Sanrio characters gaining popularity in Korea amid diplomatic thaw

[Photo provided by Ediya Coffee]

The pastel-toned, animal-shaped characters from Japan’s Sanrio Co. are gaining immense popularity across the consumer goods market in South Korea in the wave of the recent diplomatic thaw between the two countries.

Sanrio characters have made their way into almost every imaginable place, from café beverages to hotel tea sets and toys. Sanrio, a Japanese character company with a 63-year history, has experienced a new renaissance following the success of its flagship character Hello Kitty and other characters in Korea.

According to industry sources on Monday, Ediya Coffee is collaborating with Sanrio Korea, to launch products such as beverages, snacks, and gift cards featuring Sanrio characters starting on June 20.

“After analyzing search trends over the past year, we found that interest in Sanrio has consistently remained high, and particularly this year, consumer interest has overwhelmingly surpassed other characters. Based on this, we decided to collaborate with Sanrio,” said an Ediya Coffee official.

SPC Samlip Co. recently released bread and desserts featuring popular Sanrio characters such as Cinnamoroll, My Melody and Kuromi. Dunkin’ Donuts also introduced donuts inspired by Sanrio characters. “Sales of Sanrio bread products are more than doubling compared with average character collaboration products, excluding Pokémon bread. The analysis also shows a high proportion of customers in their 30s,” said an SPC Group official.

Baskin-Robbins is engaging in goods marketing with Sanrio characters through photo cards and crossbody bags. It also produced advertising videos featuring Sanrio characters using ChatGPT technology.

Lotte Mart’s Toys “R” Us exclusively released gift sets in collaboration with Sanrio characters and the fashion doll “Mimi.” Some brands installed a dedicated photo zone decorated with Sanrio characters, called Sanrio Market.

“Thanks to the popularity among young adult customers, the number of visitors more than doubled before the Sanrio Market was established,” said a company official.

Shinhan Card’s Sanrio Check Cards [Photo provided by Shinhan Card]

Seven-Eleven released various products this year, starting with fancy envelopes and planners, followed by six types of food products and three varieties of fruit cups. Last month, more than 30,000 Hello Kitty and My Melody reusable bags were sold in just one week.

Paradise Hotel & Resort presented a collaboration with Sanrio, offering package deals with goods, photo zones, and desserts.

In the fashion industry, Kolon FnC’s golf wear brand WAAC introduced 13 different products, including golf gloves, socks, hats, tote bags, and ball markers, featuring My Melody and Kuromi. Shinhan Card released a Sanrio Check Card in March, which received over 50,000 applications in just four business days, causing delivery delays.

Market observers say that Sanrio characters are gaining popularity in Korea as the domestic character industry grows and adult consumers actively engage in character consumption.

Sanrio, established in 1960, is a leading Japanese character-based company with over ten million fans. After introducing its first character, Hello Kitty, in 1974, which became a global hit, Sanrio actively expanded overseas in the 1980s by establishing subsidiaries.

Although Sanrio Korea was founded in 1998, it failed to discover the “next Hello Kitty.” Subsequently launched characters such as My Melody in 1975, Cinnamoroll in 2001, and Kuromi in 2005 gained significant recognition, but they were restricted to the local stationery market. But, in 2021, consumer virality based on the short-form media platform led to a significant increase in awareness.

Sanrio generates 61 percent of its revenue from direct stores and online malls through product sales, while 39 percent comes from licensing agreements and royalties.