Pokemon stickers are popping up in more products

Pokemon snacks being sold at Toys "R" Us stores starting Thursday [LOTTE MART]

The craze for Pokemon bread has inspired a revival of other Pokemon-branded goods.

Lotte Mart will sell three varieties of snacks that include Pokemon stickers at Toys "R" Us branches starting Thursday. Lotte Mart is licensed to run Toys "R" Us in Korea, operating the toy store at Lotte Marts and other places such as Lotte Department Store and Lotte Outlets branches.

One of 50 collectible Pokemon stickers will be included in three snack products — chocolate chip cookies and chocolate and strawberry-flavored puffed snacks.

This follows the runaway success of SPC Samlip's Pokemon bread, which also features one Pokemon sticker inside each package.

When it was first introduced in 1998, that product was a huge sensation until its discontinuation in 2006. Since it returned to the shelves on Feb. 24, nostalgic fans have been scrambling to buy as many as they can, lining up at convenience stores waiting for delivery trucks to arrive.

Lotte Mart said it has been offering products with Pokemon goodies for several years.

In 2019, the company released seven varieties of snacks with Pokemon stickers, which were only sold at Toys "R" Us branches. They didn't catch fire, but now they might.

"Lotte Mart has been offering Pokemon-themed products for a long time and has been designating special sections at its stores for Pokemon products to satisfy many fans," said Kim Kyung-keun, head of the Toys "R" Us division at Lotte Mart. "We will continue to make more products using the Pokemon brand and open 'Pokemon Zones' so many fans can visit our stores."

Pokemon Zones, or special booths where fans can buy Pokemon trading cards and toys, have been set up at some Toys "R" Us branches including the Zettaplex branch in Jamsil, southern Seoul, and the Gwanggyo branch in Gyeonggi since February 2020. The company plans to put more zones in other branches.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]