A lavender farm in regional Tasmania has become a beacon for Chinese tourists desperate to get their hands on a stuffed purple bear – despite the toys being banned in China as a bio-security hazard.

The owners of Bridestowe Estate created Bobbie the Bear as a fluffy solution to the excess of dried lavender they had lying around, and now the after-thought has turned into an international smash hit.

And it is all because the furry bear appeared with glowing endorsement on social media accounts of model Zhang Xinyu and other Chinese celebrities.

Chinese model Zhang Xinyu triggered the Bobbie the Bear craze after posting this image on social media. ( Supplied )

In the year since Xinyu posted a photo of herself cuddling the bear, 65,000 visitors have flocked to the lavender farm to buy the fluffy toys.

Unable to keep up with voracious consumer demand, the farm enforced a rationing system, limiting purchases to one bear per customer.

"It is impossible. Demand exceeds supply by 10 to 1," Bridestowe Estate owner Robert Ravens said.

"We do try to make a fair allocation but it really is impossible.

"We get letters and lots of tearful emails and meltdowns in the store when people can only have the statutory one bear."

Bridestowe Estate sold 40,000 bears last year but it was not anywhere near enough for consumers.

With demand far outstripping supply, counterfeit operations in Australia and China have stepped in to fill the vacuum, mass-producing around 300,000 fake versions of the stuffed toy.

In early May an imitation bear was found by Chinese authorities to be contaminated with moths and weevils, resulting in the Chinese government slapping a blanket ban on the importation of all lavender bears from Australia.

But that has not stopped busloads of tourists turning up in Tasmania seeking the bears, which are stuffed with wheat and lavender before being hand stitched.

Every day groups of Chinese bear-seekers arrive at the 300-acre property in Nabowla, forty-five minutes from Launceston.

"If you want to buy the bear in China, in Taiwan or from your friends it nearly costs 1,000 Chinese yuan ($170) ... triple the price you can buy it here," tourist Yi Chao Lu said.

"It's quite famous and I think it helps you sleep."

He was not worried about the discovery of a contaminated bear and does not think other Chinese tourists will be either.

"We trust Australia's farms," he said.

"It may be banned from China but you can also take a visit to Australia and buy some bears from here and I think it doesn't matter, I think people will still like it."

Mr Ravens says his business has not exported to China for more than 12 months and says he is not worried about the impact of the ban.

"We've had more demand in the domestic market than we can possibly satisfy, so our product being banned in China is of little or no consequence to us," he said.

But he hopes the Chinese ban will kill off his competitors.

"There is no question it will put many of them out of business," he said.

"I am delighted. That's really what we've been fighting for a long time."

The Bobbie the Bear toys, filled with wheat and lavender, are hand stitched. ( Michael Atkin )

Craze launched by model on social media

The craze took off around a year ago after Chinese model Zhang Xinyu posted pictures of herself with the bear on social media, writing that the fluffy toy, which becomes a heat pack when microwaved, was a great bedtime companion.

Actresses Sun Li and Fan Bingbing followed suit, sharing pictures with millions of followers.

Stella Qiu, a Hobart tour guide who leads groups of Chinese tourists wanting to buy the bear, says demand is overwhelming.

"I think not [many] people know this place before. After (the photos) they know the bear, they want to come to buy it," she said.

Lok Wong lives in Tasmania and his friends from around the world have been nagging him to buy a bear for them.

"Many people are just crazy about it now, so I have to buy it and so many people would love to get one," he said.

It is an incredible turnaround for Bridestowe Estate which was close to closure several years ago.

"The amount of folklore this is creating is just phenomenal," Mr Ravens said.

"Every day brings a new adventure and we're knee-deep in an international phenomenon.

"We are still thinking about and wondering how it all happened."