From Hello Kitty to Shin Chan, character collabs thrive on 'kidult' spending

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From Hello Kitty to Shin Chan, character collabs thrive on 'kidult' spending

Published: 05 May. 2025, 07:00 Updated: 05 May. 2025, 11:25

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

People browse products at the K League X Sanrio Characters pop-up event held at Musinsa Store Seongsu@DaelimChanggo in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, on May 1. [YOON SEUNG-JIN]

Many might assume a pop-up themed around Sanrio characters would be packed with young children in bright, playful outfits — but in reality, it’s mostly filled with people in their 20s and 30s, many of whom are university students or gainfully employed.

As adult consumers of products typically designed for children — or “kidults,” to use the Korean media's term — grow in number, retailers are rushing to release crossover items, which frequently guarantee strong sales and create a sense of rarity.

The phenomenon has transformed goods once aimed at children into mainstream hits, resulting in the near-ubiquitous presence of cute characters on the streets, in malls and at convenience stores.

People line up to enter the K League X Sanrio Characters pop-up event held at Musinsa Store Seongsu@DaelimChanggo in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, on May 1. [YOON SEUNG-JIN]

Hwang Hae-seok, a 26-year-old office worker living in Seoul, is part of this cohort, braving his way to the K League X Sanrio Characters pop-up in Seongsu-dong on a rainy Labor Day.

“I came here today because it’s the only day off I have this week, and I wanted to buy products for myself and my friends,” Hwang said. “It’s amazing that K League teams, including my favorite team FC Seoul, collaborated with Sanrio characters.”

“I bought so many products themed around Hello Kitty and Hangyodon, and I’m so excited to unpack them at home,” Hwang added.

Hwang was just one of many customers in their 20s and 30s, their faces full of joy as they eagerly loaded their bags with various products featuring Sanrio characters, including scarves, hoodies, football jerseys and mouse pads.

“I went to the pop-up last year too, and I’m here again,” said 23-year-old college student Lee Seung-hyeon.

“I bought this card holder last year and it’s already worn out because I used it too often,” Lee said, showing off the product to the reporter.

This year’s pop-up is an expansion of last year’s successful collaboration, which was held at Lotte World Mall in Songpa District. According to the Korea Football Association, last year's event saw the highest sales among all pop-ups at the venue.

People browse products at the K League X Sanrio Characters pop-up event held at the Musinsa Store Seongsu@DaelimChanggo in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, on May 1. [YOON SEUNG-JIN]

Sanrio character-themed products that interviewees bought at the K League X Sanrio Characters pop-up event held at the Musinsa Store Seongsu@DaelimChanggo in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, on May 1. [YOON SEUNG-JIN]

'Kidult' demographic

Behind this unprecedented success is the purchasing power of the “kidult” demographic: adults who continue to purchase products once considered the domain of children.

The Korea Creative Content Agency's (Kocca) report from last year showed that adults in their 20s and 30s led the way in character product engagement, with 44.7 percent of respondents in their 20s and 46.5 percent in their 30s reporting that they use character products at least once a week, surpassing the 42.7 percent figure for teenagers.

Consumers in their 40s are also catching up, with 37.8 percent reporting similar engagement, signaling that the “kidult” wave now spans generations.

“The main age group we see the most are people in their mid-20s to 30s,” Cho Eun-cheol, a 25-year-old staff member at the K League X Sanrio Characters pop-up store, said.

It's not just this pop-up store that owes its commercial success to kidults.

Character-themed pajamas are displayed at the SPAO Hongdae branch in Mapo District, western Seoul. [YOON SEUNG-JIN]

Crayon Shin-chan opens the door.

The landmark collaboration case involves fashion brand SPAO’s pajama collaboration with Japanese animation Crayon Shinchan in 2017.

The fashion brand saw record-breaking sales of its character-themed pajamas last year and also ran a pop-up event centered around character-themed products earlier this year.

“Character products overwhelmingly lead sales within SPAO’s overall pajama category,” said SPAO’s spokesperson Yoon Soo-min.

“Approximately 70 percent of all purchases of character-themed pajamas come from adult sizes.”

Since launching its Harry Potter-themed pajama collection in 2018, SPAO has seen consistent annual growth in its character-themed pajama line. In 2020, approximately 500,000 pajamas were sold; by 2022, sales had doubled to 1 million units; by 2024, they had increased to around 1.4 million, a 180 percent jump from 2020.

SPAO's Crayon Shin-chan pajamas [YOON SEUNG-JIN]

Medicube AGE-R's pore care and skincare device Booster Pro Kuromi edition [APR]

Characters leaping from pajamas to skincare and protein drinks

Beyond fashion, cosmetic brands and convenience store chains are also cashing in.

Last year, cosmetic company Medicube saw huge success with its collaboration with Hello Kitty, which was launched in November.

The Hello Kitty edition of Medicube's Booster Pro skincare device helped the company sell more than 1 million units of the device by the end of last year, quickly turning it into a flagship product that accounted for more than a third of Medicube's total sales, according to the firm.

Building on such success, Medicube expanded its character-driven collaborations with the release of the Kuromi edition on March 6. Alongside the new version, the brand also introduced a range of limited-edition items, including a Kuromi headband, decorative stickers and Kuromi-themed facial cleansers, further expanding its product line.

“Our beauty devices have consistently demonstrated that beauty devices can go beyond mere household appliances to become desirable collectibles through various collaborations,” a spokesperson for Medicube's parent company, APR, said. “This year, we will continue to captivate a diverse range of customers with trendy collaborations.”

Convenience store chain CU has also been reaping significant commercial success through character-themed products.

With offerings such as the Crayon Shin-chan protein drink and the Detective Conan ready-meal line, sales from character collaborations jumped 12.5-fold in 2022, rose another 4.2-fold in 2023, and continued the upward trajectory with a 76.3 percent growth rate last year.

To maintain this momentum, CU is gearing up to continue reaping the benefits of character-themed products.

“CU will continue to develop fun products for consumers by collaborating with characters that have a loyal fan base again this year,” said a spokesperson for BGF Retail, CU’s parent company.

Customers browse items at fashion brand 8seconds' pop-up store themed around Japanese animation Pokémon in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, on April 14. [YOON SEUNG-JIN]

Customers browse products at animation-themed store Animate Hongdae in western Seoul on April 14. [YOON SEUNG-JIN]

Beyond functionality

So why do adults buy these products? The answer is simple: they provide added satisfaction beyond basic functionality that comes with rarity.

“Most character product purchases are driven more by self-satisfaction than practicality,” Kocca’s 2024 report noted.

“While character goods tend to be more expensive than their non-character counterparts due to royalties, consumers continue to buy them because they view the entire process of purchasing and owning these products as part of a complete storytelling experience.”

Kidult consumers interviewed by the Korea JoongAng Daily agreed with this analysis.

Interviewee Jin Yun-ju's collection of Zanmang Loopy-themed products [JIN YUN-JU]

“There’s a sense of affection for the character and satisfaction that comes from buying character goods,” said 24-year-old college student Jin Yun-ju. “I buy character-themed products because of my love for the character and the uniqueness of the limited editions.”

Lee Yun-kyung, a 28-year-old illustrator, shared a similar view, saying, “I want to buy character products simply because they make me feel good.”

“When I buy rare character goods, I want to brag about them, which makes me want to buy even more products. I think these products also really represent my personality and tastes and leave a strong impression on others.”

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [[email protected]]