sells through more than 2,000 retail doors and moves a mat every 10 seconds. Its business splits 60% DTC and 40% wholesale, with partners including Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus and Tuckernuck. Tile sets retail for up to $400. The company recently opened an 80,000-square-foot warehouse in Texas and is launching an app to connect players.

Retailers across the spectrum now stock the game: Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, Amazon, Walmart, Crate & Barrel, West Elm, Hot Topic and even Temu. Mahjong-adjacent merch has followed — socks from Sock Candy, beaded bags from Ink + Alloy, playing cards from REI.

"There was nothing in the market like there is now," Trottier said. "Now, everywhere you look, there's something mahjong."

Collectibility is fueling repeat purchases. An early-October collaboration with LoveShackFancy sold out in under five minutes. Trottier said customers own three, four or five mats, and some teachers in the brand's Mahji Mentorship network — thousands of instructors across the U.S. — own 20 tile sets. Her book on mahjong became a New York Times bestseller. In short: the accessories behave like fashion, not board games.

What are established brands seeing?

Jonathan Adler introduced mahjong sets in 2025 after a year of development. They retail for $695, with lower-priced sets and mats at Michaels. Today, mahjong is the fastest-growing category within games at the home brand, which designer and potter Jonathan Adler founded in 1993.

"Our biggest challenge has been keeping [the sets] in stock," president Alison Bergen said. "I don't even see our full demand. This summer, everything was sold [out] by the time it landed because we have pre-orders from wholesale customers. … We don't even have time to see price resistance because we're just selling through."

Bergen said buyers purchase the sets as decor as much as games, and the brand's Jacques Game Table ($2,350) is a bestseller. Jonathan Adler is now exploring mahjong nods in pillows and drinkware, offers custom sets for corporate gifts and weddings, and hosted a mahjong event in a New York City store. Mahjong has "been a great customer acquisition opportunity for us, for sure," Bergen said.

What's driving demand and what could slow it?

Community is the engine. The mahjong subreddit draws 37,000 weekly visitors, and more than 150,000 TikTok posts carry the hashtag #mahjong — creators lean into the tiles' ASMR-friendly "click clack" sounds. One TikToker's video about "mahjong drama at her retirement home" drew more than 200,000 likes. Hotels have joined in: the St. Regis New York's Mahjong Mondays sold out weekly last summer, per Forbes; the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles launched a monthly American Mahjong series using Oh My Mahjong tiles in September; Hotel Crescent Court in Dallas hosts "Tiles and Tinis" events every six weeks.

New players often learn from older relatives. Rachel Canowitz, an HR professional in New York, learned from her grandmother in December and bought a $70 set on Amazon in August. "I really enjoy the strategy," Canowitz said. "It's super satisfying to win, because it feels like such an uphill battle."

The growth story has friction. Jonathan Adler makes its tiles in China, where U.S. tariffs hit triple-digit percentages in 2025. Oh My Mahjong produces acrylic tiles overseas and raised prices in 2025. Trottier said conditions have since calmed: "It doesn't seem to be that crazy of an environment of stuff changing on the daily."

With Uncommon Goods and Ink + Alloy already marketing holiday gifts and Oh My Mahjong rolling out Christmas mats and ornaments, the brand sees further growth in 2027. "[Mahjong accessories] is an emerging market, so it's not like there's a playbook on how to do it," Trottier said. "We're building it as we go."

By James Calloway